There is no doubt about it, young children have a natural inquisitiveness about the wild animals and plants that surround them. We see it all the time at the Trust's education centres at Woods Mill, Henfield and Seven Sisters Country Park near Seaford. Every stone or log has something exciting underneath it, every dip of a net into a pond or rockpool is likeiy to contain a wonderful creature that will have its own fascinating story.

As we go through our teens and early adulthood, that fascination sometimes takes a back seat as interest in other things (and other people!) come to the fore, but that latent awareness of wildlife is still there, somewhere in the recesses of the brain. It will often re-emerge again when you start to have children of your own and you can share that fascination all over again. For some of us of a certain vintage, much of what we learnt was self-exploratory, we had the luxury as a child to wander safely in parks and the countryside, often with the wonderful little "Observer" books in our pockets, and discovered things out for ourselves. Sadly, this option is not really open for children, or even adults today, and much of the opportunities today are met in a more formal, structured way.

Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that they will be any less enjoyable, and it is great fun learning about wildlife alongside other people. To help re-kindle that enthusiasm and interest in wildlife for adults, the Sussex Wildlife Trust has organised a programme of day courses this year that looks at a range of habitats and species where you can spend a half or full-day discovering little bits of Sussex and what animals and plants reside within it.

The courses will be open to anyone who has an interest in wildlife, but thinks they have no knowledge of, and really fall into two types. There is the "Introduction To....." series that covers a whole range of wildlife, such as dragonflies, bats, butterflies, moths and fungi. All of these days involve a little bit of indoor work, but then mostly out in the field, hopefully to see the real thing. The other types of courses are designed to help people perhaps get more involved in wildlife conservation, but again doesn't necessarily require a great deal of knowledge. For example, many people are now taking part in local or parish wildlife surveys and some of these courses will help people do this.
Days on offer include, Introduction to Surveying a Hedgerow, How to Carry Out a
Site Survey and Putting Together a Site Management Plan. In addition, there are Wildlife Photography Courses and a chance to learn all about Amberley Wildbrooks.

As the old saying goes, "you are never too old to learn", and there is still plenty to learn about the wonderful wildlife of Sussex. If you would like details of the day courses please contact Filma Dyer on 01273 497561.

- by Mike Russell

Sussex Wildlife Trust