Wildlife presenter Chris Packham shares infectious enthusiasm with children during primary school visit

By Ben Fitzgerald - 22 June 2017

Education

Wildlife campaigner Chris Packham paid a visit to Robert Le Kyng Primary School today, where he shared his passion for preserving our natural world.

The Springwatch presenter was also visiting the school to present awards to two pupils, eight-year-olds Hannah and Megan, who were winner and runner-up in a story competition.

The event was organised by Camping in the Forest, which runs 16 campsites in secluded forest locations in the UK, with the support of the Bumble Bee preservation trust.

Addressing the whole school, Chris spoke of his early fascination with wildlife.

“I was lucky because my parents let me keep a load of different pets. These were not the normal sort of pets that you might get from a pet shop, but things like lizards, snakes, owls, foxes and badgers. I wouldn’t recommend it now, these animals are very difficult to keep.

“I love to see things out in the wild now.”

©Calyx Picture Agency

When questioned by the children he said he had a particular fondness for birds, especially Sparrow Hawks and Peregrine Falcons. And he also admitted loving grass snakes, despite their habit of defensively defecating on themselves when they feel threatened.

Presenting awards to Hannah and Megan, he said: “We are very worried about bees, we should have 22 types of bumble bee but we only have eight now. We are keen to get young people thinking about these issues and that is why I’m keen to support Camping in the Forest who launched this story competition.

“I think that Hannah and Megan did a fantastic job and learned a lot about bees and how to look after them. It was really hard to choose a winner but I liked the way Hannah introduced the idea of pollination, honey production and food consumption. And both of them had handwriting that is a lot better than mine!”

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