Field Centre and Facilities

Foxglove Covert Nature Reserve - Facilities

Foxglove Covert LNR has a purpose built Field Centre, constructed in 2002, which provides exceptional facilities for a variety of activities which will meet the requirements of most users.

The building is of "Pinelog" construction and includes a range of energy saving devices. The foyer provides a welcoming and informative introduction to the Reserve and its aims. Informal seating allows people to relax in this area and leading from it are all the main facilities - kitchen, boot room, toilets, bunk room, bird ringing room and two activity rooms. Within the foyer visitors can read about habitat and the management of the Reserve on specially designed wall panels.

A fascinating part of the foyer is the observation beehive, which allows visitors to observe the internal activities of a hive from April to October. The hive is maintained for us by the Richmond Beekeepers Association and is very popular.

The activity room can be divided to provide two classrooms seating 15 - 20 people in each. One-way viewing windows look out onto a bird garden area. There are more panels and natural history exhibits in this area allowing further study of the Reserve and its surroundings. The classrooms can be completely blacked out to facilitate presentations.

If you are a school or group looking for a venue with a wide range of facilities in which to study, then please contact us. Should you wish to hold a meeting or other event we can discuss the suitability of the Reserve for your needs. The Management Group are constantly reviewing the resources that we have available, so please contact us if you have any particular requirement for your studies or for your group.

Facilities Available

Kitchen: Fridge, 2 kettles, microwave, gas cooker, crockery, cutlery. Sink with hot and cold water.
Cloak Room: Benches and pegs for hanging clothes.
Toilets: Male, female and disabled plus 1 shower.
Bunk Room: 4 bunk beds, potential to use activity room(s) as additional sleeping rooms.
Foyer Interpretation panels, informal seating for 12. Observation beehive from late April to late September. One way viewing window looking onto the bird feeding garden. Viewing window into bird ringing room.
Activity Rooms These rooms can be used as one large room or divided to make two. A number of additional chairs can be made available.

Room 1 - 8 tables with 16 chairs and one-way viewing window looking onto bird feeding garden. An interactive panel with lift up flaps, magnifying tubes and sound buttons. Natural history specimens. Sliding window for photography.

Room 2 - 8 tables and 16 chairs. Sink with cold water. Natural history specimens, interactive panels with sound buttons on a woodland theme, cabinet of geology specimens.

Please click here to see the floor plan of the Field Centre