WILDLIFE lovers are being invited to take part in a 24-hour nature challenge next weekend.
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, the county’s leading conservation charity, is running the BioBlitz at Lower Smite Farm near Worcester between midday on Saturday, July 19, to midday on Sunday, July 20.
The event will see people of all ages hunt wildlife, alongside experts and enthusiasts, ranging from bees and birds to crickets and dragonflies.
Dominique Cragg, event organiser, said: “Our BioBlitz promises to be a really exciting event and it will be a great chance to explore the farm and get up close to many different species of wildlife.
“It’s a really fun way of discovering wildlife you may never have seen before as well as increasing your knowledge.
“It’s also a really important way of contributing to science, all sightings throughout the event will be recorded and submitted to the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre to help understand the distribution of our wildlife.”
Experts are on hand to help identify any unknown findings, with a series of talks also taking place in the run up to the night-time activities of star gazing and moth trapping.
“We’d love the public to come and join our experts in peering into ponds, spying under stones and foraging through the flowers to see what we can find,” Dominique added.
“We’re hoping to find 500 different species over the 24 hours and we’re asking everyone to come and join in this challenge.
“Hopefully people will be inspired to go home and take a closer look at what they’ve got in their garden and in their local neighbourhoods.”
Tickets cost £3 for adults and £1.50 for children with all money raised going towards the conservation work of the trust.
More information can be found at www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk.
