Welcome to The Nature Collection!

The Nature Collection is a collection of inspirational resources, focused on British wildlife, which aim to encourage people of all ages, especially children, to look more closely at the wonderfully-rich wildlife all around us.

I am Susanna Ramsey. I have created a travelling natural history museum for British wildlife, online educational resources to explore in the classroom or at home and a range of card-based activity packs available to buy from the schools' catalogue, TTS.

Natural History Display for Primary Schools and Wildlife Events

The Nature Collection takes its name from my unique collection of natural history finds: skulls, skeletons, feathers, wings, antlers, skins, insect specimens and taxidermy. The collection celebrates the wildlife which we see every day in our gardens, parks and beside the river. It lets you study all kinds of wildlife objects close up, from all angles, inside as well as out! It shows Nature as you have never seen it before. There in front of your eyes, not in a book or on a screen! Children of all ages have an unforgettable hands-on experience!

Click here to see what is in the Nature Collection

The display highlights the beauty, colour and intricate detail of a huge variety of British mammals, birds and insects. There are deer antlers, mouse bones, owl feathers, duck wings, woodpecker feet and snake ribs. There are butterflies, bees, beetles and wasps, owl pellets, nests, mole skin, rabbit fur, a fox's tail, a stuffed hedgehog and much, much more.......

The display fills a classroom or hall, spreading over twelve large tables. Everything has been thoroughly cleaned and labelled. Most items are in acrylic cases or mounted on display boards. The collection brings to life topics in the National Curriculum, such as Adaptations, Bones, Classification, Local Wildlife, Food Webs and Habitats. There are workshops with slideshows and activity sheets, tailored to different age groups. All are brightly illustrated with photos of the animals.

Since 2010, the Nature Collection has amazed more than 26,000 children in local schools and nurseries. I have also shown the display to thousands of people at public events, for example at the London Wetland Centre, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Parks and local wildlife events.

Many exhibits in the collection have come from Richmond Park. The Royal Parks gave special permission to create this collection for educational purposes. Richmond Park's status as a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest means that visitors must not remove anything from the Park.

Colourful Web Pages on Skulls, Skeletons & Insects

Explore a stunning set of web pages created with Adobe Express. Here I share online the beauty of the animal skeletons and insects in my collection. I am a keen photographer and have created an extensive library of wildlife photos, macro images, pictures taken through my microscope and incredibly-deatiled photos created with photo stacking equipment.

Discover the amamzing beauty of Bird Skeletons and Mammal Skeletons. Follow further links at the end of these documents for Butterfly & Moth Specimens at the Natural History Museum, London, Small Mammal Skeletons and fun links for children.

Free Educational Resources with the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT)

Using my photos, knowledge and experinece gained from running workshops for over 26,000 children, I recently worked with educational experts at the PSTT to create some free, resources on UK wildlife for teachers or parents to enjoy with their children. One set is for children, aged 3-5, learning about the world around them, either in an Early Years setting or with their family at home. Click here.

These are picture-based resources which will develop childrens' knowledge of living things found in our parks, gardens, fields and hedgerows. They include Animal Dominoes, Wildlife Faces, Who Am I? slideshow, Paired Pictures for Talk and Odd One Out Activities. They can either be printed or explored on screen.

The second set of resources is for older children, age 3-11, aiming to increase their awareness of animals, plants and fungi in the UK. Again, they are picture-based, using photos of animals and exhibits in the Nature Collection. There are more Paired Pictures for Talk and Odd One Out activities, plus a set of slideshows on Mammal Skulls & Teeth, focusing on six common mammals. Click here to see these resources,

See the PSTT WOWScience blog for September 2021, about how The Nature Collection began. 'The Beauty of Bones' blog, from February 2022, explains my fascination with skeletons!

The Mammal Youth Hub: Free Resources for Home & School with the Mammal Society

Explore the Mammal Youth Hub! Here is a world of resources for the mini mammalogist or for teachers inspiring their class to delve into the wonderful world of UK mammals. The Mammal Society and I are keen to spread the word about how cool our mammals can be!

To create these resources, I worked with Derek Crawley, the lead author of the Atlas of the Mammals of Great Britain & Northern Ireland.

For the Rabbit, Badger, Hedgehog, Red Deer and Harvest mouse, there is a Fun Fact File, a Labelled Diagram, Signs Page, Quiz, Diet Sheet, Food Chain, Food Web and Video. There is also a booklet on Mammal Feet, Toes & Tracks with Activities, a Key Stage One Research Activity and some booklets on Mammal Maths.

Activity Packs with the Schools' Catalogue, TTS

For card-based resources which children can hold and work from, I have developed a range of Activity Packs with the leading educational catalogue, TTS. Click here to learn more.

The most popular products are the Food Webs pack and the ID Wheels for Birds, Mammals and Minibeasts. There are also Classification Packs for British Wildlife and Natural History, plus Playground Signboards for Birds, Mammals & Minibeasts.

The Discovery Bags for Birds, Mammals & Minibeasts contain a huge range of things to do, to discover more about our local animals on a walk or in the wildlife garden.