Surfbirds News

Special free hourly guided tours of the reserve and 'World Wetlands'
exhibit will run on Saturday 29th (although normal entry charges apply on this day), Sunday 30th and Monday 31st January. Family activities on these days include 'The Great Human Pondskater Experiment' (an attempt to mimic a pondskater and defy the laws of gravity to walk on water!), the 'Wetlands Lecture' investigating the properties of water and who lives in water, and 'The Great Pond Safari'.

Centre Manager, Stephanie Fudge, said: "Wetlands around the world serve a vital function in storing water and helping to prevent flooding, in addition to providing food and supporting diverse wildlife. With climate change heralding an increase in extreme weather events, including both floods and droughts, the importance of saving wetlands now is paramount.

We hope people will come along to the London Wetland Centre and take
advantage of the free entry to learn more about their inherent value to people and wildlife and why we must act to save them."

Wetlands are second only to rain forests for the diversity of life they support. Over half of the world's precious wetlands have been lost over the past century and, while there is still a wealth of wetland diversity around us, we must now make a concerted effort to save it - WWT will show everyone just how they can do their bit.

World Wetlands Day marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian City of Ramsar on 2 February 1971, when
governments across the world agreed to conserve and make the best
possible use of their valuable wetland resources. With 1314 designated Ramsar Sites, covering 111 million hectares world-wide, the Ramsar Convention now has 138 countries signed up so WWT's celebrations will certainly be in good company.

For more information contact Martin Senior: T 020 8409 4405
martin.senior@wwt.org.uk

or Catherine Worswick on 020 8409 4412 or catherine.worswick@wwt.org.uk