Wayfinders Weekend: Invertebrates - Castle Howard, Yorkshire

This summer, Youngwilders is running the THIRD year of ‘Wayfinders’, a series of youth-led field skills classes! This will be the first one we're running at Castle Howard and it'll be all about bugs!

What to expect:

Spend a weekend exploring the world of invertebrates through hands-on field training, learning a range of practical survey techniques used in ecological monitoring. You’ll work directly with methods such as pan traps, pitfall traps, FIT counts, and moth trapping, gaining insight into how different approaches capture different parts of the invertebrate community of a rewilding project.

By the end of the weekend, you will be able to:

• Set up and deploy pan traps and pitfall traps effectively
• Carry out FIT (Flower-Insect Timed) counts for pollinator monitoring
• Assist with moth trapping and understand basic identification approaches
• Record and interpret invertebrate data across different habitats
• Understand how survey choice links to habitat type and monitoring goals
• Engage with invertebrates through a creative workshop
• Understand the relationship between invertebrates and their predators through bat surveying

It’s a practical weekend designed to give you tools you can immediately use in the field - whether that be for work, or your own back garden!

Wayfinders is led and delivered by young people working in the nature sector! Expect workshops, ID sessions, practical activities and more. No prior experience is required or expected!

Who is this for: For young people aged 18-30 interested in improving your career skill set, or just learning nature skills for the sheer joy of it!

About Castle Howard:

Castle Howard is Youngwilders' second youth-led rewilding project in the North. It covers about 50 acres of the estate in Yorkshire with wood pasture, a wet woodland and a stream called Mill Hills Beck.

What's included

Tickets are only £5 for this event, including a hot dinner and breakfast. As always, if you’d like to come to attend, but aren’t in a position to financially, please reach out to Noah at [email protected] and we can help!

If you have questions please email Noah at [email protected] :)

Event Details:

Date: Saturday 25th July - Sunday 26th July

Time: 10:00 am on 25th until 1pm on Sunday 26th

Location: Castle Howard, York YO60 7BY

Group Size: Approx. 25

Food:

We will provide a hot dinner on Saturday evening and breakfast on Sunday Morning :)

Please bring enough for a packed lunch on Saturday.

We will have snacks a-plenty.

Dinner will be vegetarian/vegan as standard. We will do our very best to accommodate any other dietary requirements. Please let us know any allergies/dietary requirements when you sign up.

Accommodation

We will be sleeping outside in tents. Please bring a tent, sleeping bag and mat.

We are able to provide a tent, sleeping bag and mat to anyone should they need. Please let us know this when you buy a ticket.

Getting there:

Via Train:

The closest train station is Malton. We will be organising lifts at 9:40, from the station to the site for those who need it. At the end of the day we will be organising lifts back to the station by 4:30.

If you have any questions re: getting to the site via public transport, please reach out to Elen ([email protected]).

Via Car:

If you are able to drive to the site, please let us know in the order form as we will be trying to encourage car sharing wherever possible! Parking will be available on the site.

What3Words Meet Point: nerves.solo.nicknames

Accessibility:

We can offer travel reimbursement (up to £40), so if you can send us receipts or proof of travel payment and your bank details, we will reimburse you as soon as possible. Please send the reimbursement request to Noah ([email protected]) with a PDF attachment.

The site is relatively flat but can get very muddy, please bring grippy and if possible waterproof shoes (i.e walking boots) if possible, or let us know if you need to borrow some.

We will be using tools, including handsaws and loppers, protective gloves will be provided as well as clear direction and many helping hands.

There is access to a toilet and there is access to phone signal across the site.

If you have any questions or concerns about accessibility, please do not hesitate to reach out to jack ([email protected]), who would be more than happy to discuss this.

Sign up now to reserve your FREE spot!

We can't wait to see you there :)

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