Lympstone Wildlife Festival

Lympstone’s Wildlife Festival! Saturday 3 June 10am-3pm

for adults and children curious about local wildlife and nature

FREE ENTRY. Lympstone Church, Lympstone Village, East Devon, EX8 5JU

The village has excellent transport links by bus and train, and is on a cycle route.

Come along to Lympstone Parish Church between 10am and 3pm to meet a host of local people who will be running an amazing range of displays, stalls, talks, village wildlife walks and various hands-on nature-based activities for kids and adults.

Programme of Events 

10am Stalls, displays and refreshments open,  and additional programme of rolling activities (click here or scroll down for further details) 

10.50am Live music from Thomasin Manley Frost

11am Welcome address from Harry Barton  (CEO, Devon Wildlife Trust)

11.30 & 1.35 Village Wildlife Walks with Simon Pryor

11.30 & 1.35 Nature Yoga with Claire Hilton

12.15 & 1.35 Nature inspired music workshops with Thomasin Manley Frost

12.15 Trees and Wildlife Walk with Andy Lewis

1pm Steve Hussey (DWT Reserves) in conversation with Mary Truell

2pm Wildflower Walk with Susie Culhane

2.45pm Raffle prize draw

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS – Further details (click here or scroll down for further details) 

Suitable for all ages, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Participate at your own risk. *Registration on the day.

11.30am & 1.35pm Village Wildlife Wander Walk (30-45mins)*

Join Simon Pryor and friends on a walk around the village discovering local plants and wildlife and learning about our amazing local environment.

11.30am & 1.35pm Nature Yoga with Claire Hilton (20-30mins)*

Join Claire to experience yoga in a natural setting. (You may wish to bring your yoga mat)

12.15pm & 1.35pm Nature-inspired music workshops (30-45 mins)*

Join talented local teenagers Thomasin Manley Frost and friends to create music inspired the natural world.

First workshop ‘Flying Things’ is inspired by sounds found in nature.

Second workshop ‘Under the Ground’ is inspired by how plants communicate under the ground.

12.15pm Trees and Wildlife Walk (35-45mins)*

Join Andy Lewis to explore the trees in and around the village green, gaining a better understanding of how to identify trees, their attributes, value for wildlife and management needs.

1pm Steve Hussey in conversation with Mary Truell

Join Steve and Mary as they talk about the wonders of DWTs nature reserves and Mary’s memories of walking 91 miles, at age 91, around all the DWT reserves (there were 50 then). With Mary’s memories and Steve’s expertise it’s sure to be a fascinating half hour.

2pm Wildflower Talk and Walk (35-45 mins)*

Join Susie Culhane to find out more about wildflowers on a walk around the churchyard and villlage green.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMME OF ROLLING ACTIVITIES (click here or scroll down for further details)

Suitable for all ages, but children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Participate at your own risk.

Book corner

Join Gary Abrahams and his display of our much loved and precious nature and wildlife books. A chance to sit and read and find out why these have become firm favourites amongst local folk.

Wildlife film and speaker’s corner

A chance to take a peek at some extraordinary footage of wild Lympstone caught on camera by some of our local residents, and hear some fascinating talks.

10am Lockdown Lympstone wildlife (Photographs by Mary Turner)

11.30am Lympstone in the past (Films compiled by Brian Mather)

12pm Bee Talk with Basil Strickland (15m)

12.15pm Wildlife cam footage (Badgers by Andrew Minter; Beavers by Brian Carroll)

12.45pm Bee Talk (repeat) with Basil Strickland (15m)

1.35pm Bee Talk (repeat) with Basil Strickland (15m)

2-2.30pm Swift Talk with Stuart McFazdean

Nature-inspired arts and crafts

• Join Wendy Reynolds and various talented members of Lympstone’s Art Group for a chance to explore a variety of local nature-inspired art and get hands-on with some of your own creations
• Have a go at some nature inspired art using recycled materials with Katie Parsons.
• Visit Charlotte Ellis at her Seaglass Gallery in the village centre, where Samantha Frances will be demonstrating her art techniques for capturing wildlife images – all day from 11am.

Nature health and wellbeing

Join Rebecca Abrahams to find out about what the latest science says about how nature benefits our health and wellbeing. Discover some simple ways of boosting your connection to, and benefits from, nature and read some of the beautiful personal stories shared by locals, young and old, about their own experience of healing and inspiration in nature.

Lympstone’s Wotton Brook and water testing

Join Lisa Staddon, Justin Smallwood and Lympstone Village School as they showcase the wonderful posters and letters created by the children as part of their citizen science project investigating the quality of water in the brook and the potential impact of this on local wildlife. Justin will have his water testing kit for you to have a go.

Butterfly hunt

A chance for children to take part in Mary Turner’s butterfly picture hunt. Take a sheet and discover eight locally found butterflies hidden in the church for a chance to win a small prize!

Local flowers

Join Cory, who runs Broombys flowers, for a chance to get hands on with some of her stunning pollinator-friendly flowers.

STALLS AND DISPLAYS

• Heathfield Allotments – sponsored by Comfrey UK (Carrie Darby)
• Garden birds (Peter Newman / Jenepher Allen)
• Estuary birds (John Goss-Custard)
• Gulliford Burial Ground wildlife (Angela Coles)
• Nature-inspired poetry (Harland Walshaw)
• Rewilding project (Jules and Den Evenden)
• Devon Wildlife Trust Wildflower stand
• Woodland Trust (Sally Burton)
• Microscopic nature: getting a new perspective on nature! (Brian Mather)

WITH GREAT THANKS TO

The many amazing individuals who have volunteered their time to run displays, stalls and activities.

The groups of Lympstone, and beyond, who have supported the festival:

• Heathfield Allotments
• Gulliford Burial Ground
• Art Group
• Lympstone School
• Parish Council
• Devon Wildlife Trust
• Woodland Trust

Come along and make a pledge to do something for your local wildlife!

Part of Devon Wlldlife Trust’s Wilder Communities initiative.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WildAboutLympstone