New nature trail at Curraghs'

A vital cash boost is supporting the creation of a new nature trail at Curraghs Wildlife Park.

Charity, the Supporters of Curraghs Wildlife Park (SCWP), has been awarded £8,500 by the Manx Lottery Trust to develop the Curragh Nature Trail.

The project aims to help visitors understand and appreciate the environmental importance of the area.

Costing almost £12,500 in total, it follows an accessible path and section of boardwalk through Curragh habitat which includes wet places with willows and Spagnum moss plus many other plants adapted to life in a wetland.

The funds will go towards creating interpretive signs explaining aspects of the area, with child-friendly images and texts as well as suggestions for related activities.

When SCWP applied for the grant, of the more expensive items listed in the application is a solar powered ‘talking bench’ where visitors can choose to listen to bird songs, a Curragh wildlife inspired poem, a farmer recalling how the land was used many years ago and information about wallabies.

One of the charity's main objectives is to make the trail interactive, and so there will be panels where children can lift flaps and turn handles to reveal information about wildlife.

Kim Etherton from SCWP says: "In addition to the generous grant awarded by Manx Lottery Trust, we are also grateful to Zurich International for providing some matched funding and to their staff who helped improve the path.

"We hope that visitors will really enjoy discovering this very special part of our biosphere and we look forward to opening the Curragh Nature Trail next May."