Wednesday 12 March 2008: Deer hide and wildlife trail opens in Greenwich Park

A new deer hide and wildlife trail were opened in Greenwich Park today by Nick Raynsford MP.

Available for use by local schools and wildlife groups, the hide and trail offer full disabled access and will enable visitors to observe the deer herd at close quarters.

The wildlife trail leads through a wooded area to the deer hide, which overlooks the deer enclosure, and is accessed through the Secret Garden Wildlife Centre to the south of the park.

A range of habitats has been created along the trail to encourage wildlife. Features include a stag beetle loggery; nesting boxes for bats, lacewings, and hedgehogs; hibernation boxes for butterflies; and bird boxes for robins, sparrows, wrens, and starlings. In addition, boxes designed for owls and kestrels have been put high in the trees in the deer park.

The trail also features the 'Gentle Giant,' a new wood sculpture produced by Pat Rae, The Greenwich Park Artist in Residence.

Derrick Spurr, Park Manager of Greenwich Park said: "The trail and deer hide are a real addition to the wildlife educational facilities here at Greenwich Park. This is a fantastic opportunity for children and other visitors to get a really close view of the deer and observe and learn about wildlife so near to the centre of London."

The new facilities have been made possible by the Royal Parks Foundation, the charity for The Royal Parks, in partnership with Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks and generous private individuals, with additional support from the Friends of Greenwich Park.

The hide and trail will be open to the public from 10am-3pm on the last Wednesday of each month, staffed by Royal Parks' volunteers.

For further press information or images please contact

Lucy Skipper on 020 7298 2145 or lskipper@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk or
Katy Murray on 020 7298 2128 or kmurray@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk

Notes to Editors

• Greenwich Park is home to around 30 deer, which are a mixture of both fallow and red deer.
• Deer were introduced to Greenwich Park by Henry VIII.
• Schools and wildlife groups wishing to book the hide should contact The Greenwich Park Office on 020 8858 2608.
• Popular with gardeners, Lacewings are common insects in British gardens and are easy to recognise by their transparent lace-like wings, which are nearly twice as long as the abdomen. Lacewing larvae are voracious consumers of aphids and insect eggs.
• Greenwich Park is one of eight Royal Parks. The other Royal Parks are: Bushy Park, The Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, Richmond Park and St James's Park. For more details visit: www.royalparks.org.uk
• The Royal Parks Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
• The Royal Parks Foundation is a registered charity no 1097545, committed to help protect, conserve and enhance the eight Royal Parks.