It’s time to celebrate all things marine! Every year the UK comes together to celebrate National Marine Week, a week for us to explore sea animals and plants from Saturday 24th July to Sunday 8th August.
Our seas are home to over half of all our wildlife each contributing to flood management and water purification, and provide the oxygen for every other breath you take!
Fun family Marine activities to get your children involved:
Rock-pooling – In the UK we’re never more than 70 miles from the sea! Enjoy a family day out rock pooling and exploring the different creatures you may find. From teeny crabs to starfish, grab a net and bucket and see what you can identify using this handy guide.
Beach clean – Pollution is a huge problem across our coastline, the National Trust have a range of beach clean events throughout the UK. This is a great way to encourage your children to ensure their rubbish is put in the bin, and to showcase the impact it has on our marine wildlife - https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lists/pitch-in-with-a-beach-clean
Sensory play - Sensory play is a wonderful way for children to interact with the world around them. Willow and Wild organic have a fantastic ‘Sharing a Shell Sensory Play & Book Set’ This lovely sea themed set includes Sharing a Shell book by Julia Donaldson and sensory play items so you can create a play tray and read along with the book.
What's included:
- Lanke Kade sea creature or fish
- Bag of Yellow sand
- Tub of turquoise rice
- Shells
- Wooden sea themed cut outs
- Resin Starfish
- Sharing a Shell Book
- Cotton drawstring bag
Or choose our The Snail and the Whale sensory play set with the book by Julia Donaldson & Alex Scheffler – a wonderful story of a snail who hitches a ride with a whale and they head off to see the world.
- Large 160g mixed blues sensory dough tin scented with Sage and sea salt
- Large whale cutter
- Wooden block snail dough stamp
- Shells
- Glass beads
Whatever you get up to, we’d love to see your photos! Share them with us online by using #willowandwildbox or tagging @willowandwildbox