Harvest Mice Hunt Results

Posted on 20/11/2022 by committee

On 29th and 30th October Ann Hanson and colleagues from the Yorkshire Mammal Group joined East Keswick Wildlife Trust to survey Fitts Fields for small mammals. 50 humane large Longworth traps were set on the Saturday evening and on Sunday morning we met to open the traps.

The children who had helped to set the traps were very excited to see what we would find.

32 of the 50 traps had small mammals in them, all looked healthy and were a good weight.

We recorded: 14 bank voles, 3 field voles, 14 wood mice and 1 common shrew.

This shows that there is a very good population of small mammals in these fields and although we did not find a harvest mouse this time, we do know that they are living here.

Harvest Mice Hunt at Keswick Fitts

Posted on 26/09/2022 by committee

Saturday 29th October

Meet at Fitts Lane footpath entrance on the A659 opposite Cleavesty Lane at 4.30pm to put down 50 humane large Longworth traps.

Sunday 30th October

Meet at the same place at 9.30am to open the traps and record the weight and sex of the small mammals which will hopefully include harvest mice.

Leaky Dam Training

Posted on 24/08/2022 by committee

In August Trust members worked with the Yorkshire Dales River Trust to create leaky dams in Thorner. The dams are designed to slow the flow of water during flooding.

Kew Millennium Seedbank

Posted on 24/08/2022 by committee

Family Day 10th July 2022

Posted on 18/08/2022 by committee

We had lovely weather and many families came along to Ox Close Woods and enjoyed all the activities.

Deep concentration on the scavenger hunt!

Making sculptures with clay and natural materials

The highlight of the day delicious pizzas! Howard our EKWT resident chef worked hard all day, lighting the pizza oven at 7 in the morning and cooking over 50 pizzas in the afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who helped either beforehand or on the day and to everyone who came and made it such an enjoyable event.

Family Event – Sunday 10th July

Posted on 03/07/2022 by committee

We will be holding a family day at the charcoal burn area in Ox Close Wood from 2 – 4.30pm on Sunday 10th July. This will be our first in 3 years, so we are very much looking forward to a great event!

The pizza oven will be fired up – we will provide the dough, if you can bring tomato sauce and toppings. We won’t be able to provide seating, so feel free to bring rugs or chairs.

There will be lots of fun for the children with willow weaving, a scavenger hunt and sculpture making. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about the Trust, with talks on the charcoal burn and how the woodland is managed.

The event is free for members or a minimum donation of £5 for non members.

We need to know numbers to enable us to plan activities and prepare the right quantity of pizza dough.

Please reply to thomasin@ekwt.org.uk as soon as possible if you would like to come.

We hope to see you there!

Brownie visits to the Ellikers

Posted on 28/06/2022 by committee

We have recently welcomed two Brownie packs to spend an evening in the Ellikers and learn more about our local reserve. Last Wednesday the East Keswick and Bardsey Brownies joined us and on Thursday the Brownies from Moor Allerton came to visit. Volunteers from the Trust explained about the Yellow Fish Campaign and all the Brownies now know that it is ‘only rain down the drain’. We also helped the Brownies identify wildflowers and butterflies, while finding out more about the birds and other creatures that live in the Ellikers.