RAF Leeming CPS: Part 2

Today we had the second half of our visit by RAF Leeming Community Primary School. The other half of reception enjoyed a slightly altered Scavenger Hunt in the afternoon, as well as a morning jam packed with Mini-beast hunting and Pond Dipping.

Many of the usual suspects were caught at the Pond Dipping platforms on the Scrapes, such as this freshwater snail. 

There are around 40 different kinds of water snail in the UK, from tiny Nautilis Ram's-horn (3mm across) to the relatively huge Great Pond Snail (4cm in length).

Even new ponds are soon colonised by water snails, most of which are carried accidently by birds, and occasionally amphibians. Other methods of colonisation often involve the sticky eggs attached to bits of plants that can be easily moved from pond to pond, or which will often flow downstream.

Aside from our visit from RAF Leeming, our Thursday Volunteers have been busy repairing boardwalks in the conifer wood above Risedale Beck, cleaning signs, and filling bird feeders.