Test Zoom meeting today, 11th April at 17.00.
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77844308513?pwd=K3BjY1FOclZyUjMzY0c2OWU0TEM5QT09
Test Zoom meeting
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AGM 18th May 2021 at 19.30
Below are the minutes of the last AGM from 2019.
This year’s AGM will be via a ZOOM meeting. Invitations to join will be via a link which will be added to the Trust’s website within a post such as this.
https://www.ekwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/EKWT-AGM-Minutes-15-May-2019-1.doc
Lockdown Challenge
Where the wild things are:
Lockdown challenge!
We’ve created an educational challenge for you all to take part in.
We’ve hidden 30 images of a wide range of wildlife across our four reserves.
Your challenge is to find them. Once you do, you will find a folder close by which contains information sheets about the species you have found. Where to find the wild things:
- Ox Close woods: 15 to find
- Elliker’s field & wood: 6 to find
- Frank Shire’squarry: 4 to find
- East Keswick Marsh: 5 to find
On each sheet you will see a key word at the top. The first 10 people to message us all 30 of the key words will each win a tree to plant! This is a great excuse to get out walking enjoying nature, explore our reserves & learn. We ask that you take one sheet per group please, and zip up the folder,- returning it to where it was found. You are welcome to take the sheets home with you, or leave them for others to use if you wish. We would mention also, if you take your dogs along with you to please remember these are nature reserves so to keep them on leads please. If you need any further information, for example where to find some of the reserves please message us. We really hope you enjoy exploring the wild places where we live, remember to leave only footprints..good luck hunting! 
Supporting wildlife conservation in your local area has never been more important so please do join the Trust & become a member! You can join at: https://www.ekwt.org.uk/get-involved/membership/
Recent Sightings
A short walk through Ox Close Wood last Sunday proved very fruitful.
A number of fungi are still showing including the common Orange Peel fungus that grows on the soil of unploughed fields and (pictured) the Yellow Brain fungus. This is a parasitic fungus that gets its nutrients from other fungi that feed on dead wood.
Mandarin Ducks are frequently seen on the river. There are eight here.
Artwork for Sale
One of our members, Jinny Casey, enjoys painting and offers some of her, and other, work for sale here. They are all original works of art of animals, plants and landscapes and are framed. Each piece is priced at £20.00 and all donations will go to the Trust.
Jinny advises that she could deliver locally and suggests that the donation be put in an envelope for her collection during delivery.
If you are interested, please contact info@ekwt.org.uk
Return of a Favourite
After not being seen in the area for six or seven years, we thought that the Wall butterfly had become extinct locally. Their numbers throughout the UK have declined rapidly over several recent decades and they now have a High Conservation Priority. Their decline is likely being caused by climate change…. it is thought that warmer summers are causing them to start an additional brood which is laid too late for their under-developed larvae to survive autumn and winter.
So how lovely it was to see their return with quite a few adult butterflies being seen in and around Ox Close Wood and on the way up to Woodhall.
Another new butterfly for the parish this year has been the Dark Green Fritillary. It has been expanding through Yorkshire and had been seen ovipositing in Ox Close. Unfortunately we don’t yet have a good photo of this butterfly. But if you have….!
Recent Sightings
A short walk today into the wood and along the river found Goosanders, Grey Wagtails and a Jay. The Yellow Star of Bethlehem has been innundated during the recent floods but the patch of plants is growing well with quite a few flower buds showing. Other flora and fauna seen were….
Weekend Workparty
For those who are unable to join us on Fridays, on the Sundays of 1st December and 2nd February we will be holding Weekend Workparties. Families included.
Tasks will include hedge planting and making brash piles. Please bring a snack, gloves, suitable clothing and footwear.
Meet in Crabtree Lane car park at 10am. For further information, contact melanie@ekwt.org.uk
Another New Butterfly
The Brown Argus Aricia agestis is another new butterfly that Trust members have found in Ox Close Wood and in fields in East Keswick. This is great news – showing that the management of our reserves is being rewarded with these successes (see also Silver-washed Fritillary below). The caterpillars’ foodplant is usually Common Rock Rose but more recently they have started to use various geraniums including Meadow Cranesbill of which there is plenty in the parish.
Recent Sightings
Dead men’s fingers seen in Collingham. We may think of fungi as an autumn phenomenon but they are present all year round… we often see St. George’s mushroom on the bluebell walk in Ox Close. Here are two often overlooked summer fungi. On the left is Dead Man’s Fingers Xylaria polymorpha which grows on dead wood and causes spalting;- the decorative black lines found in some wood. On the right is the Fluted Bird’s Nest Cyathus striatus which tends to grow on soil with wood chip. The “eggs” at the bottom of the nest are spore packets. The cups have evolved so that raindrops shoot the spore packets up to a metre away. They trail a sticky filament that catches on vegetation, ready for ingestion by herbivores and dispersal to new sites. Neither is very showy, but they are interesting!