Bugs, birds and 'beasts' visit Ascot for annual nature day

Youngsters got up close and personal with birds of prey and creepy crawlies as a Bugs, Birds & Beasts Day returned to Ascot this week.

The free event took place at Imperial College London’s Silwood Park campus on Tuesday, and coincided with the venue's 75th anniversary celebrations.

Bugs, Birds & Beasts Day is an annual nature activity day for families, with visitors finding out how creatures enrich our lives.

There was the opportunity to watch live bird eggs develop and hatch, marvel at bird of prey flight shows, bug and butterfly hunts, pond dipping and aviary tours. 

Professor Vincent Savolainen, director of the Georgina Mace Centre, a new education centre was launched at the campus to mark the work of a former colleague, said: “This event is a unique opportunity for children and families to learn not only about nature, but about the evolution and importance of biodiversity in our day to day lives”.

Professor Guy Woodward, deputy head of the department of life sciences, added: “Birds, Beasts and Bugs Day has now become cemented in our diaries as a really key event - it is a great opportunity for us to engage directly with the wider public and especially to strengthen our links with the local community within which the campus is embedded.

"BBBD has grown rapidly over time and 2022 looks set to be an especially bumper year, which is particularly timely given that it is also the 75th Anniversary of Imperial College's purchase of the Silwood campus.

"Silwood has been central to our ecological, evolutionary and conservation work over all those decades.”