The Hatching

Singing the fish, 1:

The Hatching

river catchment area up at Wycoller in Trawden

A new project begins now. 6 schools in Burnley have received aquaria and are now hatching small numbers of fish eggs so that the school communities can watch these first few weeks of trout-life before releasing the fish into the rapidly improving River Ribble

My friend Steve Brown are going to be working in those 6 schools to write poems and stories and make music inspired by this process. The resulting artwork will help reinforce the experience and will help us share the excitements and anticipations of The Hatching with a wider public

Activities began on Saturday as part of an Open Day at the Canalside Community Association's centre in Burnley. There between storytelling and noisy drumming sessions we were making the components of a healthy river….with a few implausible additions

Over the next few weeks, I'll add poems, pictures and music (if I can manage that) to share the excitement of our new families

Ribble Rivers Trust

"In the past, industrial and agricultural pollution as well as water abstraction and inadequate sewage treatment have caused severe habitat damage to the Ribble and its tributaries, to such an extent that the wildlife supported by the river has been put under threat. The Trust was established in order to enhance the water environments of the catchment, by restoring and protecting the river to make certain that future generations can enjoy the beauty of its wildlife and fauna." - introduction from the Trust's website 

sharks and a crocodile claim local children

Wandering in the West

Out in the west of ireland now for a few days (thank you Grundtvig funding!) to attend the Burrenbeo Land-based Learning conference and meet a couple of other organisations.

Too much travelling today! But travelling into such an exciting landscape

In Caherconnel ringfort, I got very distracted by their stone walls....

Beautiful ferns tucked into the cracks in the limestone pavements (are they still called grikes in ireland?)

 Hanging over a wall, failing to photograph tadpoles in a cattle-trough!

And this lovely piece of writing:
This barony affordeth not a piece of timber sufficient to hang a man, water in any one place to drown a man or earth enough in any place to bury him. This consists of one entire rock with here and there a little surface of earth, which raiseth earlier Beef and Mutton, though they allow no hay, than any land in this Kingdome, & much sweeter by reason of the sweet herbs intermixed and distributed everywhere...

The Journal of Thomas Dineley, 1681

Poulnabrone Dolmen

Biodiversity excitements in Derbyshire!

Lowland Derbyshire Biodiversity Partnership Forum 2012

17 November 2012

9.45 - 16.00

County Hall, Matlock
A programme of talks, workshops and displays showing how you can get the message about biodiversity across to a variety of different audiences in fun and imaginative ways.

Free but places need booking

Visit the website: www.derbyshirebiodiversity.org.uk

More information:

Get the biodiversity message across!

In our world of 24 hours-a-day media, and with many demands for our attention, we need effective and imaginative ways

Each year the Lowland Derbyshire Biodiversity Partnership holds a themed Annual Forum for partners and community groups. This year that theme is about Communication.

Our event will look at a number of imaginative ways being used to encourage others to appreciate and respect nature, or to become active volunteers or members of local groups.

The workshops on offer will be wide and varied. You can pick up to three, so it’s easy to try out different activities in a safe environment and learn from experienced practitioners. Details of the workshops are on the next page of this flier. Please select your preferred choices of workshop when you complete this booking form.

By the end of the event, we hope you will be inspired to try out some different ways to communicate your passion for nature to others. The workshops are designed to give you a range of different techniques to take back to your work or voluntary projects, so you’ll be contributing to the ‘educational’ part of the Lowland Derbyshire Biodiversity Action Plan, too!

There will be plenty of opportunities during the day to share experiences amongst like-minded individuals, as well as to meet other groups and individuals within the county.

How much does it cost?
Attendance at the Annual Forum is free, but places must be booked in advance using the attached form.

Who is the event aimed at?

The event is aimed at partners, parish councils, landowners, schools, volunteers, community groups, students and anyone else who wants to find out about different ways of communicating a biodiversity-related message. Anyone can attend the event, but priority will be given to organisations in Derbyshire, or who are already part of the LBAP Partnership.

A world gathering worth joining

WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONGRESS 2013

It's a bit of an unwieldy title but WEEC2007 was one of the most exciting events I've been to in ages!

http://www.weec2013.org/en/ 

The 2007 WEEC was in Durban and I came away with new friends, new experiences and a bucket full of ideas to think about

things to see

2013 is a bit closer to Europe - Marrakesh in Morocco. We're right on the deadline for submissions and for early bird bookings but do take a look, have a think and maybe plunge in! (Images are from Durban)

time and places to stop and chat

Don't think too long, like jumping into the water, it's better just to leap!

Hope to see you there!

things to handle

And we visited an aquarium so, of course, I got very excited about the animals!

Summer excitements

As hot sunny days arrive suddenly in a rush, I've been out and about telling stories, being told stories, making a mess and generally having a lovely time sliding people into creative ways of engaging with the world around them

A few examples follow....

Padfield

All geared up and ready for stories: a community day at Padfield village in Derbyshire for High Peak Community Arts

High Peak Comm Arts have a lovely yurt to tell stories in....

all ready for action: chair, drum and puppet.....

There was also a day at Risley Moss Country Park as part of a biodiversity project Warrington Museum have been running. Here, a team of young people and I explored the woods and made tree books, wrote new tree poems and invented some wild tree stories, aiming to use the group's existing bodiversity knowledge to inform our storytelling

MY TREE

My Tree,

It's thin and tall

but not so small,

That's my tree.

Ash and ivy are leaves

that'll scuttle up your sleeves,

That's my tree

Bright red lines are the marks

that dance around the dark brown bark,

That's my tree

There is no tree that smiles with glee

But my tree

BIO-COUNT

One bird chirping in a tree,

Two blue dragonflies fluttering by the tree,

Three damselflies chasing each other over the pond,

Four daisies blooming in the sun,

Five flies flying away,

Six children squelching in the mud,

Eight birds in a flock,

Nine trees almost making a forest,

Ten buildings in the distance

Most recently, we've just had a day of running Away with the Faeries, Goblins and Trolls....but that can make a new post