An estimated 1,500 people came together over the weekend to celebrate the wildlife of Hertfordshire and Middlesex. Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, in partnership with The Hertfordshire Natural History Society, hosted the Festival of Wildlife in Tarmac's Panshanger Park.

The Festival, which was opened by Tony Juniper, President of The Wildlife Trusts, and Cllr Linda Radford, Mayor of Hertford, was held to celebrate the fantastic variety of wildlife in Hertfordshire and Middlesex.

The Festival was free of charge to visitors and offered guided walks by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust experts, talks from Hertfordshire Natural History Society specialists as well as a whole host of drop-in activities. Those in attendance could go bird watching with Herts Bird Club, see the special wildlife of the beautiful Mimram River and at Panshanger Park's Forest School children were delighted to find a mud kitchen, elder bead making and bug-hotels.

Panshanger Park is an active quarry site and Tarmac, who own the park and kindly supported the Festival, offered visitors the rare chance to take a Lifecycle of a Quarry Tour. The tour took in an active quarry site and then moved on to show the outstanding restoration of past quarry sites and the array of wildlife now thriving there.

Lesley Davies, Chief Executive of Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust said: "We had a fantastic weekend at The Festival of Wildlife. We were thrilled to welcome so many new faces to a Trust event and couldn't have done it without our amazing volunteers, our partner, The Hertfordshire Natural History Society, and kind sponsorship from Tarmac. The Festival really showcased the incredible wildlife we have all around us and we hope to welcome individuals and families to many more of our future events. It was wonderful to see so many children getting close to nature."

Stuart Wykes, Director of Land & Natural Resources, Tarmac, said: "Tarmac were pleased to support Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and The Hertfordshire Natural History Society in delivering this fantastic event. We are proud of the carefully planned, award winning restoration to agriculture, wetland and nature conservation, which is still being delivered through the final stages of gravel extraction, and hope that visitors over the weekend enjoyed the beautiful surroundings of the park and will visit again soon."

Design by LTD Design Consultants and build by Garganey Consulting.