Bristol Festival of Nature

Bristol Festival of Nature was a big success this year with lots of great stalls. The People and Wildlife tent had one wall covered in pictures showing all the fun stuff the project has done and all the people it has worked with.

In the middle was the Meadow Memories structure. The public wrote their best wildlife experiences on a people petal. Then they stuck them on to sticks and pushed them into the heads to create flowers.



 Here are some of our favourite meadow memories:

"My best wildlife experience is all of the flowers"

"When I counted lots of insects with bug man Pete on the Bioblitz day"

"Seeing a badger in my garden at night"

"When I saw a jay in the trees. When I saw two deer, a mother and a fawn. When 9 bluetits were eating at my birdfeeder."

We were also giving away PAW parcels which are packed full of wildlife activities including a flat-pack bird box.



Chernobyl Children visit Folly Farm

Every year a group of children from Belarus visit Bristol. They stay with local families and do a variety of day trips and activities. This visit is made possible by a charity called Chernobyl Children's Life Line. Yesterday as part of their itinerary the kids did a bushcraft day with the People and Wildlife team at Folly Farm.

Insect Hotel

Members of the 'Thursday Group', among others, have created an 'insect hotel' in the kitchen garden at Folly Farm by stacking wooden crates, roof tiles and lengths of bamboo and twigs. This creates a perfect environment for a whole host of insect guests, including overwintering moths and butterflies, solitary bees and wasps, lacewings and ladybirds.

Goblin Combe by Dave Pearse

Tucked away in the Mendip fold
A beautiful site to behold
Where holly and yew of evergreen
Throughout the winter their beauty seen
Among the branches dwells the dormouse
Through winter’s cold is provided a house
Even above Lulsgate iron birds roar
The songbirds singing does still enthral
For between the noise of each passing plane
The Combe’s peaceful quiet does still magic gain
For magic does its place name assume
The sacred earth magic of Goblin Combe

Pergola

The 'Thursday Group' have built a beautiful pergola in the kitchen garden at Folly Farm to provide shelter  for weary gardeners.

         “These days out make me feel good, give me a sense of achievement whenever I do something which will be semi-permanent for a few years.”

VOLUNTARY WORK WITH AWT by Dave Pearse

If you have some time to kill,
And you have the energy and will,
Then why not get a free ride,
Out into the countryside.
For a few hours of leisurely labour,
You will have an experience to savour.
Help to build a wall of stone,
You’ll feel content and not want to moan!
Put your hand to planting trees,
And your heart will fill with ease!
Clearing grass, maintaining paths,
With new friends have many laughs!
So don’t just sit and with boredom sneer,
With Avon Wildlife Trust volunteer!


DAVE PEARSE 2011

BRANDON HILL by Dave Pearse

A green hill of peace and tranquillity,
Above the bustling heart of Bristol,
A panorama of the city’s skyline,
Stretched around and about below,
Where birdsong of thrush robin, finch and blackbird
Drown out the traffic’s roar,
Bobbing unafraid through the garden’s shrubs and trees.
Frogs, toads and newts swim gracefully through the pond,
Rays of sun and gentle breeze add extra life to leaves and blades of grass.
All is peaceful- yet listening for the bloodcurdling screech of the peregrine soaring in search of its prey.
Where once the civil war fort proudly stood,
And muskets popped and cannon roared,
Spilling the blood of royalist and parliamentary alike.
Now only the sound of the gentle breeze,
As it stirs the wildflowers of the meadow,
And the trickle of waterfall into the pond.
All embracing, the serene beauty of Brandon Hill.



DAVE PEARSE 2011

Fab day at Folly

In July 2010 a group of young people volunteered their time to help out on the kitchen garden at Folly Farm. The group was from St George's House which provides sheltered accommodation and support to young people. Many of the individuals had never volunteered before and so for them was a new experience. Here are some of their comments from the day:

“Really enjoyed myself...I did things today that I have never done before and I met other people who were visiting Folly Farm, who were disabled and I want to work with them too. I have only been at SGH for few days and I have made friends already.”

“I really Enjoy it, I felt that I had done something useful and felt that I got stuck into the work with the others”

“I enjoyed the carpentry side of the day but I wasn’t keen on the gardening as this wasn’t really my thing, so I am not sure if I would do this again”

“I enjoyed working in a team to get a flower bed built. It has boosted my knowledge on how they are made and the craftsmanship that goes into this kind of work. I also work very hard in dipping and leveling out the ground for the flower bed.”

Many of the participants enjoyed the experience that they look forward to volunteering with AWT in the near future.

Property Market Booming for House Sparrows

On the 28th January 2010 the Community Team Volunteers helped me to design different prototypes for constructing House Sparrow terraces. Everyone worked hard and came up with some great ideas. We all enjoyed day and we're proud of our final designs. If you have a great idea and design for sparrow terraces do get in contact. We will launching our House Sparrow Project next month so watch this space...

Check out www.wildsparrows.org.uk to find out more about sparrows, and how to observe and protect them.

A Great Start to the New Year

On Wednesday 27th January 2010 an ESOL class from Ashley College spent the afternoon coppicing hazel at Brandon Hill. It was a lovely crisp day and everyone took the task on with great enthusiasm. The dynamics of the group were amazing, they worked as a team and accomplished much more than I had anticipated. Thank you so much for your help. Do let me know if you enjoyed the afternoon and if you would be interested in taking part in more activities in the future. Kelly Bray, Commmunity Action Officer

Young Bristol at Dame Emily Park

A group from Young Bristol added over fifty whips to Dame Emily Park in Bedminster on 9th December 2009. This expanded upon the planting which the trust did as part of the national Tree O’clock event on Saturday 5th December 2009. The beautiful clear winter day set the scene for some light physical activity. Young hawthorn, blackthorn, buckthorn, holly and hazel was planted to enhance a fence line and provide new wildlife habitat in years to come. Contact Kelly Bray if you need any help with community wildlife gardening in your area: kellybray@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Age Concern at Willsbridge Mill

We had a great turn out on Thursday 26th November for a walk around Willsbridge Mill, seventeen of us all together. Although the weather continued to tease us with the threat of heavy rain we managed to get away with just one light showering. Not that that would have stopped this group as they seemed to be hardened walkers and very keen not to enjoy the area.

We began with a chat about the geology of the site and how it had changed over the last 300 million years. We then talked a little about the history of the mill. Some of the group could remember the floods that happened in the late 1960's that finally closed the mill for good. Whilst walking around the valley, we talked about the different habitats, plant life and animals that live on the reserve. We also talked about the Dramway that used to run between Coalpit Heath and the river Avon. One of the group, Fred, pointed out that the piece of rail used in the sculpture on the old Dramway was actually very different to the original rail which would be more like a piece of angle iron and 'L' shaped. (The sculpture stays though I'm afraid, Fred). However, this is what I love about these kind of walks: finding out what others know about the area and the history. People who've lived here all there lives and have a story or two to tell. The walk finished with a hot drink at the mill, at which point the sun fully committed it's self for a good half hour so we chatted some more. For me, a very enjoyable morning and a lovely group of people, Simon: simonsmith@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

New Thursday Volunteering Opportunity!

The weather was good to us and the new Thursday group had a great day completing a set of raised beds at the Withywood Centre on 26th November 09. The raised beds is the first stage of a larger project where AWT will work with the people of the Centre to create a wildlife friendly garden and natural play area.

Volunteering
The People and Wildlife Programme have now set up a regular volunteering opportunity on Thursday's to help support AWT's community projects around Bristol. Activities could range from constructing a herb spiral at North Street Green, Bedminster to live hedge laying at our reserve in Brandon Hill. For more information about getting involved please e-mail kellybray@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Young Bristol at Folly Farm

On 18th November 2009 a small group of teenagers from Soundwell College, supported by Young Bristol, got really involved with various activities on the kitchen garden at Folly Farm. Everyone seemed to enjoy the half day session which involved wheel barrowing top soil to fill new raised wooden beds in preparation for planting new garlic bulbs and strawberry plants donated to the trust. The barn provided a great shelter for lunch. The day was organised by Kelly Bray who you can contact if you would like your group to get involved with wildlife and gardening events: kellybray@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Butterfly Sculpture at Broadlands School

We recently helped Broadlands School create a butterfly sculpture which features animations of creatures we found in and around the school grounds. These images were put onto recycled bicycle wheels mounted on carved English oak. Pupils, Janet, Aaron and Callum said "thank you for the wonderful experience... it made us realise what is under our feet and around us every day". If you have an idea for a project in your area and need help to make it happen, please email us at people@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk