The walks are seasonal, with one for every month of the year, and cover a wide range of topics from signs of spring and fascinating fungi to tree folklore and wellbeing in nature. The walks can be accessed online on the Ulster Wildlife website and on-site.

Each walk takes around 30 minutes on easy, accessible paths, covering just over a mile in distance. Crafted as circular routes, each walk starts and finishes at the entrance.

Dawn Patterson, Community Engagement Officer at Bog Meadows Nature Reserve, said the walks grew out of an increasing demand.

“We are regularly inundated with requests to take groups on guided nature walks around the nature reserve, but unfortunately, we cannot facilitate every request,” she said.

“These walks provide a flexible opportunity for individuals, families, schools, youth or community groups to visit in their own time and discover the diversity of wildlife that calls Bog Meadows home.”

“The tricky part was narrowing down what to include!” added Alesha Doyle, former trainee at Bog Meadows Nature Reserve, who helped to research and develop the walks.

“Bog Meadows Nature Reserve truly is an urban oasis, and these walks only scratch the surface of the wonderful wildlife that call this place home.” 

With research by the Mental Health Foundation reporting that 65% of people find being near water is their favourite part of nature and improves their mental wellbeing, the local nature conservation charity hopes the walks will provide a host of health benefits too.

“As well as learning more about local wildlife, we hope people will experience the physical, mental and emotional wellness that comes with spending time in this beautiful blue and green urban oasis, connecting and engaging with nature,” Dawn continued.  

May’s self-guided walk explores the summer birds which visit the nature reserve from swallows to swifts and can be accessed by scanning the QR code at the entrance or by visiting www.ulsterwildlife.org/bog-meadows-walks