‘Wild Wednesdays’ have become a regular fixture of activities and ongoing engagement work for the QLPS in Hamp, Wilstock, and Stockmoor Country Park. This year we have run these sessions in the area again, and this half term we’ll be doing a special Halloween edition. Wild Wednesdays look to connect communities locally with free nature-based initiatives – a space to gain new experiences, or just to come together for an afternoon outdoors.

30th October – Weird Wednesday

Set up as a series of free nature-themed drop-in events at a local play area attached to Stockmoor Country Park, these events seek to initiate a grass-roots platform for engagement and empowerment, bringing local communities together and providing a place to share aspirations and learn some valuable skills through nature-based play.

Events are free and free-flowing, each week informed by the interests of those involved. We provide, alongside partners, unpretentious and accessible activities, with free and functional ways to learn about nature, all within in the familiarity of the local neighbourhood. These events grow and respond to the interests and gathering of its participants. We create a space for communities to find different ways of experiencing a Wild Wednesday, from group walks, scavenger hunts and nature surveys, craft, litter-picks, pond dipping, and bug identification, to trips to the Quantock Hills itself.

With other important projects taking place around the local area, Wild Wednesdays are made in collaboration with partners from LiveWest, Wilstock Community Hub, to Friends of Stockmoor Country Park, Somerset Wildlife Trust, and the Bridgwater Blue Heritage Trust, to name a few. Every group has committed their support and shared resources to improving the offer of engagement. Whether that be hosting a session, or volunteering to help at a Wild Wednesday, or linking with local initiatives, the collaboration of these groups helps to foster a greater relationship of resources in the area.