KIDS OUT. AT MARWELL ZOO.

Wed, Jun 12th 2019 at 12:00 am -

George organised and with his team from New Forest Rotary took 14 disadvantaged children with three members of staff from Abbotswood Junior School to Marwell Zoo.

"Every June, the Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, together with KidsOut, take over 25,000 disadvantaged children on a fun day out. The children visit the seaside, theme parks, adventure playgrounds and zoos, giving them all wonderful memories to cherish for a lifetime. This year, New Forest Rotarians George and Anne Stephens, Dave Smith and Christine Brown accompanied 14 disadvantaged children with 3 members of staff from Abbotswood Junior School to Marwell Zoo.

The children were very excited to start the day with a train ride around part of the site, which enabled us to see a variety of animals.

We attended a talk about the life of giraffes whilst watching them browsing. All the adults were impressed with the way the children listened and asked appropriate questions.

Our visit included the Tropical House, which gave us the opportunity to encounter a diversity of wildlife and exotic plants in a tropical climate. It was interesting to have birds flying free within the exhibit.

The children generally struggle to decide on a favourite experience. Lunch and ice creams always go down well, as does the adventure playground, but this year BRICKOSAURS, a prehistoric experience featuring a total of 50 sculptures built with LEGO bricks, as well as a base camp with huge pits of Lego, was a great hit!

The day ended with a shower of rain but the sighting of a snow leopard on the way back to the minibus distracted everyone from the weather."

George and Anne

'What We Do' Main Pages:

TREASURE FOR THE HONEYPOT

Some of the treasure with Viv from Honeypot and our George.

'Treasure gathered by our Rotary Club from Rotarians, schools and scouts for children who are carers for their loved ones.

A splendid day out for children organised by Rotary

Supported by New Forest Rotary the Annual Gateway Games at Brockenhurst College attracted over 40 competitors with learning difficulties. Eastleigh won with New Milton 'M Chicks' winning the annual Rotary trophy for team spirit.