Family Day – Sunday 9th July

Posted on 29/06/2023 by committee

We will be holding our annual family day on Sunday 9th July from 2-4pm at the charcoal burn area in Oxclose Wood.

This year we won’t have the kilns lit, but will be loading them ready to burn – something that children love being involved with. We would recommend bringing gloves to protect your hands. It is a great opportunity to learn about the charcoal burns too, but without the smoke!

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

There will be lots of fun for the children including willow weaving, scavenger hunt and drawing. Our Trust moth expert will have traps to show the children the variety of moths that live in the woods. There will also be the opportunity to learn more about the Trust, with talks on charcoal burns and how the woodland is managed.

This 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. If you could let us know if you are coming and how many of you there will be, by Thursday 6th July that would be helpful. We are limited to the number of pizzas we can cook in the time available, so please book early to avoid disappointment. Please reply to thomasin@ekwt.org.uk, we hope to see you there!

East Keswick Wildlife Trust AGM Wednesday 10th May in the Village Hall, East Keswick at 7.00pm

Posted on 15/04/2023 by committee

Dan Carne, a director of the Wood Meadows Trust will give a talk ‘Forgotten Landscapes: wooded grasslands in Great Britain’. Dan will explore the history and ecology of wood meadows and wood pastures and make the case that these ancient agricultural systems have an important role to play in our modern landscapes. All welcome.

Winter Bird Survey Results

Posted on 20/02/2023 by committee

The winter bird survey took place on 14th January 2023. A total of 36 different bird species were observed during the walk from St Mary Magdalene Church on Moor Lane, through the Marsh and then along Moor Lane. We then crossed Harewood Road and walked along by the river, up Fitts Lane and back into the village.

Bird species observed

Blackcap	Wren
Goldcrest	Robin
Greenfinch	Goldfinch
Bullfinch	House Sparrow
Dunnock	Starling
Blackbird	Song Thrush
Redwing	Fieldfare
Blue Tit	Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit	Willow/Marsh Tit
Magpie	Jackdaw
Rook	Crow
Pheasant	Red Kite
Sparrowhawk	Buzzard
Wood Pigeon	Rock/Feral Dove
Greater-spotted Woodpecker	Heron
Greylag Goose	Canada Goose
Mallard	Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull	Cormorant

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is blackcap-1024x674.jpg — Blackcap

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 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.