Oxfordshire Goes Wild is the annual fun way to stir your children's curiosity about nature on their doorstep, writes PETER CANN

Next week is the fourth annual Oxfordshire Goes Wild event that aims to encourage families to enjoy the wildlife and landscape of Oxfordshire.

This popular event is organised by the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum (ONCF) and experts will be on hand to tell you about the wildlife wonders on your doorstep.

There is a wide range of activities to appeal to everyone - from six to 60-year-olds: Seeing live owls, bats, bees, butterflies, moths, and pond life Looking at spiders and creepy-crawlies under the microscope Learning about animal tracks and signs The Wild Waste Show showing what a wasteful lot we are and how we can recycle and reuse things Seeing how geology shapes Oxfordshire's landscape Playing wildlife and climate change games Trying the quiz to win yourself a microscope or wildlife books.

Cynthia Napper, of the ONCF, said: "The aim of the event is to bring Oxfordshire's variety of wildlife to the city to let families see what their natural environment is all about.

"We hope they will be so inspired that they will go and visit their local wildlife patch, or one of the wonderful nature reserves around the county this summer and perhaps get involved in nature conservation themselves."

Many of the county's nature and conservation groups will be there explaining their part in maintaining the natural environment and will provide information, advice and activities: Oxfordshire Geology Trust, Oxford Urban Wildlife Group, Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum, Pond Conservation, Shotover Wildlife, Northmoor Trust's Wildwaste Show, Rod's Owls, Wildkey computers, Climate-x-Change, Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre, Oxfordshire Bat Group and Oxfordshire Ornithological Society.

Support for Oxfordshire Goes Wild comes from Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Natural England.

There will be plenty of chance to look around the museum, too, and Chris Jarvis, of the museum, said: "Once a year Oxfordshire Goes Wild celebrates our precious natural world in a unique way and what better setting than your natural history museum."

While Craig Blackwell, the county ecologist, makes this appeal: "There's no excuse for anyone not to find out something new that's on their doorstep or maybe even get stuck in with some hands-on conservation work."

Oxfordshire Goes Wild is at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, South Parks Road, on Saturday, June 16, from is from noon to 4pm.