PICTURES: Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden open day

Eight different species were recorded at the Big Butterfly Open Day in Worthing on Saturday.
Paul Robards, left and Brian Day in Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden. Picture: Derek Martin DM17735023aPaul Robards, left and Brian Day in Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden. Picture: Derek Martin DM17735023a
Paul Robards, left and Brian Day in Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden. Picture: Derek Martin DM17735023a

It is a great result for Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden, as one of its main purposes is to be a habitat for butterflies.

Many other creatures were found and investigated on the day during the children’s bug hunt.

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Nathalie Hadjifotiou, from the garden team, said: “It was a very good day. We had 80-odd people come, which is twice as many as in previous years, and 17 of them were children.

Richard Battson talking to Deirdre Mangan, Whittaker Mangan, eight, and Cassie Mangan, four. Photo by Derek Martin DM17735018aRichard Battson talking to Deirdre Mangan, Whittaker Mangan, eight, and Cassie Mangan, four. Photo by Derek Martin DM17735018a
Richard Battson talking to Deirdre Mangan, Whittaker Mangan, eight, and Cassie Mangan, four. Photo by Derek Martin DM17735018a

“The children really enjoyed themselves. They were looking at stuff from the pond, like snails, millipedes and beetles. We prefer to take the water out and let them look at it, rather than allow them to do pond dipping, as a lot of them are really small.

“We were using a sweep net as well this time, so we got some flying insects and crickets. Some of the children stayed for at least a couple of hours, they were so enthralled by it.

“We recorded eight different species of butterfly, which is quite a good count for one small area. One of the purposes of the garden is to be a habitat for them and the weather was just perfect for them to come out.

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“It was quite a mix of ages, not only the children, but people in their 20s and 30s, up to pensioners. People brought different generations - one group had all the family.

Sheena Bryant with daughter Lily, three. Photo by Derek Martin DM17735030aSheena Bryant with daughter Lily, three. Photo by Derek Martin DM17735030a
Sheena Bryant with daughter Lily, three. Photo by Derek Martin DM17735030a

“Many people came from Broadwater but there were others from around Worthing and from Sompting, Lancing and Southwick.”

Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden is a voluntary organisation, licensed by Worthing Homes to manage the site, which is off Carnegie Road in Worthing.

The next open day will be A Fruity Feast of Wildlife on Saturday, September 3, from 12pm to 4pm, which will give people the chance to see the food plants in the garden as the hips and haws will be out.