Children camped out wild style this summer with Dorset Wildlife Trust, and learnt the skills of tracking animals, identifying wildlife by sight and sound and even the highly esteemed talent of pooh sticks.

Sixteen junior members, aged seven to 12, attended the Wildlife Watch Camp at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Kingcombe Centre for an action-packed three days.

Activities included a night walk watching bats and listening to owls, pond and river dipping, including a hotly contested pooh sticks tournament, moth trapping, mammal trapping and learning how to spot signs of the hidden wildlife of Kingcombe Meadows nature reserve.

Children at the Wildlife Watch Camp also learnt some practical skills including making their own burgers for the barbecue and enjoyed watching the sunset around the camp fire.

Joy Wallis, wildlife watch coordinator, said: “Helping to instill a love and appreciation of wildlife in the lives of young people is such a privilege and I hope it stays with them for the rest of their lives. No one wanted to go home and special thanks go to our helpers Myra Sealey, Carole and Steve Davis and Maurice Budden for making it such a memorable experience for everyone.”

Wildlife Watch is the junior branch of The Wildlife Trusts and the UK’s leading environmental action club for children. There are 150,000 Wildlife Watch members around the UK and hundreds of local Watch groups where young people get stuck into environmental activities.

For more information or to join Wildlife Watch, visit wildlifewatch.org.uk. For more about your local Wildlife Watch groups or to start your own please contact Joy Wallis on jwallis@dorsetwildlifet rust.org.uk or call 01305 217974.