Thirty Year 1 pupils from Cantref Primary School became the newest (and most junior ever) Young Friends of Castle Meadows when they joined Monmouthshire Countryside Service and Friends’ volunteers for a bird watching and migration session recently.

Initially impressing the Friends with their knowledge of around twenty different birds (included goldfinches and long tailed tits) they then viewed the sand martin nest sites on the riverbank and learnt about their imminent return to the meadows from their long, winter African migration. The pupils then enjoyed a bird spotting walk round the copse, with the robin the most frequently sighted.

After a break the Young Friends split into groups to create shelters for locally hibernating animals, using natural materials from the copse. There were some highly impressive pupil efforts for sheltering imaginary squirrels, hedgehogs, foxes, rabbits and stoats, but perhaps the best of all was the multi roomed badger sett complete with an ‘accessories’ log for Mr and Mrs Badger!