A free festival celebrating the beauty of the River Waveney will take place this weekend.

The Earsham Wetland Centre are hosting the Waveney Wildlife festival to showcase the array of projects they have been working on, from conservation work on the river, to litter picks and clear outs, as well as restoration projects of wild flower meadows, breeding projects of rare birds, hand-rearing orphaned animals, and amphibian and reptile population monitoring.

Earsham has been home to a collection of native wildlife and rare breed farm animals since 1976.

The Earsham Wetland Reserve is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna that occupy the mosaic of ponds, scrapes, ditches, lakes, and the half mile of river frontage on the River Waveney.

Beccles & Bungay Journal: Rowan and Maddie were checking to see if Teddy, Ernie and Bert our Mini Donkeys were ready to see everyone again on Saturday.Rowan and Maddie were checking to see if Teddy, Ernie and Bert our Mini Donkeys were ready to see everyone again on Saturday. (Image: Archant)

Ben Potterman, from the Earsham Wetland Centre, said: "Our aim from hosting the festival is we want people to come out and enjoy themselves for free and appreciate the beauty of the setting and the wonders of nature, the river gets lots of bad press due to pollution in some areas but we work tremendously hard to maintain our section of the river and it fills us with great pride what we do.

"Even if the river isn't of interest to you, we have donkeys for people to cuddle, deer and horses to stroke, vowels, insect surveys, fish surveys, the best wild flower meadows I have ever seen, you will be amazed by thousands of pink Lythrum flowers and the hundreds of bees and butterflies that are feeding on them.

Beccles & Bungay Journal: One of the Wetland Centre's restoration projects of a meadow of wildflowers.One of the Wetland Centre's restoration projects of a meadow of wildflowers. (Image: Archant)

"Also there is delicious Dabbawalla Indian Street food for guests to try, Boston Travelling Tea Party serving refreshments and Paravanni's Ice Cream to cool you down.

"It would be great to have as many visitors as possible," he said.

Beccles & Bungay Journal: Poster to event.Poster to event. (Image: Archant)

The festival commences at 10am Saturday, July 30, and finishes at 4pm.

To read more about the projects the Otter Trust do at the Earsham Wetland Centre and Dickleburgh Moor visit their website: https://www.theottertrust.org.