We had a beautiful afternoon under grey clouds at Hogacre Common Eco Park this Sunday, with Vicki Hird, who was kind enough to join us on her birthday to share her wisdom and stories from her book Rebugging the Planet.

Vicki spoke with passion about the need for us to start by rebugging our own attitudes, and normalising an interest in and care for insects.  Bugs are fascinating if you take the time to learn about them (her book covers many crazy things they do, like the African dung beetle, Scarabaeus satyrus, who navigates using the Milky Way!) and you can easily start to share the love by taking photos of creatures you spot and sharing them with others.  There are lots of things you can do in parks, gardens and green spaces, no matter how small, but how you shop and eat also has huge ramifications for our the insect world.

To find out more, grab a copy of Vicki’s book from the publisher’s website – it is also available in shops like Waterstones.  Check out her website here.

As well as getting the chance to quiz Vicki, we made use of LCWO and Hogacre’s bug kits to run around and gather some critters.  Hugh Warwick took some lovely photos, some of which are below.

If you’d like to enjoy some more insect-based fun, come along to our dusk nature walk from West Oxford to Hogacre with Nick Boyd (fire and cider at the end underneath the full moon!) on July 5, make junk butterflies with artist Lois Muddiman at West Oxford Fun Day on July 7 and come to our pollinator picnic at Kingfisher Corner on Saturday 22 July.

PS the local asparagus fritatta from Hogacre Cafe was delicious, and so, I hear, was the victoria sandwich made with local jam.  The cafe is open every Sunday though the summer.