Free wildlife talks across Cambridgeshire

Turning wildlife lovers into wildlife helpers.

We’re a Soham charity giving free, interactive talks to schools, Brownie and Rainbow units, care homes and community groups, so more people know exactly what to do when a wild animal needs help.

Book a free talk Found an animal?
  • £0 cost to your group
  • 50+ schools and groups say thanks
  • 1175171 registered charity
A Cambridgeshire Wildlife Care talk in a primary classroom: wildlife photos are held up as children put their hands up to answer
A tiny hoglet curled up asleep in a hand-knitted pouch, cupped in someone’s hands
Hoglet baby hedgehog

“It was amazing!”

An 8-year-old reviewer, Soham Home Education Group, July 2026

Thank-you notes from

  • Moulton Primary School
  • 1st Hilton Brownies
  • Soham Lodge Care Home
  • Highfield Ely Academy
  • Cherry Hinton Primary School
  • Waterbeach Guides
  • Bottisham Primary School
  • Littleport Connections Cafe
  • Exning Primary School
  • Sawtry Rainbows
  • Great Heath Academy, Mildenhall
  • Cambridge Manor Care Home
  • Isleham Primary School
  • 2nd Girton Brownies
  • Stretham Primary School
  • Burwell Day Centre
  • Cambridge Steiner School
  • Weatheralls Primary School
  • 1st Ely Lantern Beavers
  • St Ives Rainbows
  • Beck Row Primary Academy
  • Stilton CofE Primary School

Educate, advocate, collaborate

Three words on our logo. One simple aim.

More people who know how to help wildlife, and when to leave it be.

  1. Educate

    Free, interactive talks for schools, youth groups, care homes and community groups, pitched for every age from preschoolers to care home residents.

    See our talks

  2. Advocate

    Clear, practical advice for anyone who finds an animal in trouble, including the many times it doesn’t need rescuing at all.

    Get advice now

  3. Collaborate

    We point people to licensed rescue centres, vets and specialist groups, and give financial support to local wildlife rescues.

    How donations help

Free talks

Talks that turn curiosity into care

Our co-founder and charity manager, Tara Livermore, brings photos and stories of the wild animals she has cared for. Every session is lively, interactive and pitched to your group. And it’s free.

Request a date

  • Schools and preschools

    Early Years to Key Stage 2, plus holiday clubs. Teachers say talks fit neatly with science, “people who help us” topics and forest school.

  • Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Beavers

    Lively, hands-up sessions with animal actions. Brownie units have used them to complete their Animal Helper interest badge.

  • Care homes and day centres

    Gentle, fascinating sessions full of photos, stories and questions about the countryside right outside the window.

  • Community groups and clubs

    Cafés, libraries, clubs and home education groups. Practical advice on helping wildlife in your own garden.

Four children’s drawings titled Help the Hedgehogs, one reading: put out some food and water
“Help the Hedgehogs!” pictures drawn by pupils.

What your group takes away

  • How to tell when a wild animal needs help, and when to leave it be
  • Baby animal names, from hoglets and leverets to cygnets and goslings
  • How to tell look-alikes apart, like rabbits and hares
  • Simple ways to help wildlife at home and at school
  • Plenty of time for questions, plus animal actions and a quiz
Book a free talk Try a taste of a talk

Try a taste of a talk

Myth or fact? Five things our talks teach

Children at our talks often go home and teach the grown-ups. How would you do?

Question 1 of 5

A baby bird hopping about on the ground has been abandoned.

In their words

“Everyone learnt something (even the teachers)”

More than 50 schools, units, care homes and groups have written to thank us. Here are a few.

Tara spoke at the correct level for the class, acknowledging and respecting their knowledge, and sensitively correcting any misconceptions. I think I can say that everyone (including the adults in the room) learnt something new. I would happily recommend a visit for other schools.

Emma, Year 4 TeacherMoulton Primary School, July 2026

The wildlife talk was so interesting and so lovely, the residents were all very intrigued with some having lots of questions!

Care AssistantSoham Lodge Care Home, September 2025

I have had some lovely comments from parents saying how their daughters were full of it when they got home, wanting to put small, shallow bowls of water outside with stones in for hedgehogs and insects.

Julie, Tawny Owl1st Hilton Brownies, June 2026

The class really enjoyed it and stayed focused for the whole hour, which is a real testament to how you engaged with them.

Department LeaderHighfield Ely Academy, June 2026

They especially enjoyed the actions you taught them for the dancing/running weasels, and have turned this into a game we now play most weeks.

Group LeaderGood Shepherd Rainbows, February 2026

The picture of the tiny hedgehog (or should I say hoglet) next to the £2 coin really brought into perspective just how tiny they really are to begin with.

Year 1 TeacherPaddocks Primary School, February 2026

Where we’ve been

From Stilton to Mildenhall

Thank-you notes have come from 28 towns and villages across Cambridgeshire and West Suffolk, all mapped from our home in Soham.

Beck Row, Bottisham, Burwell, Cambridge, Ely, Exning, Fordham, Girton, Hilton, Histon, Isleham, Landbeach, Little Downham, Little Thetford, Littleport, Mildenhall, Moulton, Newmarket, Ramsey, Sawtry, Soham, St Ives, Stilton, Stretham, Swaffham Bulbeck, Swaffham Prior, Waterbeach and Wilburton.

Map of places that have sent thank-you notes for a talk28 towns and villages around Soham, from Stilton and Sawtry in the west to Mildenhall and Beck Row in the east. Rings mark every 10 kilometres from Soham.Beck Row: Beck Row Primary AcademyBottisham: Bottisham Primary School, MHA Queens Court Residential HomeBurwell: Burwell Day CentreCambridge: Cherry Hinton Primary School, Cambridge Manor Care Home, Cambridge Steiner School, Heathlands House Care Home, Brookes CambridgeEly: Highfield Ely Academy, Ely Brownies, 1st Ely Lantern Beavers, Express EAQ ElyExning: Exning Primary SchoolFordham: Fordham Brownies, 1st Fordham Rainbows, Fordham PreschoolGirton: 2nd Girton BrowniesHilton: 1st Hilton BrowniesHiston: 2nd Histon Brownies, 1st Histon Brownies and GuidesIsleham: Isleham Primary School, Isleham PreschoolLandbeach: Beach BabiesLittle Downham: Busy Fingers PreschoolLittle Thetford: Little Thetford CofE Primary SchoolLittleport: Littleport Connections Cafe, Stepping Stones Pre-school, Littleport LibraryMildenhall: Great Heath AcademyMoulton: Moulton Primary SchoolNewmarket: 6th Newmarket Brownies, Newmarket Rainbows, Houldsworth Valley Primary AcademyRamsey: Little Deers ChildcareSawtry: Sawtry RainbowsSt Ives: St Ives RainbowsStilton: Stilton CofE Primary SchoolStretham: Stretham Primary SchoolSwaffham Bulbeck: Swaffham Prior and Swaffham Bulbeck SchoolsSwaffham Prior: Swaffham Prior and Swaffham Bulbeck SchoolsWaterbeach: 1st Waterbeach Rainbows, Waterbeach GuidesWilburton: Wilburton Primary School Holiday Club, Beach BabiesSoham, our home: Soham Home Education Group, Weatheralls Primary School, Soham Lodge Care Home, Soham Phoenix Club, Soham Community Group, St Andrew’s Primary SchoolSohamOur homeElyCambridgeNewmarketStiltonMildenhallSt IvesLittleportRamseySawtryHiltonBurwellRings every 10 km

Book a talk

Bring wildlife to life for your group

Tell us a little about your group and Tara will be in touch to find a date that works.

  • Free of charge, always
  • Pitched to your group’s ages and needs
  • Schools, preschools, youth groups, care homes and community groups

Prefer to talk it through?

Call 07977 320320 or email info@cambswildlifecare.org.uk

Request your free talk

We’ll only use your details to arrange your talk. Privacy policy

Found an animal?

Found a wild animal that needs help?

Please note: we no longer take in animals or birds. Follow the steps below, then contact a wildlife rescue centre or your local vet.

  1. Check it really needs help

    Many young animals are left alone on purpose and are better off with their parents. Choose your animal below to find out.

  2. Keep it safe and calm

    Use a secure box or pet carrier lined with a towel. Cover it, keep it somewhere warm, dark and quiet, and handle it as little as possible.

  3. Get expert help

    Find your nearest wildlife rescue centre on the Help Wildlife directory, or call your local vet.

    Find a rescue near you (opens in a new tab)

Never put yourself in danger, for example on roads or near water. Don’t handle deer, foxes, badgers or larger birds: call a rescue centre, the RSPCA or a vet for advice.

What have you found?

It needs help if

It’s out in daylight, especially if it’s wobbly, lying on its side, “sunbathing” or looks unwell. Get help fast for injuries, flies, or clumps like tiny grains of rice around its eyes, ears, mouth or bottom (flystrike).

Watch first if

It’s May to October and it’s an active, healthy-looking mum. Nursing mothers sometimes feed by day, and her babies can’t survive without her.

What to do

  • Pick it up with a towel or gardening gloves.
  • Put it in a box lined with newspaper and a towel, with a secure lid. Hedgehogs are very good climbers.
  • Keep it somewhere warm and dark, offer a shallow dish of water, and call a rescue centre or vet. Vets give wildlife first aid and pain relief free of charge.
A hedgehog walking through grass
Read our full advice on birds mammals general care

Help at home

Make your patch wildlife-friendly

Gardens, school grounds and allotments can all be lifelines. There’s plenty we can all do to help local wildlife stay safe and thrive.

This month

Bonfire season: hedgehogs sleep in log and leaf piles. Move your pile before you light it.

  1. Make a hedgehog highway

    Hedgehogs can travel up to a mile a night. Cut a 13cm (5in) square at the bottom of a fence panel or two.

  2. Put out water

    A shallow dish helps, especially in hot weather. Add a few stones for insects.

  3. Feed hedgehogs well

    Meaty cat or dog food in jelly, or meat-flavoured cat biscuits.

  4. Check before you strim

    Look through long grass, wild patches and leaf piles before mowing, strimming or raking.

  5. Check bonfire piles

    Move the pile before you light it, in case something is sleeping inside.

  6. Keep netting off the ground

    Animals get caught in it. Cover drains and holes, and add ramps to ponds and cattle grids.

  7. Clean bird tables weekly

    Give tables and baths a wash once a week to stop disease spreading.

  8. Go a little wild

    Leave a wild patch, a log pile or a mini pond (even a sunken washing-up bowl), with a ramp out.

Two members of the Cambridgeshire Wildlife Care team releasing ducks from a pet carrier into the water
Three young hedgehogs snuggled together on a towel

Our story

From rescue room to classroom

Based in Soham, near Ely, Cambridgeshire Wildlife Care was co-founded by Tara Livermore and Dinah Northfield, and became a registered charity in 2017. For years, the team nursed injured and orphaned hedgehogs, ducklings, rabbits and garden birds back to health, then released them where they belonged.

Today we no longer take animals in. Instead, we share everything that work taught us: in classrooms, Brownie meetings and care homes, through clear advice for anyone who finds an animal in trouble, and through financial support for local wildlife rescues.

“They have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and the empathy and passion that they show towards wildlife in need is incredible.”

Nicola, July 2020
2017
Registered as a charity
28
Towns and villages have sent thank-you notes
£0
Cost of a talk to your group

Run by Tara Livermore, co-founder and charity manager, and our trustees: Dinah Northfield (chair and co-founder), Ellie Walliker and Clare Hetherington.

Support us

Help us to help them

We receive no government funding. Your gift pays for free talks, advice for anyone who finds an animal in trouble, and grants to local wildlife rescues.

  • Registered charity 1175171
  • Recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid
  • No trustee is paid
  • Reporting up to date with the Charity Commission
Friends of Cambs Wildlife Care badge

Become a Friend of CWC

Give monthly and get our twice-yearly newsletter, plus a few treats.

Buying for a wildlife lover? A Friends membership makes a thoughtful gift. Just let us know when you sign up and we’ll personalise it.

Become a Friend

  • £5 a month

    • Welcome email
    • Twice-yearly newsletter

  • £10 a month

    • Welcome pack and certificate
    • Twice-yearly newsletter
    • Personalised Christmas card

  • £20 a month

    • Welcome pack and certificate
    • RSPB ‘Spotlight on Hedgehogs’ book
    • Twice-yearly newsletter
    • Personalised Christmas card
    • Annual CWC calendar

£300raised your way in a year, solo or as a group

Become a CWC Ambassador

Bake, run, declutter or dream up something wonderfully wacky. Raise £300 in a year, on your own or as a group, and we’ll back you with posters, social media shout-outs and ideas.

Email Tara to find out more

Questions

Good to know

Can’t see your answer? Call 07977 320320 or email info@cambswildlifecare.org.uk.

Do you still take in injured animals?

No. We no longer take in animals or birds. If you’ve found one, follow our quick advice, then use the Help Wildlife directory to find your nearest rescue centre, or contact your local vet.

How much does a talk cost?

Nothing. Our talks are free for schools, preschools, youth groups, care homes and community groups.

Who are your talks for?

Everyone from preschoolers to care home residents. We visit schools, holiday clubs, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Beavers, care homes, day centres, libraries, cafés and community groups, and pitch each session to the group in front of us.

Can a talk help with Brownie or Rainbow badges?

Yes. Brownie units have used our talks to complete their Animal Helper interest badge. Tell us what your unit is working on when you book.

Where do you visit?

We’re based in Soham, near Ely. Thank-you notes have come from 28 towns and villages, from Stilton and Sawtry to Mildenhall and Newmarket.

How are donations used?

We receive no government funding. Donations pay for free talks, information and advice for the public, and financial support for local wildlife rescues.

Are you a registered charity?

Yes. We’re a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered with the Charity Commission since October 2017 (number 1175171), and recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid.

Who’s ready to learn about hoglets, leverets and cygnets?

Book a free, interactive wildlife talk for your class, unit, care home or community group.

Book a free talk Call 07977 320320