BIRDWORLD staff had a great time as they celebrated Minibeast Safari Week at the 26-acre park.

This is a national initiative also known as the Big Bug Bonanza which is run by BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) to raise awareness of the importance of invertebrate life in ecosystems and to encourage positive behaviours towards invertebrates.

Throughout the week, the Birdworld education team along with staff from Merrist Wood College carried out lots of additional activities for visitors including ‘Guess the Butterfly’, bug classification tasks and even holding different species such as the giant African snail.

Visitors could all take part in bug-themed arts and crafts, raise money for the Birdworld Conservation Fund with games and follow a specially-designed creepy crawly activity trail.

The keepers also carried out their regular daily talks and shows such as penguin and pelican feeding and of course Birdworld’s famous outdoor flying display.

Mark Anderson, park general manager at Birdworld, said: “We were very excited to host another fantastic Minibeast Safari Week this year at Birdworld.

“Our education team had a great time in hosting a multitude of creepy-crawly activities for our visitors to enjoy. ”