Our first weekend work party got off to a great start with approximately 40 adults and children attending. The children initially learnt about the Yellow Fish campaign, that only water should go down the drain, as in our village the drains lead directly into the beck. They then made harvest mice homes out of used tennis balls and placed them on stakes around East Keswick Marsh. Other members of the work party tackled the snowberry which has become an invasive species in the marsh.
The Trust has acquired a moth trap that can be used by Trust, and their family, members.
It comes complete with a 5volt power pack, electrical cables and a moth identification guide.
It uses a low wattage UV LED bulb which emits little visible light so is unobtrusive when used in one’s garden.
For further information, please call Paul 07999339147 or email paul@ekwt.org.uk.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s bird survey around the East Keswick Parish. There were 25 people who came, including the children, who enjoyed using the Merlin app, taking photos and making lists of their observations.
Highlights were flocks of siskin and linnet, 3 little egret, 2 gadwall and a sparrowhawk. We also had a lovely view of a hare, which has not been recorded in the parish for many years.
Full list of sightings:
| Black Headed Gull | Blue Tit |
| Blackbird | Bullfinch |
| Buzzard | Canada Goose |
| Carrion Crow | Chaffinch |
| Coal Tit | Cormorant |
| Dunnock | Eurasian Sparrowhawk |
| Goldcrest | Goosander (1 male, 2 female) |
| Greater Spotted Woodpecker | Great Tit |
| Greenfinch | Greylag Goose |
| House Sparrow | Jackdaw |
| Jay | Kestrel |
| Linnet (40) | Long Tailed Tit (20+) |
| Magpie | Mallard |
| Northern Lapwing | Pied Wagtail (6) |
| Red Kite | Robin |
| Rook | Siskin (40+) |
| Skylark | Song Thrush |
| Starling | Stock Dove |
| Treecreeper | Woodpigeon |
| Wren | Yellowhammer |
| Fieldfare | Redwing |
| Gadwall (1 male, 1 female) | Little Egret (3) |
| Goldfinch |
The Village Hall’s energy and carbon reduction project being discussed with EKWT volunteers. Plans are in progress for a collaborative event for the village showcasing the work being done by EKWT and the Village Hall.
On a very cold and wet January day, a hardy group of EKWT volunteers visited the Lower Ure Conservation Trust (LUCT) at Nosterfield. LUCT aims to establish best practice in the provision and maintenance of wet grassland. EKWT are keen to share knowledge about the wetland plants in our fen area in Bardsey Fields and so were delighted to be invited to visit the nursery at Nosterfield. The day was very informative and we are pleased to have made links with another Trust. LUCT will be visiting Bardsey Fields reserve in the spring.
EKWT have put up over 160 bird boxes on our reserves since 2017. These have been funded by Countryside Stewardship capital grants and have been constructed and maintained by our volunteers. The volunteers visit each box through the winter months to clear out any existing nests and record the findings. We are currently collating the results for 2025. In 2024, 54% of the boxes were used, which is our best year since we began the records 8 years ago.
We collect seeds from our reserves in the parish, plant them and grow them in our nursery. Here our volunteers are planting on the wildflower seedlings to prepare them for planting out at a future date.
Our Friday volunteers continue to support the work being done in the Climate Change Garden at East Keswick Village Hall.
Leeds Swifts is a group of volunteers working to bring this red listed species back from the brink. Having seen the impact they have made from watching Hamza Yassin’s visit to them, we asked if they could visit East Keswick Wildlife Trust and give our volunteers advice on how to encourage more swifts to nest in our village.
