Young Rangers
Saturday 24 January 2026
Young Rangers is a wildlife club for 8 – 11 year olds who love nature and wildlife at The Nature Discovery Centre in Thatcham.
Wildlife and seasonal themed activities for children to explore and engage in the great outdoors!
Sessions last for 2 hours and are packed full of fun games and activities to teach you all about the fantastic natural world that surrounds you.
Over the course of a year, you can expect to:
Learn about wildlife including insects, plants, birds and mammals.
Complete valuable conservation work and learn how to use tools safely.
Develop bush craft skills including fire lighting and campfire cooking.
Only those booked onto the session can attend as they adhere to strict supervisory ratios.
Newcomers must complete and return the parental consent form sent out with the ticket information.
Parents are required to park in the car park and bring their child to the session leader for registration.
This club is for children only – no adults to accompany please
NB Tickets for this event close 48hrs before the start time.
Young Rangers
Dogs
Dogs are welcome on the reserve, but please keep them out of the lake.
They ask that you keep dogs under close control at all times.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome inside the visitor centre on a lead.
Facilities
NATURE DISCOVERY CENTRE
THE NATURE DISCOVERY CENTRE OFFERS A GREAT DAY OUT FOR ALL THE FAMILY
We all need nature – for clean water, food and fresh air – but nature needs us too.
Their mission is to bring about nature’s recovery by inspiring and empowering local people and partners to help bring nature back.
The Nature Discovery Centre is surrounded by a mosaic of different habitats with fantastic wildlife to see all year around, packed full of interactive wildlife and natural history displays.
There is a network of footpaths ranging from small family-friendly walks to longer paths for the more adventurous.
Surrounded by a mosaic of different habitats, there is fantastic wildlife to see all year round.
During the autumn and winter, large groups of wintering wildfowl congregate on the lake, whilst the reedbeds and surrounding woodland and hedgerows host birds like fieldfare and redwing.
In spring and summer, purpose-built rafts attract breeding common terns.
House martins, swallows and swifts are a common sight over the lake and surroundings.
In summer there are glorious displays of purple loosestrife, yellow-flag iris, reeds and sedges on the floating island, the lake shore and in the reedbeds.
All year around look out for the willow and alder around the edge of the lake, and hawthorn, blackthorn, spindle and bullace in the hedgerows.
variety of moths and butterflies can be seen, including garden tiger, butterbur, waved black, holly blue, and gatekeeper.
There are dragonflies and damselflies including beautiful and banded demoiselles, emperor and four-spotted chaser.
A range of beetles such as bloody-nosed beetle and rhinoceros beetle have been recorded on site.
Discover autumn colours, fabulous fungi and wintering wildfowl.
01635 874381
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