On Tuesday 12th July we took a trip down to Southampton City Centre to check out Marwell’s Zany Zebra Parade, the official launch event letting the 150 zebra sculpture loose on the public! Led by the once missing Gilbert, the zebras ‘trotted’ in formation around the city (with some help from a few trucks). The designs looked fantastic, can’t wait to have a go at the trail myself over the summer so I can get a closer look! Every time I think I’ve picked a favourite another brilliant design comes along. Of course the main event was seeing our zebra, Zebraversity. From the pictures we took one can already see the amazing level of detail Smock and Ballpoint went into in creating her! To check out more images and information about the day, check out our twitter page!
Now the launch event is over we can tell you that Zebraversity will be located at the top of East Park, near the Queen’s Peace Fountain. We think this is a brilliant location for her, as she’s surrounded by an array of biodiversity that we are hoping to get the public engaged with over the summer. To see a map of where Zebraversity and the other zebra sculptures are, click here! (Number 37)
To help get the people of Southampton appreciating their local wildlife, we’re going to be running events across the summer at Zebraversity. The events are aimed at educating and encouraging young children about the nature around them (though anyone can take part!). These events are:
| Date | Event |
| Saturday 16th July | Arts and Crafts Garden
Help us make beautiful flowers to ‘plant’ in our homemade garden. |
| Saturday 23rd and Monday 25th July | Animal Sports Day
Can you jump further than a frog? Think you’re faster than a hare? Come compete against the records set by your local wildlife! |
| Monday 1st August | Pen Pot Butterflies
Create useful and dazzling butterflies that will hold onto all of your stationary for you! You can even bring your own recycling to be used (loo rolls). |
| Monday 8th August | Grassy Hedgehogs
Make a snuffley friend then take him home and watch his/her grow their grassy spines. |
| Monday 15th August | Bug Hotels
Everyone needs a place to sleep, even our minibeast friends in your garden. Come and make them somewhere cosy to nap in all year round! |
| Saturday 20th August | Public BioBlitz
Much like the Highfield Campus BioBlitz, get out looking for as many different species as possible in East Park with the help of some experts. Aimed primarily at adults. |
| Monday 22nd August | Children BioBlitz
Now it’s the kids turn! In the same way we’ve been teaching in schools, get out in East Park and find as many bugs as possible! |
| Monday 29th August | Birdfeeders
Using recycled materials, create some snazzy birdfeeders to hold some food for our feathered friends. Feel free to bring your own items to use! |
| Saturday 10th September | Bird Watching and Kite Making
Get out, look for the most interesting bird you can find, then see if you can recreate it in kite form. |
| Saturday 17th September | Tree Bark Challenge
Can you collect prints of each tree type? |
We’re also going to be running taught lessons aimed at 7-11 year olds over the summer as part of our Cadets program. And if all that wasn’t enough, we are looking into getting some speakers from the university to do exciting talks for the public, presented in the local cafes. To keep up to date on all our events, keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter.
If you’re interested in helping us out at any of our event across the summer, we are still looking for volunteers. Feel free to send us a message at any of our social media!
Finally, we recruited a new member to the team!
Unfortunately, he hasn’t got a name yet, so if anyone can think of a good suggestion, send us a message!
Love,
Meg and Olly
Posted By : Oliver Cockroft