Watch out(side)! Over the past week many of you will have started following the BBC’s Springwatch on TV — a marvellous celebration of some of the best of British wildlife.

And perhaps it has inspired you to get out of the house and catch some of the sights, sounds and smells of the great outdoors for yourselves as we move into summer?

You don’t have to venture far — you can even have a great ‘Springwatch moment’ in your own garden, especially if you have put up bird or bat boxes, or got a fish-free garden pond for frogs, toads and newts.

To increase your chances of a really special encounter with wildlife, why not visit your local nature reserve? It is a great, free day out for all the family and often you will take away magical memories that will last a lifetime.

Perhaps Simon King and his team should have headed over to BBOWT’s College Lake Nature Reserve for his Springwatch challenge to film polecats. A polecat family recently took up residence, just in front of one of the hides, and the incredibly cute kits were born only days ago.

Springwatch stars In Oxfordshire, BBOWT manages 30 nature reserves. So, wherever you are in the county you are bound to be close to one of our oases for wildlife, where you too can join in with the Springwatch challenges to spot British wildlife stars. At our Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve, watch out for barn owls flying at dusk. These ghostly-white owls can often be seen gliding silently through the fading light, hunting for voles and other small mammals over these flower-rich meadows.

The wardens will be leading guided walks around this beautiful reserve during the summer, including evening walks when you may see these charismatic birds.

Our woodland nature reserves such as Warburg, Foxholes and Sydlings Copse are great places to find another one of the Springwatch cast — badgers.

Joining an organised event is one of the best ways to catch a glimpse of these nocturnal snufflers. Your best bet is to wait quietly near a badger sett as it gets dark, and if you are lucky, you will see them emerge from the burrows.

You might spot this year’s youngsters too, who start exploring the outside world from May.

A close encounter BBOWT events are unmissable opportunities to get closer to nature and learn more about the natural world.

And during The Wildlife Trusts’ Wildlife Weeks — our annual celebration of local nature — there is plenty happening.

Entertain the kids with bug hunts in the ‘jungle at your feet’ or pond dipping.

You can also head to our environmental education centre at Sutton Courtenay, near Didcot, for fun open days during the school holidays. Find out what’s on by visiting www.bbowt.org.uk or calling 01865 775476, and, if you join us, you will regularly receive our events programme and magazine to keep you up-to-date with your local wildlife.

BBOWT events l 13 Jun The jungle at your feet, Wolvercote l 13 Jun History and wildlife walk at Chimney, nr Bampton l 18 Jun Evening walk at Chimney Meadows, nr Bampton l 20 Jun Come badger watching near Oxford l 21 Jun Summer walk at Chimney Meadows, nr Bampton l 05 Jul Family fun at Chimney Meadows, nr Bampton l 07 Jul Evening walk at Chimney Meadows, nr Bampton l 08 Jul Bees in your garden, Grove l 11 Jul Butterfly walk at Warburg, nr Henley-on-Thames l 11 Jul Summer walk at Chimney, nr Bampton l 25 Jul Sounds like summer, nr Stokenchurch, Oxon l 26 Jul Wildflowers in Wytham Woods, nr Oxford l 01 Aug Summer fair, Abingdon l 13 Aug Access for all at Chimney Meadows, nr Bampton l 15 Aug Morning birdwatching at Farmoor, nr Oxford l 16 Aug Walk at Shirburn Hill, nr Watlington, l 16 Aug Pond discovery day, Charlbury l 23 Aug Summer walk at Chimney, nr Bampton l 24 Aug Pirate’s paradise at SCEEC, nr Didcot For details of all events see www.bbowt.org.uk or call 01865 775476