THE NORTH York Moors’ annual Moorfest celebration this weekend marks the end of this year’s National Parks Week but also the start of a range of free family events at Sutton Bank National Park Centre on Sundays throughout August.

From moorland to trees and minibeasts, each Sunday takes a different theme on which children’s activities, demonstrations and walks are based.

Moorfest on August 2 celebrates the culture and heritage of the National Park’s most iconic landscape, its heather moorland. Moths from Shandy Hall, birds from Helmsley’s International Birds of Prey Centre and bees are just some of the creatures people can find out more about. People can have a go at felting and sample some tasty local produce while children can take part in different craft activities.

Woodland and forest cover over a fifth of the North York Moors and on August 9 the focus turns to trees. Follow the free tree trail around the grounds, make a woodland animal mask and dissect an owl pellet. There’s also a free drop-in workshop with artist Julia Burns from Red Hen Originals where you can make your own potato leaf print.

Sunday, August 16, is all about minibeasts. Join the spider safari, make a minibeast hotel for the critters in your garden, have a closer look at the bugs that inhabit our rivers and join National Park staff on a bug hunt around the grounds. Helmsley Walled Garden will be there with a range of plants to attract bees and butterflies to your garden along with experts from the Yorkshire branch of the British Dragonfly Society.

The final Sutton Bank Sunday on August 23 is all about helping people explore and enjoy the National Park. There will be an opportunity to try geocaching and the National Park’s experienced walk leaders be on hand to talk about the hidden gems people can discover on walks across the North York Moors. There will also be fossil making activities, children’s crafts and a landscape detective trail around the grounds.

Sally Ann Smith, Events & Exhibitions Coordinator at the North York Moors National Park Authority said: “Our Sutton Bank Sunday’s are a great family day out with plenty to keep the kids busy. They’re also a brilliant taster of what the wider North York Moors has to offer and best of all they’re free. There are walks and cycle rides from the door of the centre plus a café for lunch or a cuppa and sweet treat.”

All Sutton Bank Sunday events are free and run from 11am to 4pm. More information on these and other events taking place in the school summer holidays are at www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/events