There’s a new club on the Island, and it’s got bug hotels, bird boxes, fossil hunts and a plush squirrel with your child’s name on it.
Say hello to Red Tail Rangers!
This is our brand new children’s conservation club, built for young minds who ask a lot of questions and aren’t afraid of a bit of mud.
What do Rangers actually get up to?
Perhaps the question should be: What don’t they get up to?
Fully embracing the Isle of Wight Red Squirrel Trust’s commitment to the protection and survival of our native red squirrels, their habitat, and the species that share it with them, our Red Tail Rangers will be getting up to a bit of everything…
Bird box building, bug hotel construction, pond dipping, forest walks, and beach fossil hunts (who knows, they may even make their very own dinosaur fossil discovery, this is the Isle of Wight, after all).
It’s hands-on, outdoors, and designed to turn “why is that leaf doing that?” into a genuine passion for the natural world.
Muddy hands, wide eyes, and a lot of questions, just how we like it.
Let’s Celebrate Nature!
The perks ❤️🐿️❤️
Every new Ranger gets:
- A plush squirrel on joining
- An exclusive fridge magnet
- A badge and certificate
- Priority booking on activities at no extra cost
- News and updates through a members’ online portal
- And a couple of surprises we’re not quite ready to reveal yet 😉
- Oh and did we mention? All of our Red Tail Rangers artwork has been exclusively created for us by the wonderful Axel Scheffler who is one of our Patrons!!!
Sessions run on the second Saturday of each month, 10am–1pm, at venues across the Island (some activities are weather and tide dependent, so it’s always worth a quick check beforehand).
Coming up:
| Date | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 10th October 2026 | Red Squirrel Awareness Week: woodland walk with Helen Butler | Howes Wood, Ryde, PO33 4AP |
| 14th November 2026 | Christmas Crafting with natural items | Standen House, Blackwater, Nr Newport, PO30 3BD |
| 12th December 2026 | Bird feeder wreath making workshop | Venue TBC |
Meet your Head Ranger
Simon Craddock our Head Ranger, lifelong Islander, and the man in charge of the muddy adventures.
If anyone knows the Island inside out, it’s Simon. Born and raised here, he grew up on his family’s market garden, where; by he assures us; he could out-pack his older brother on the produce line (his younger brother, meanwhile, was usually up a tree or behind the wheel of something he probably shouldn’t have been… different times!).
Simon left the Island only briefly, studying in Portsmouth and later travelling through Europe and as far as New Zealand, but eventually chose to trade stories of the Matterhorn and fairytale castles along the Danube for a quiet spot on the Lymington–Yarmouth ferry, watching home get closer. Over twenty years on, he’s still here, now a dad of four (alongside his wife Mali and one very lucky dog), and he even recently trained as an active volunteer Coast Guard, on call to help keep the Island’s coastline safe.
Simon is everything that we could have wished for in a Head Ranger, bringing exactly the kind of steady, community-rooted background that is so perfectly suited to leading a children’s club, someone who knows this Island, loves it enough to keep coming home to it, and takes looking after both people and place seriously.
We almost forgot… Some of you may even remember Simon from when he used to run the Island’s Green Gym for The Footprint Trust some years ago?
Ready to join the Rangers?
You can join now for our launch price of £30, and your membership runs right through to the end of 2027! Giving you a whole extra 3 months of membership from today.
So just to clarify, join in September, and that’s 15 months of adventures for the price of 12.
So here’s the thing: that membership end date is fixed, so the sooner you sign up, the more bonus time you get. Wait a few months, whilst it will still represent excellent value for money, you’ll simply be getting less for the same £30, so it really is worth grabbing now while the sessions on the calendar this year are effectively free.
New Rangers also get a lovely welcome bundle when they sign up, this includes: a plush red squirrel, fridge magnet, badges, and a membership certificate. This really brings a proper “welcome to the club” feeling.
It’s the perfect way to get outdoors, make new friends, and maybe even find a dinosaur bone or two.
To book, join, or find out more, email Simon at redtailrangers@iowredsquirreltrust.co.uk or call 07585 709 113.
Red Tail Rangers is a Children’s Club run by The Isle of Wight Red Squirrel Trust, dedicated to the enhancement, protection and creation of wildlife habitats through educational opportunities. Registered Charity No. 1112374.