Orchards.

2010 International Year of Biodiversity.

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Butterfly Conservation.    Drink cider and help the Mistletoe Marble moth.

Traditional Orchards.
April 15th. Details on our Diary Blog.
This is the subject of our next public meeting.

Our speaker is the Project Officer for the National Trust. Read more about their project to conserve Orchards. Click here to go to their web site and here.

Their project is funded by  Natural England.  Click here to go to their report on orchards.

The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species is also running a project to find and record England's remaining traditional orchards. Click here to go to their web site.

Butterfly Conservation have been cooperating with the National Trust to survey orchards for moths. The rare Misletoe Marbled Moth ( Celyphia Woodiana) is described here in a report.

The moth is also reported in the web site of "Bird Guides"with a photo and this recommendation to help the conservation of traditional apple orchards.

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"Butterfly Conservation.  Drink cider and help the Mistletoe Marble moth."

Orchards - old and new, Biodiversity, International Year.

In this post I am showing a link to the National Trust web site covering their Orchard restoration project.

This is the subject of our next public meeting.
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Month: April 2010 Date: 15th……………Tea and Coffee from 7.15,  Start Time: 7.30…pm………… End Time: 9.30 pm

Wildlife in traditional and modern English orchards.

Kate Merry, NT Orchard Project Officer and Alison Slade, Somerset Partnership Biodiversity Officer with the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Click here to go to National Trust  for more information.

Description of event: An illustrated talk about traditional orchards which are a priority habitat under the UK Government’s Biodiversity Action Plan. The NT is a joint leader with Natural England in a project for their conservation and restoration and to improve our knowledge of their associated wildlife. Kate and Alison will talk about their work and the implications for Biodiversity.

Fee £2.50
Curry Rivel Primary School.

Posted by David at 8:52 PM

Labels: Biodiversity, Orchards

Election meeting

Somerset Wildlife Trust

invites you to come along to

ENVIRONMENT

QUESTION TIME

A pre-election public meeting with

Somerton & Frome’s political party candidates

Monday 12 April

Caryford Community Hall,

Ansford, Castle Cary.

(Doors open at 7:15pm for a 7:30 start)

This is your chance to ask Somerton & Frome’s political party candidates what they would do for Somerset’s natural environment

Urban woods and trees can help wildlife to flourish - the Woodland Trust

Urban woods and trees can help wildlife to flourish - the Woodland Trust

Natural disasters down under.

Now for something completely different. As far as I can tell this is a video from Australian TV and is a parody of the way politicians handle real environmental disaster. In any case its very funny (IMHO)

Wildlife podcast Meeting with prospective Members of Parliament

 I'm pleased to see the Somerset Wildlife Trust taking part in a discussion about local issues related to the candidates views on the future of wildlife. Here is the news item from the SWT web site giving a link to the Pod Cast of the debate.

26 March 2010

Wildlife podcast

More than 70 people turned up to quiz the politicians vying for their votes in Taunton Deane, ahead of the general election, at a hustings meeting organised by Somerset Wildlife Trust and Friends of the Earth.

The event, which took place at the Meetings Room, Taunton Library, on March 11, tackled the theme of Somerset’s Natural Environment and explored climate change, wildlife and the food chain.

The hustings were recorded by 10Radio and you can listen to the podcast here by clicking this link: Somerset Wildlife Trust and Taunton Friends of the Earth hustings, 11 March 2010

Blogging news and campaigns from other conservation organisations

Trying a quick round up of news from other Bloggers and conservation groups,so we'll see how it goes.
Starting by looking at the most recent posts.

Chris Sperring. Hawk and Owl Trust.

Chris Sperring MBE: New update coming soon, still surveying at mo.

Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts.

Press News: "Latest News
Mar 10
Mum'sea' creatures go the extra mile
Study recognises key to future conservation success
Marine Protected Area announcement welcomed by The Wildlife Trusts
Scotland gets Marine Act
Government peat announcement welcomed by The Wildlife Trusts
BBC Eggheads smashed!
Don’t damn the Severn Est"

Somerset Wildlife Trust.

01 March 2010
24 hours of wildlife watching on the Avalon Marshes
Discover the abundance of wildlife on the Avalon Marshes at a spectacular 24-hour nature event.

Avalon 24 is 24 hours of guided walks where everyone is invited to see and hear as much wildlife as possible from noon on Saturday, May 29 to noon on Sunday May 30.

The two hour walks take place on some of the Avalon Marshes nature reserves including Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Westhay Moor and Catcott Lows, the RSPB’s Ham Wall, Natural England’s Shapwick Heath, and the Hawk and Owl Trust’s Shapwick Moor.

RSPB Link here.

The Albatross Task Force
We got our wish in 2005 with the formation of the Albatross Task Force - the world's first international team of skilled, at-sea instructors.
Albatross Task Force teams are based in the bycatch 'hotspots' of southern Africa and South America, where albatrosses come into contact with large and diverse longline and trawl fishing fleets.
Since its formation, we have seen dramatic reductions in the numbers of albatrosses and other seabirds killed. This is a sure sign that Albatross Task Force members really are getting something practical done to help save albatrosses from extinction.
The Albatross Task Force is managed by BirdLife Partner organisations around the world, and co-ordinated by the Global Seabird Programme from its headquarters at the RSPB.

Butterfly and Bumblebee sightings17th March 2010

First sightings today in our garden  of a Small Tortoiseshell and a Bombus terrestris. ( my identification?)

Bumble Bees

It was clear from comments from the audience that Bumble Bees are out and about now in early March in Somerset. A packed hall with standing room only was given a very full and interesting talk by Michael Edwards, writer of the book Field Guide to the Bumblebees of GB and Ireland. Anne Bebbington had an appreciative response to her hand painted cards on sale to raise funds for our Group. Anne is currently promoting a new course to teach  botanical drawing and would welcome any enquiries. You can contact her through this Blog by using the comments or by email . The address is shown in the header above.  John Bebbington contributed  by providing the giant size projector screen for Mike's excellent photographs. As if that wasn't enough we had invited a Young Enterprise Group from Richard Huish College in Taunton to join us to present their books for children based on the life of the honey bee.  The first photo shows Mike Edwards with some of the Young Enterprise students and the second gives an idea of the venue without showing the standing room only at the rear of the hall. Anne Bebbington's card display is at the right of the screen.

All in all a very satisfactory evening with many friends and members of the Wildlife Trust and and possibly a few non members.

Event reminder

This email has been sent to all local members and friends of Somerset Wildlife Trust by the local Heart of the Levels Area Group.

Link to "Bumblebee Conservation". Click here.

and click here for a John Bebbington photograph on an interesting web site , "Better Photographs" 

Our next public meeting is on Thursday 11th March.

Thur,   March    11^th  7.30 PM   9.30 PM.

Talk  by expert entomologist Mike Edwards.

Bumble Bees , indispensable friend of humans.

Illustrated talk on how these wonderful insects are the guardian of our food supplies and make a vital contribution to the  sustainability of our countryside and garden.

Somerton United Reform Church Hall, West Street, Somerton    Free car park close by.

Venue Suitable for Wheelchair-User/Limited Mobility.

Admission fee:     £2.50    Tea and coffee will be available from 7.15pm at the start of the evening.

We have invited a Young Enterprise Group from Richard Huish College to join us to show their new books for children featuring bees!