Educational project: The Kingfisher Project

Following on from my September 7th post( which including photos) I have also sent this write up for publication in the Wildlife Trust's next magazine.

The Kingfisher Project.

Somerset Wildlife Trust was part of a fantastic schools learning project this summer which was the brainchild of poet laureate, the late Ted Hughes. The Scheme has been running successfully in Devon since 1992.
The Kingfisher Award Scheme was set up in Somerset by Michael Brown who recently retired from running the Brown and Forrest Smokery in Hambridge.
Its objective is to make children aware of the relationship between wildlife and farming; to look at habitats in detail, and to inspire them generally with a life-long interest in the country.
It is funded by a small number of donors, farmers and landowners and by Michael Brown himself running a marathon!
Children from six primary schools ( approx 180 children over three days) visited a farm near Curry Rivel to learn about wildlife in the open, and by discovery which are the two main themes of the Kingfisher Award - and having fun!
Children were also able to see close up a live barn owl and learnt how they hunt and what they eat by dissecting owl pellets (very popular!). They were able to look at the skulls of small mammals and follow this up by seeing how they can be studied by trapping voles, mice and shrews, to be released unharmed back in their habitat.
Dudley Cheesman SWT Council Member and chair of the Somerset branch of Butterfly Conservation, showed some live specimens of local butterflies and moths.
David German, chair of the Heart of the Levels Area Group was one of the project volunteers

Back in the classroom children spent a month working together to research and create displays that reflected their experience in the field.
Their work was judged at a special presentation day at Home Farm, Curry Rivel.
A panel of three judges (including SWT’s Lisa Schneidau, responsible for the Wildlife Trust’s Living Landscape projects and Jean Cheesman and farm owner Henry Lang) talked to the children about their work before prizes were awarded.
First prize of a hand carved Kingfisher Trophy as well as a day in class with the famous willow worker, Serena de la Hay, went to Curry Mallet Primary School Runners-up were Huish Primary School.
Next years project is scheduled for June 8th 2009.

Brief comment on our group

Just sent this 150 word news item for publication in the Somerset Wildlife Trust magazine. See links on this blog for SWT.
We have our AGM this week which will need a little more detail but not too much!!
*********************************************************************************

Heart of the Levels Group write up for SWT Mag Oct 05.10.08

Our Group continues to develop which is very encouraging.
More local people know about us and support us in many ways without the formality of being on the committee. That is good for us and for wildlife.
We welcome two new members of the committee which is also very satisfactory.
Good progress continues to save a local wildflower meadow in Curry Rivel. Visits welcome
Our two recent events dealing with wildlife gardening proved very popular and has prompted efforts to develop some form of wildlife gardening club. We hope to link with existing clubs in our area. Visits to member’s gardens, whatever size, will be a main feature. Enquiries welcome.
Our plans for 2009 include a June barbeque and a repeat of our very successful Art and Wildlife workshop.
Finally a huge thank you for all your support.

Bugs- a speckled bush- cricket?

I've shown photographs before on this blog from my friend David Le Clecq which are all of a high standard but this one is exceptional.
Click on the photo to enlarge! ( if you dare)


Photo by David Le Clercq

Kingfisher Project

This post is a follow up to the previous. Don't forget that to view a photo more clearly simply click on it.

A few photos of one of the schools during a visit to the meadow. The first shows a Grass Vetchling which was growing in the field margin. It is a very attractive flower especially as the plant looks very much like any other blade of grass untill it produces the lovely flower.



A group of children listening to information about butterflies and moths. A moth trap is on the ground in the foreground. "Butterfly Conservation" in action!




The Bee keeper waiting for the next group of children. He was a little concerned about the Queen Bee getting a little overheated on this rare sunny day.



Group activity checking owl pellets to look for small mammal bones. Pulling apart owl droppings was easily the most interesting activity followed by the trapping of a shrew.



Not all the exhibits were live . These two owls were stuffed. Animals found to have died from natural causes can still be of service. There was a live animal for the children to rub shoulders with so to speak.

Kingfisher Project

The Kingfisher Project.

Introduction

The Kingfisher Award Scheme was set up here in Somerset by Michael Brown in 2008.

Its objective is to make children aware of the relationship between wildlife and farming; to look at habitats in detail and to inspire them generally with a life long interest in the country. The Scheme was launched in Devon in 1992, the idea of poet laureate Ted Hughes and friends, and has been running very successfully there ever since. It is affiliated to FWAG – Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group – but not supported financially by them and entirely self funded.
This is its first year of operation in Somerset.


Though nearly all specialist help is voluntary, the cost of running Kingfisher is about £5,500 a year, with transport, specialist equipment, travel, food, prizes and insurance amongst the main outgoings. The Somerset branch of the charity has to stand entirely on its own and funds have been raised from a small number of donors, farmers and landowners and by running a marathon.
The Project was able to invite six local primary schools to farmland just south of Curry Rivel, in a stunning grass meadow displaying many old grass species and native wildflowers.
Each school were invited to send one class, usually 9-11 yr olds, and each had half a day on site. Learning in the open, and learning by discovery are the two main themes of the Kingfisher Award - and having fun too!


And it is more than just a farm visit for it has three distinct parts: the Field Trip; the Project; and the Presentation.


The Field Trip.

The field trip involves practical time on a farm site where children are introduced to a specific habitat, for example, hedge rows and field margins. This year in early June we based our presentations around the food chain. The children were able to see close up a real live barn owl and to learn how they hunted and what they ate by dissecting owl pellets (very popular!). They were able to look at the skulls of small mammals and follow this up by seeing how they can be studied by trapping voles, mice and shrews, to be released unharmed back in their habitat.
Butterfly Conservation volunteers were able to show some live specimens of local butterflies and moths and a local bee keeper provided an active hive, totally enclosed for safety.
The emphasis was given to hands on investigation, no note taking, and a high priority on having fun. The children learn in the company of specialists and volunteers, (most of whom are local), through discovery and because they were captivated by what they see.


The Project.

The second part follows on from the field visit when the children go back to the classroom and work together to research and create displays that reflect their experience in the field.

The Presentation.

Finally the children’s work was displayed and judged at a special Presentation day on July 15th, in a large old stone grain barn at Home Farm, Curry Rivel, near Langport. The experience for the children included prizes, a picnic, a storyteller and music.

The presentations were based on the field visits that took place in early June. It was clear that schools and their children had put a great deal of effort into their displays which even included poems and photo albums of the event.

The Judging.

And the judging! A panel of three judges were able to talk to the children about their work, carefully assess the displays and prizes were awarded to the runner up as well as winning school. First Prize receives a hand carved Kingfisher Trophy as well as a day in class with willow worker, Serena de la Haye. Serena is well known for her willow sculpture of the figure alongside the M5 near Bridgewater.



Summing Up

Each year a challenge trophy will be awarded to the winning school along with prizes and certificates. What is fascinating is the variety of work produced from a similar experience. Best of all is hearing from the children about their experience and the positive reaction of the teachers for whom it has been a wonderful way to teach the curriculum.
It was a huge success, the children were totally absorbed and the three days were as much enjoyed by adults as they were by the children. Such has been the success of the scheme that the aim next year is to broaden its scope and invite schools from towns as well as villages to take part.


This project description has been based on information supplied by Michael Brown and edited for this blog. Any errors should be sent to the Blog Ed!

Wildflowers in June

Here are three photos taken on 16th June. The first ( below) is a Bee Orchid showing seed pods developing from the early flowers with others still going strong
On the right is a Pyramidal Orchid at an early stage of flowering which will continue through into July.
The third photo is a the really beautiful single flower on a Grass Vetchling. According to the books it is the only vetch which looks just like a grass. It is therefor almost impossible to see until it flowers. Click on the picture to get the real beauty of this plant.

All these photos were taken by Mike Cook in our local meadow on 16th June.

I'll add some more to cover July next.

Badgers Cull background information.

For information here is the summary of the press release issued 18th June 2007 and the report covered seems to be the subject of current press speculation about the UK Government policy on culling Badgers. The policy may be announced on Monday 7th July 2008

*********************************************************************************


INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC GROUP ON CATTLE TB
Chairman: Professor John Bourne CBE MRCVS
18 June 2007
PRESS RELEASE
BOVINE TB: INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC GROUP PUBLISHES FINAL
REPORT
The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) today published its Final Report,
Bovine TB: The Scientific Evidence.
The Report describes the outcome of nearly ten years’ work which has provided a broad
understanding of the complex issues involved in the epidemiology of TB in both cattle
and badgers. The potential of badger culling for cattle TB control and the likely
effectiveness of enhanced cattle based control measures have been evaluated.
The ISG has concluded that, although badgers contribute significantly to the cattle
disease in some parts of the country, no practicable method of badger culling can reduce
the incidence of cattle TB to any meaningful extent, and several culling approaches may
make matters worse. The ISG also conclude that rigidly applied control measures
targeted at cattle can reverse the rising incidence of disease, and halt its geographical
spread.
Publishing the Report, ISG Chairman Professor John Bourne said:
“The objective of our work, outlined in this scientific report, has been to seek
scientific truth and to provide clarity on the major issues that need to be considered
for gaining control of cattle TB.”
“We believe that in this Report Ministers now have sufficiently robust and extensive
evidence to enable informed policy decisions to be made. They now have the sound
science they require.”
Concluding, Professor Bourne said:
“After nearly a decade of work we believe that we have fulfilled our original aims
and are now able to provide a comprehensive appreciation of the overall problem.
Our findings will surprise some, and be unwelcome to others.”
“Having shown that the main approach to cattle TB control should be rigorously
targeted to cattle, we hope that the overwhelming scientific evidence we have
provided to support this view, and the policy options we present, will enable the
farming industry and Government to work together in a constructive and cooperative
manner to tackle this very serious disease of cattle which causes so much economic
loss and hardship to cattle farmers”.
Cattle tuberculosis (TB) was almost cleared from Britain in the 1970s but has since reemerged
as a major problem for British farmers. Badgers (Meles meles) were implicated
in spreading the infectious agent (the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis) to cattle and
between 1973 and 1998 cattle-based TB controls were supplemented by various forms of
badger culling.
A scientific review of the issue, chaired by Professor John Krebs (now Lord Krebs) and
completed in 1997, concluded that there was “compelling” evidence that badgers were
involved in transmitting infection to cattle. However, it noted that the development of
TB policy was hampered because the effectiveness of badger culling as a control measure
could not be quantified with data then available. Professor Krebs’ team therefore
recommended the establishment of a large-scale field trial of the effects of badger culling
on cattle TB incidence, to be overseen by a group of independent experts.
The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) was formed in 1998. In addition to
designing and overseeing the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), the ISG
identified and initiated a broad array of research related to the diagnosis, pathogenesis,
dynamics and control of TB in cattle and badgers. This report – the ISG’s 6th and final,
formal, report – describes the outcome of this research, which provides a previously
unavailable scientific basis for the design of future TB control policy.

Badger cull - News - Wildlife Trusts Somerset

Badger cull - News - Wildlife Trusts Somerset

Orchids, wild, Pyramidal, rare white specimen

I tried using a piece of card painted brown to assist getting a clear picture!

You may be interested to know that on a visit to our local meadow two days ago I was surprised to find a pure white orchid which is probably a white version of the Pyramidal Orchid. It is said to be a rare occurrence. There is a photograph in the book which can be seen from the web site linked here

Britain's Orchids

A guide to the identification and ecology of the wild orchids of Britain and Ireland

David Lang
(interactive version)

This website is a fully interactive, searchable version of the book; Britain's Orchids, published jointly by English Nature and WILDGuides

Web site link:

http://www.britainsorchids.fieldguide.co.uk

Bats in Somerset

I've noticed from the visit counter that people regularly view this Blog searching for information about bats. As I have posted very little on the subject it may help if I put some contact details and web links in this post. Hope this is useful.

Somerset Bat Group
Contact Name:	David Cottle
Telephone:	01749 674257
The Somerset Bat Group provides an advisory service on Bat problems and conducts roost visits on behalf of Natural England. It carries out systematic recording and regular monitoring of a large number of summer and winter roost sites. It has close links with the Bat Conservation Trust and is a branch of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

David can also be contacted via the Wildlife Trust on telephone: 01823 652400

**********************************************************************************
Here is a web site link to The Bat Conservation Trust:
Here is an extract from their site:

What are bats doing now: July

Young bats will start to fly at three weeks old, although their mothers will still be feeding them with milk. Young bats are very small (less than an inch) with thin, slightly grey fur, and are sometimes found on the ground as they learn to fly.

The Trust runs a forum which you can use , after registration, to raise any questions about bats.


**********************************************************************************
Here is a link to a web site, "First Nature Guide" giving photos and details of UK bats.