The festival starts at 10am on 9th June, with exhibitions, stalls and activities. The first activity on the day will be to check the mammal traps for small animals such as mice and voles. These will then be released before the weather gets too warm, as any caught will have gone into the traps the previous evening. They will have had a good feed from the food left for them and a sleep in the bedding provided in the Longworth traps! The mammals can be viewed at close quarters and then selected children from the crowd will be allowed to release them.
Throughout the day there will be themed activities such as pond dipping, stream dipping, heritage tree walks, bird watching trips and bug hunts all led by conservation organisations such as Tweed Valley Osprey Project, RSPB and Borders Forest Trust, Forestry Commission Scotland as well as the museum service and volunteers.
Professional ornithologist Roy Dennis is officially opening the festival at 11.30am on Saturday 9th June followed by a talk in the Osprey and Nature Watch Centre about his ‘life of ospreys’ and many people are looking forward to meeting such an expert whose life has been dedicated to these famous birds since the early days of their return from extinction in the UK.
For more information call Kailzie Gardens on 01721 720007 via the FC Scotland Facebook page or visit the website http://www.kailziewildlife.org/
