 Children's Mini Mile
Is your child a keen runner? If so, there are plenty of spaces left at the Children's Mini Mile which takes place at Cantley Park on Sunday 27 February at 10.15am.
There are medals for all finishers and awards for ages four to five, six to seven, eight to nine and ten to eleven year olds. Parents are welcome to run with their children on the route and children under eight must be accompanied by an adult.
To book your child's place, visit the Wokingham Mini Mile website.
Spectators
Residents are welcome to come along, show their support and watch the race events including the sold out Wokingham Half Marathon. If you are planning on watching, why not visit our local shops in the town and grab a cuppa too
 Ashridge Meadow
Looking for something to do with the kids this February half-term? Why not visit one of our lovely nature parks. This week's nature park spotlight, we are in North Wokingham at Ashridge Meadow.
This beautiful 10-hectare green space can be found to the north of the Eldridge Park development, off Bell Foundry Lane.
It has two wildlife ponds, both featuring a timber viewing deck and informal seating areas which allow visitors to enjoy the stunning landscape, reed beds and local flora and fauna.
There's also a picturesque wildflower meadow with species including daisies, buttercups and cowslip in the summer, as well as the "mound" - a raised area offering views of the whole park with benches, landscaped beds, a tunnel of woven willow and specially created wildlife habitats.
Families can stroll along the 2.3km footpath which winds around the site and includes two wooden bridges crossing the Emm Brook with a third crossing one of the ponds. There are several shortcuts for those seeking a shorter walk.
Entrance is off Bingham Drive and Eldridge Avenue.
Ashridge Meadow is one of many public green spaces measuring some 120 hectares, or more than 170 football pitches, created across Wokingham borough as a result of our strategic approach to development
 Wild sessions are back
During the Easter holidays in April we are running four activities per day, two per session (morning and afternoon), to give your youngsters a range of different adventurous activities.
Our activities include water sports, such as stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), kayaking or giant SUPs on the beautiful Black Swan Lake. These will be running alongside our exciting land activities including climbing, archery and learning survival skills!
New to 2022 we have introduced fencing so young people can learn the art of swordsmanship and etiquette.
You can view and book onto the Easter, May and Summer holiday programmes via the website. Make sure you check the schedule to join the activities you want. Whatever the activity we will deliver a fun and safe session to keep your young people entertained during the summer holidays.
 On the water at Dinton Pastures
From April you can hire a range of pedalos, paddleboards, canoes, single and double kayaks, during the weekends or everyday during school holidays 11am to 5pm, starting from £8 for half an hour!
With 94 acres of lake there's plenty of space to enjoy the sunshine at a safe distance from others.
To find out and book ahead, visit the Dinton Pastures Country Park webpage.
 Sailing courses
Does your young person want to learn how to sail? Or perhaps improve on their skills outside of sailing courses?
Dinton Pastures Country Park run courses for sailors of all levels, as well as after school and weekend clubs. This is a great opportunity to practice and consolidate skills between lessons.
The courses offered are RYA Junior Sailing Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4.
To find out more or sign up, please visit the Dinton Pastures Junior and Teen sailing club webpage.
 Volunteers plant hazel trees at Keephatch Meadow
This month, the Countryside team were helped by volunteers from the Mohanji ACT Foundation at Keephatch Meadows in Wokingham.
The group worked together to plant over 200 hazel trees in a small clearing behind existing established trees, in order to extend the woodland habitat and reinstate trees where there was once ancient woodland.
Each of the saplings was planted with a protective tree tube and stake, repurposed from previous planting projects on the site, and surrounded with a ring of bark mulch to give them the best chance of surviving and growing into healthy trees.
Keephatch Meadows is a nature park, located on Binfield Road in Wokingham. The site consists of three ponds, areas of open meadow, ancient woodland, and newly planted trees, and has a rough-surfaced path meandering through around the site. There is plenty of car parking for visitors, with benches around the site.
If you would like to get involved in the countryside volunteer programme, visit our website.
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