nature's fireworks wonders

Features from Wildlife magazine Wildlife articles 2008 -- Spring 2008 -- ::Severn Barrage ::The Variety of life ::A year at Willsbridge ::Willsbridge comes of age ::Reaching out - Willsbridge ::Round the reserves Wildlife articles 2007 -- Autumn 2007 -- ::Thinking BIG ::Watery webs:the pond network ::Wildlife in the landscape ::Variety of life ::How to be a climate friend ::Seasonal stroll - Walborough ::Round the reserves -- Summer 2007 -- ::The Folly Farm appeal ::Weston Big Wood-biodiversity at its best ::The variety of life ::How to capture a butterfly ::How to get to know an orchid ::Seasonal stroll - WestonBigWood ::Reserves update -- Spring 2007 -- ::Folly Farm - a very special place ::Making a difference at Folly Farm ::How find the magic at Folly Farm ::Seasonal stroll at Folly Farm ::Magic spots at Folly Farm ::Batscapes ::Climate challenge ::Variety of Life - the Ponways project ::Round the reserves Wildlife articles 2006 -- Autumn 2006 -- ::The Severn Estuary ::Bird Watch results ::How to identify garden birds ::Making space for wildlife ::How does your garden grow? ::Round the reserves -- Summer 2006 -- ::Going for green ::Stand up and be counted ::Happy birthday NSLMP ::Holi day - a riot of spring colour ::Avon's species-rich grassland ::How to photograph dragonflies ::The Big Switch ::Round the reserves -- Spring 2006 -- ::How to identify winter water birds ::Make 2006 the year you... ::Invasive invasion ::Sowing the seeds: Willsbridge Mill ::Round the reserves Wildlife articles 2005 -- Autumn 2005 -- ::Indentify common funghi ::Build a hedgehog hideaway ::Big Bird Watch ::Champions for wildlife ::Round the reserves ::Seeds of the futre: Willsbridge Mill -- Summer 2005 -- ::Restoring Folly Farm ::How to become bee-friendly ::How to identify the butterflies of spring ::Save our seas ::The variety of life: hedgerows ::Round the reserves ::25 Ways to make a difference -- Spring 2005 -- ::The variety of life: water voles ::The Avon Biodiversity Action Plan ::How to take really good wildlife photos ::How to help your garden grow ::Round the reserves ::Seasonal strolls: Browns Folly ::Sowing the seeds: for wildlife for people ::Sowing the seeds: looking back

Features

Seeds of the future
at Willsbridge Mill

has been the central theme of our 25th anniversary celebrations, which have reflected on the Trust's work over the years to ensure a wildlife-rich future. And many of these seeds have been sown at Willsbridge Mill where a fine harvest of
events cropped up this autumn...

Fruits of the earth
On the weekend of National Apple Day on 16 October, we held our celebratory 25th Annual General Meeting as part of a grand Fruity Festival. Visitors and apples alike were in abundance. The value of apples and orchards in our natural landscape was celebrated in imaginative style with many fruity games and activities. 'Guess the Weight of the Howgate Wonder apple' weighed in at a handsome 454gs/1lb 2ozs and attracted 88 guesses. 137 apples were peeled in the The Longest Peel competition with the winning length a staggering 171cms. An apple cake competition attracted several entries and set the hungry judges with a near impossible but very fulfilling task. Try the winning recipe for yourself!

Fungus Forays and Fruity Wanders were made into Willsbridge Valley Local Nature Reserve.Demonstrations in pruning were given by MrFruit in the Wild Waste Garden mini orchard. Entertainment was provided by the Zango band, which included some instruments made from seed cases. 'Impromptu' acapella song group with poetry from the Bristol poets also helped create the perfect backdrop to the proceedings.

A big thankyou to local suppliers of produce who contributed to the many competition prize hampers... Bath Ales, Green Wheel Organic Veg Box scheme, Essential Trading Wholefood Coop, Bath Cheese, Cavalier Cook books, Keith Goverds Quality English Apple Juice and Keynsham Beekeepers honey, Landcare Trees and Shrubs, and Ivy Cottage Plants.

Autumns explosion of colour
Hot on its heels followed 'Natures Fireworks Wonders', a natural alternative to the traditional bonfire night celebration. The event was organised in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council, who sourced funding from the Big Lottery, as part of the National Lottery Day Celebrations on November 5th. The event was also organised to mark the designation of the Council's seven new local nature reserves. Charcoal drawing, pumpkin lanterns, sound sparklers, noisy firework musical instruments made from scrap proved popular activities alongside an exhibition of large sculptures made from natural materials celebrating firework shapes. These impressive 3-D sculptures had been created by children from year 4 at Cherry Garden Primary School. Not one firework was lit, but a first time visitor to the site said, 'This is even better than the usual bonfire night!'

'Poet-Tree' Dressing
Poems inspired by trees provided the theme for the annual Tree Dressing Fair on 4 December. Year 5 students from Cherry Garden school made a series of large sculptural letters which were hung in five trees around the nature reserve. Visitors hung gift tags on the Wild Waste Garden's Walnut tree on which they wrote tree thoughts and the students' own poems were recited as part of the finale on a lantern lit procession to visit some of the trees before the illumination of the Mill windows - like a giant advent calendar.

Special guest at the event was Dick King Smith who captivated the younger visitors with his spellbinding tales of wildlife. He led the finale procession and shared a poem he had written specially for our event...

I look out at the garden of my cottage and I see
A silver birch, a maple, and weeping willow tree.
I planted them, the biggest part of 40 years ago,
And what the 3 of them have done is grow and grow and grow.
The silver birch is very tall, the maple very wide,
And all the while the weeping willow's cried and cried and cried.
Until it's grown enormous, as quickly as it could
My garden's not a garden now,
Its just a blooming wood.