Accessing our nature reserves during the pandemic

Following on from the latest government guidance, we are excited to announce that Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve, the visitor centre and the Badgers Kitchen are open again as of Monday 12th April, 2021. We are open 7 days a week, operating our regular summer opening hours of: 9.30am-4.30pm Monday-Friday and 10am-4.30pm Saturday and Sunday. Members out of hours access will also be reinstated from Monday 12th April, 2021.

The Parkridge Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve also reopened on Monday 12th April, 2021 and the cafe is serving takeaway food and drinks. The toilets there will remain closed until further notice.

Bird hides will reopen on Monday 17th May, face coverings must be worn (unless exempt), and social distancing adhered to. As it is nesting season it is essential that everyone sticks to the paths and does not access the areas in front of the bird hides or other conservation areas to ensure there is no disturbance to nesting birds.

We will provide updates on our website, but please also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Our other nature reserves continue to remain open to enable you to connect with nature on your doorstep. Please remember to wash your hands regularly, wear a face covering and maintain 2m from each other.

We ask people not to use bird hides at our sites at the current time.  

We want to remind visitors that they must follow the advice of the government and ensure that they do not visit if they present symptoms of Covid-19 to keep themselves and other people safe.  Symptoms include:

• A high temperature
• A new, continuous cough
• A loss of, or change to, your sense of taste and smell

Whilst many of our staff continue to work from home, our aim is to ensure we can maintain essential practical work and habitat management on our nature reserves. We are currently reviewing our protocols relating to volunteering following the latest guidance and will update on that in due course.

We would like to thank everyone for their patience since the pandemic took hold, and look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

Read our COVID-19 policy

Staying active

In light of the coronavirus outbreak, maintaining a connection with the natural world is more important than ever to ensure we're taking good care of our physical and mental health and wellbeing.

It's really important to stay active and exercise where you can. Just a bit of time every day spent in nature can help relieve stress and improve mental wellbeing. This can be as simple as doing morning yoga in your own back garden! 

Many of our office-based staff are working from home and this will be the normal working practise until the current emergency passes. This may mean that the service from the main office is slower than usual, please bear with us and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. 

Click the link below for more information about how to keep yourself occupied, healthy and in touch with nature.

Keep yourself active!