WWT London Wetland Centre has announced a new programme of events ahead of Pride month, including storytelling with Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist and pantomime dame, Mama G, plus a ‘Queer Ecology’ walk with ecologist Connor Butler.
Taking place at WWT London Wetland Centre on 15 June, and included in the price of admission, ‘Story time with Mama G’ will see the vibrant dame tell stories to children and their families about being who you want and loving who you are. Expect original tales, songs, dancing and, of course, giggles galore.
Meanwhile, on 21 June, local ecologist and education consultant Connor Butler will be giving visitors interested in seeing nature from a new perspective the opportunity to enjoy a guided tour around WWT London Wetland Centre to explore the diverse and unusual lifecycles found in the plants and animals at the reserve.
Connor commented: “The Queer Ecology walk is for anyone curious to see nature differently and question what it really means to be ‘natural’. As an ecologist, I’ve always been baffled when people claim queerness is unnatural, because the more you look at nature, the more you realise it’s anything but rigid.
“Nature is astonishingly fluid, full of queer parallels hiding in plain sight. On this walk, we’ll encounter non-binary slugs, fungi with thousands of matin types, asexual insects, intersex woodlice, same-sex bird pairings and trees that can change sex, just to name a few.”
Alexia Hollinshead, General Manager at WWT London Wetland Centre, said: “Wetland nature shows how much beauty can be found in diversity, and we’re much better placed to stand up for nature when we stand together to embrace and encourage this.
“Although we are this year marking Pride month with these new events, we believe that celebrating diversity shouldn’t just be for one month of the year and so we’re proud to have more events scheduled throughout the rest of this year, including a cyanotype printing workshop in July and another Queer Ecology Walk in September.”
