This February half-term, a Thanet science centre, the Crab Museum is teaming up with national wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation to organise the first ever Conservation Fest!
The two-day event will take place on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th February and will feature workshops, activities, talks and music for all ages – and thanks to Crab Museum’s still active crowdfunder and the National Lottery Heritage Fund it’s totally free!
Conservation Fest will provide the public with practical tips and education to help local wildlife get ready for spring.
Over the two days you will be able to explore the science of conservation in a fun and interactive way.
Visitors will be able to engage with nature and stake their claim in improving their local areas.
Butterfly Conservation are currently working in Kent on a project called ‘Kent’s Magnificent Moths’ to save and celebrate some of the UK’s most unique and special insects which are found in the county.
Every garden, park, orchard and farm in Kent is home to hundreds of moths, but sadly they’re facing worrying declines. In the last 50 years populations of Britain’s larger moths have declined by 33%.
Butterfly Conservation wants to help people to see and identify them whilst highlighting the major role moths play in the ecosystem, as pollinators and food for other species like bats and birds.
A continuing decline in moths would have disastrous knock-on effects for all these wildlife species.
Crab Museum Director Bertie Terrilliams says: “Conservation has never been more urgent and change is needed on every scale. Whether you’re a toddler looking at worms in your back garden or an activist plotting radical acts, the art and science of conservation is something we all need to get involved in. Improving the environment should be fun too, and reflect the magnificent weirdness of nature itself.
We’re confident our collaboration with Butterfly Conservation will achieve this, and probably make a mess of our carpet in the process.”
This all-ages event will feature:
- Headline performance from avant-garde electro K-pop band Tirikilatops
- Activities led by the Windmill Project Seed Bomb making workshop
- ‘Build your own Moth’ workshop
- Soil under the microscope: explore soil like you’ve never seen it before!
- ‘What to grow in your garden’ workshops
- Talks on topics such as climate change, decolonising conservation, community science and more.
Conservation Fest will take place in the Crab Museum, 9 Broad Street, Margate Old Town. Activities begin from midday onwards on both 16th and 17th February.
Crab Museum is Europe’s #1 museum about crabs. A satisfyingly baffling tourist destination that blends science, humour and philosophy into a call to climate action that’s as fun as it is radical.
crabmuseum.org @crabmuseum
Butterfly Conservation is the UK charity dedicated to saving butterflies, moths, and our environment. Their research provides advice on how to conserve and restore habitats. They run projects to protect more than 100 threatened species and we are involved in conserving hundreds of sites and reserves. www.butterfly-conservation.org