This year our summer family event is at our new reserve, Bardsey Fields – opposite Bardsey Primary School. The event will run from 11- 2pm, so please bring a picnic. There will be guided walks around the reserve, crafts – including making spiders and willow wands, storytelling and more. It will be great to welcome you to hear our plans for the future of the reserve.
It was lovely to meet everyone who came to our stand at Bardsey Gala on 4th May. We were able to let people know about all the work that we have been doing in Bardsey Fields recently and our work in the Parish in general.
We had craft activities which were enjoyed by all ages. Janine kindly led the felting to make sheep and hedgehogs from fleece. Douglas led the dragonfly making so a big thank you to both of them and all the Trustees and EKWT members who helped on the day.
In March we had a great session with Year 3 from Bardsey Primary Academy. They came over the road from the school to get involved.
We talked to them about how water travels through the landscape and demonstrated how it travels much faster in pipes or across hard surfaces than across more natural ground. We did this using some plastic guttering laid across the field and we ran lots of balls down the gutter. They travelled quickly down the slope, a bit like water in a pipe. Alongside this, another group of children dropped the balls onto the field. These slowly ran down the hill and stopped before getting as far as the end of the gutter. A great demonstration of how if we take water out of pipes and enable it to filter slowly across the land surface then it slows it down and reduces flooding issues further down the catchment!
This is exactly what we have been doing in conjunction with Yorkshire Water and the Yorkshire Dales Wildlife Trust recently! We’ve dug into the pipes that took water directly from the school roofs and under the field into the beck at the bottom. When it rained these pipes were flowing fast. Now the water will flow down the field more slowly. Some will soak in and evaporate and it will create some wetter areas on the field for different habitats. You might also have seen our wooden leaky barriers – the idea is that when it’s raining very hard these will trap and slow down the water going across the field, further slowing it down. The children were very impressed!
They then got stuck in and planted some trees. A whole host of species. These will create great habitat and also soak up more water! They learnt about the different animals that might eat young trees, like mice, rabbits and deer, and that’s why we need to use fences and tree guards for the first few years while they establish. The children were excited at the prospect of coming back with their families and see their patch of woodland growing!
Emma Wren
Yesterday 21 adults and children joined us for the annual winter bird survey and it was lovely to welcome a number of people who had not been before.
We saw a total of 39 species, which is a good count for a survey in winter, although we did not see some species that would have been expected such as Goldcrest, Lapwing, Goosander and Collared Dove.
Here is a list of the species seen:
Many thanks to Ann, Robert and some of their colleagues from the Yorkshire Mammal Group who came to Bardsey Fields last weekend to carry out small mammal trapping. This work will give us a baseline for the species of small mammals living there. We laid 50 humane mammal traps on Saturday afternoon, ensuring that any mammals caught had a cosy bed and plenty of food. We then returned on Sunday morning to empty the traps, record and weigh the mammals and then release them safely.
44 people came to set the traps and 50 came to see what had been caught. This was phenomenal as the weather on Sunday morning was very cold and wet!
The children had a great time and were so excited to see whether the traps were closed and what would be inside.
The results of the survey were: 20 woodmice, 6 bank voles and 1 common shrew. This compares with 18 woodmice, 1 bank vole, 1 field vole and 1 common shrew in last years survey.
We will be joined by the Yorkshire Mammal Group to put out humane mammal traps on Saturday 19th October at 4.30pm. The following morning, Sunday 20th October we will meet at 9.30am to open the traps and record, weigh and release whatever we find. On both days we will be meeting outside Bardsey School on Woodacre Lane.
This event is suitable for all ages to attend one or both sessions – a great family event. Please bring stout footwear/wellies as the long grass will be wet. If you would like any more information, please email info@ekwt.org.uk.
We look forward to seeing you there.
This event was very well attended and the children enjoyed making models of dragonflies, pond dipping, observing moths and drawing their own wildlife pictures.
We will be meeting at the woodstore in Elliker Wood at 10.30am. The entrance to Elliker is next to 21, The Paddock, East Keswick.
Activities will include making a dragonfly, looking at the wonderful world of moths, pond dipping and butterfly and wild flower identification. We expect to finish by 1pm. Please bring a drink and a snack.
Booking is required – please send an email with details of your party to info@ekwt.org.uk
We hope to see you there!
Wetherby U3A wildlife group visited Ox Close at the end of April. They were treated to the spring flowers and learnt about the management work undertaken in the wood.
Tuesday 28th November at East Keswick Village Hall, 7.30pm
Guest Speaker Andy Parkinson
Living Potential Care Farm are restoring an 1850s walled garden and transforming it into a community garden, an asset for all to enjoy. The aim is to start selling fresh organically grown fruit and vegetables by Summer 2024. Andy, the Head Grower, will give a talk on the site’s history and plans for the future.
All are very welcome