Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre
📍 Sutton Courtenay
🌿 Education Centre
💷 Paid Event
⏰ 2 - 3 hours
👣 Exploration and Learning
April 2026 · Education Centre · Event
Dipping in the pond, getting scientific about our discoveries.
SCEEC, part of the BBOWT (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) is a great place that we frequently visit for their well run, knowledgable events.
In April, we attended a pond dipping event, swishing the net carefully in the pond to see what we could find living in the secret underwater world.
Little Leopard was hoping to find a newt, as he'd seen some other children find ones here before, but this time we mainly found Mayfly and Damselfly nymphs. Luckily, we'd just watched the new Attenborough documentary so we could appreciate how special and wonderful these aquatic insects are.
One of the reasons I love going to the education centre is because it's such a font of natural knowledge. Once we'd found some wiggly wildlife, Little Leopard was given a flowchart to ID them that was more advanced than the younger children's version. We then decamped to the classroom with our insects in pots, to share what we'd found, and look at them under the microscope.
I'm so glad that we get to add this more scientific approach into our repertoire of nature exploration, helping to deepen our understanding. The guides at the centre are friendly, approachable and delighted to share their wisdom.
After the session finished, we had a picnic on the tables, and then went for a walk around the reserve.
Since it's only open to the public during events, with no dogs allowed, it's a great place to check for footprints. On our little walk, we also saw possible signs of badgers, fox poo, and heard plenty of birdsong.
Little Leopard carefully checked the traps, but there was nothing under them that day.
It's an easy place to combine with other adventures. I love a walk across the nearby Mill Brook fields, over meadows and fields towards Drayton and Sutton Courtenay. Or a short drive away is the Wittenham Clumps, Mobray Fields Nature Reserve, Steventon Woods, or Thrupp Lake.
In May we went there for a night safari event. Starting at 19.30 and ending at 22.00, Little Leopard's highlights were checking the mammal traps and meeting an adorable woodmouse that was caught in one. He also loved learning all about the pipistrelle bats, and taking a walk around the reserve, listening out for them on the bat detectors and then watching them zooming around above us.
It's an easy place to combine with other adventures. I love a walk across the nearby Mill Brook fields, over meadows and fields towards Drayton and Sutton Courtenay. Or a short drive away is the Wittenham Clumps, Mobray Fields Nature Reserve, Steventon Woods, or Thrupp Lake.
Nature Notes
Damselfly Nymph
Underwater insect hunters
Live underwater before becoming flying damselflies.
Breathe through tail gills.
Catch prey with a fast extendable jaw.
Can live as nymphs for up to 2 years.
Climb out of ponds to transform into adults.
Their empty skins are often left on reeds and pond plants.
Voracious insectivores
The most common bat in the UK.
Eats 3000 insects a day.
Hibernates through the winter.
Raises its pups in a nursery.
Can fit into a matchbox
Uses echolocation to locate its prey.
Expertly run events, letting us get scientific and detailed with our nature discoveries.
Address: Sutton Courtenay Road, Sutton Courtenay, OX14 4TE
Parking: Free parking
Opening Hours: Only during events
Entry Fee: £5 - £10pp
Website: bbowt.org.uk
