The North Thamesmead urban wilderness, which was recently named as the UK’s first Zoöp, is hosting Zoöpcamp this weekend. The event includes a series of outdoor activities to celebrate International Dawn Chorus Day.
Zoöpcamp is being organised by Three Rivers Bexley – a community arts and ecology organisation supported by Peabody – and the Friends of Tump 39 voluntary group. Together, they are transforming the former Royal Arsenal munitions site into a haven for arts and ecology.
Scott Burrell, Director of Three Rivers, said: “Zoöpcamp is a great opportunity for the local community to gather together and get closer to the wide range of nature that’s on their doorsteps in Thamesmead.
“For anyone who hasn’t been to Tump 39 yet, it’s a chance to meet their neighbours, both human and non-human!”
The programme starts at 3pm this Saturday 2 May, when alternative sanitation co-op Compost Mentis leads a DIY soil-testing workshop. Participants will help to unearth memories of the past hidden in the soil of Tump 39.
Attention will then turn to bats, with Flittermouse Frequencies starting at 6pm. Tump 39’s Speaker for the Living, ornithological investigator J D Swann, will lead an evening of bat detecting as visitors tune into the incredible frequencies of the creature once known as the flittermouse. The session will finish with a free vegetarian meal and marshmallows around the campfire.
Members of Friends of Tump 39 will then settle into their sleeping bags for the sleepover, before waking to the unique soundtrack of the dawn chorus at Tump 39, plus a special breakfast.
JD Swann will also livestream the dawn chorus for those who can’t join the sleepover.
Zoöpcamp is free and open to everyone, but booking is required. Attendees must become members of Friends of Tump 39 to sleep over at the site. Children aged under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
