Curry Woods Conservation Trust Peter Goodenough as you are reading this the Trust members will have planted a total of 500 trees and shrubs on the outskirts of Curry Woods. Considering the situation with Covid19 infection, unusually cold and wet weather and the general inability to mix it is very pleasing to be able to report that there is now a new wood on the Trust land.

 We have sourced six large tanks that are going to be filled with water for the summer when it will undoubtedly be needed, We have also organised a large load of wood chipping mulch to be spread to help hold moisture over the summer. As well as our connection with the Woodland Trust, who supplied 400 trees and shrubs, we have also sourced another 100 trees from One Planet Matters (a social enterprise dedicated to ensuring that future generations will have a planet to enjoy and thrive on). These remain to be planted at the time of writing. Thank you to all our supporters who have made this happen, we look forward to welcoming you all in the new woodland in the summer In the meantime, if there are any volunteers willing to help with spreading mulch later in March please do contact us on CWCTRUST@aol.com  - we will be delighted to hear from you!

Curry Woods Conservation Trust ,latest news.

Hi all
We need a brief Zoom meeting about planting on the field. Peter needs to reply to Phil Stone of RTL about whether we can take 400 more trees this season or not.
As Alan and Catherine are going to be on the field (weather permitting!) looking at space there on Sunday afternoon he suggests Sunday evening for the meeting. Please let me know if that is OK for you , and if so what time- 7 or 8pm or earlier?

Butterfly Conservation ( also includes Moths)

Hot on the heels of the Wildlife Trusts successful Quiz online Zoom meeting, as a member of Butterfly Conservation here is part of their appeal to members.

Dear Member,

 

At Butterfly Conservation we are always looking for ways to spread the word about how important butterfly and moth conservation is. One of the ways to do this is to find more people like you: our community of butterfly and moth lovers.

 

That is why, thanks to the support of nfpSynergy (research agency), we have put together this survey to help us understand more about you, your views on our work, on preserving the natural world and the way you live your life.

 

Completing this survey is as valuable as making a donation to us because it will help us get more supporters and generate more funds for our vital work.

 

Click here to begin the survey. ( the link may not work from this Blog )

 

Our deadline for completing the survey is Monday 1st March.

 

If you are having technical difficulties using the survey please email alison.forero@nfpsynergy.net

 

If you have any queries about the work of Butterfly Conservation please email enquiries@butterfly-conservation.org.

 

With very best wishes,

 

Julie Williams CEO 

Results from Quiz

We came 3rd out of the 150+ teams taking part! Request for donations raised £1700. All charities are desperate for funds at present so this is a welcome boost to morale. A feather in our Group cap as well! 

A wildlife Quiz with Stephen Moss organised by Somerset Wildlife Trust

Held by Zoom this evening with over 100 teams taking part. 

Our Heart of the Levels Group entered a team with pleasing results. 

pushing our familiarity with technology to the limit.

Hope to gather more information from our team of 5 taking part

News from the new Curry Woods Conservation Trust! Work in Progress!

"This is a story of a wet December day when there dawned a new hope. On the 19th December a group of intrepid local volunteers gathered together to heed the call for a new beginning. This was not done from an armchair on the internet but in the old -fashioned way. We worked in the wet and mud to plant 200 trees and shrubs on the land adjoining Curry Woods. Why would a group of otherwise sane people do this?

I like to think of this planet on which we are so fortunate to live in the same way as described by the great James Lovelock, he of the Gaia theory. This described the way in which the combined living mass on the planet operates as an indivisible system. If one bit is damaged the whole system has to react to repair the damage. As life is defined by science as the ability to breathe, then the planet as a whole is a giant lung and always has been since life (as we know it Jim) evolved. Breathing involves the taking in of oxygen and the use of its oxidative powers to drive all other reactions in the body using the energy produced, with the release of water and carbon dioxide. This has happened for at least 3 billion years - that’s a lot of oxygen. Where did it all come from? Well, youknow the answer, don’t you? Take a moment to hold a green leaf in your hand (don’t pick it if you can avoid doing so), and think about what it’s doing. In front of you it is performing such complex chemical reactions that we humans cannot master and reproduce them; in the biggest and noisiest chemical factories we cannot do one hundredth of that which the leaf you are holding in your hand is doing. That leaf represents the reason you are here and are alive. Only green plants can take carbon dioxide and water from the environment and use the sun’s radiative energy to make them into molecules we can eat and, most importantly, also produce oxygen. Not just some oxygen but all the oxygen. All the oxygen for the last 3 billion years. That’s why the group of villagers were out that Saturday in the mud and rain to plant 200 trees. (By the by, your lungs are made of millions of alveoli and they are where gas exchange occurs.)

We were planning more planting in January and were particularly looking forward to a group of children from the school, led by teacher Emily Langford, coming to plant with us. It is so important to get their generation involved and we are very sad that the lock down has prevented it for the time being. However, individuals or families can still plant - we have another 200 trees waiting to be planted."

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This is an extract from the monthly edition of Curry Rivel News which is normally delivered by hand to all residents but because of the lock down can only be seen on the Community Web site. Link here

 https://www.curryrivel.org.uk

More news soon!