Wildlife broadcaster Helen Skelton opens a brand new duck pond in London to celebrate the release of Illumination’s Migration
To celebrate the release of Illumination’s Migration in cinemas tomorrow, February 2nd, Universal Pictures is delighted to announce the opening of an accessible wildlife pond, built in partnership with London Wildlife Trust.
Beloved broadcaster and Countryfile presenter Helen Skelton was the first to experience this brand new, fully-accessible installation at Walthamstow Wetlands today. Opening it for visitors at the east London nature reserve, Helen said: “It’s amazing to see the development of this new fully accessible pond and I hope it gets loads of young explorers excited about all the natural life that’s around them.”
In Migration, Illumination invites you to take flight into the thrill of the unknown with a funny, feathered family holiday like no other as a family of ducks, the Mallards, shake things up and decide to embark on a family trip, via New York City, to tropical Jamaica. As they make their way South for the winter, their well-laid plans quickly go awry. The experience will inspire them to expand their horizons, open themselves up to new friends and accomplish more than they ever thought possible, while teaching them more about each other—and themselves—than they ever imagined.
Inspired by the Mallard’s adventure, visitors to the Walthamstow Wetlands can also take part in a brand-new Migration themed adventure trail across the reserve for a day of family fun. On this trail, visitors will find their favourite characters from the film who will lead them across the trail, with activities and fun facts along the way.
The new pond has been constructed on a currently underused section of the Wetlands site and has been designed to create an inviting habitat in which local wildlife may thrive. Located within the Wetlands’ Sensory Garden, it has been designed to be accessible to all, with flat ground access up to the pond edge and specialised bays, enabling wheelchair users to get as close to the water’s edge as possible.
Consisting of new sleepers and stepped bays, it will encourage a variety of species to visit and inhabit the pond, making it the perfect location for groups with special educational needs and disabilaties (SEND) from schools and other community groups to tap into nature and enjoy exploring the pond habitat during education sessions .
