It was lovely to see lots of people come to hear bee expert Trevor Smith talk about Masons, Miners, Leafcutters and Bumblebees. There are an amazing 270 species of bee in the UK, of which most are solitary and restricted by habitat and geographic location. Some species are specialists only collecting pollen from a single … Continue reading Talk Summary – All about Bumblebees
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May’s Evening Talk
The subject of this month's evening talk is something dear to everyone's hearts - bees. We're lucky enough to have local bee expert Trevor Smith come and talk with us about Bumblebees and some of the other species of solitary bees we might find in our gardens. Trevor has been running bee identification courses for … Continue reading May’s Evening Talk
Talk Summary – BioCap’s Sulham Woodmeadows Project
Ed Cooper of BioCap Ltd gave a fascinating talk on the Sulham Woodmeadows project near Tilehurst in West Berkshire. He explained the importance of Natural Capital and how it helps building developers meet their Biodiversity Net Gains (BNG) targets. Developers must increase the biodiversity of the sites on which they're building by 10% but this … Continue reading Talk Summary – BioCap’s Sulham Woodmeadows Project
Good News Story
Reading or listening to the news isn't easy these days and cheering stories are few and far between. Well, here's one that will make you smile Back in 2018, Nightingale Triangle was a patch of overgrown and scrubby woodland, with more discarded hypodermic needles and rubbish than flora and fauna. Today, thanks to the hard … Continue reading Good News Story
Tough Love – New RSPB Advice on Bird Feeders
Hello, The RSPB has recently issued new advice on bird feeders that seems counterintuitive but is extremely important for the wellbeing of the birds which grace our gardens. The problem is a disease called trichomonosis which is highly contagious disease and can spread where birds gather in large numbers such as at bird feeders. Research … Continue reading Tough Love – New RSPB Advice on Bird Feeders
April’s Evening Talk
Hello all, This month's talk should be fascinating. Our guest speaker is Ed Cooper, the founder of BioCap, a charity working with partners to ensure that 130ha of former arable land near Tilehurst is speedily repurposed to ensure that biodiversity gain, carbon and nutrient offsetting - and other natural solutions - are managed to enhance … Continue reading April’s Evening Talk
Talk Summary – Butterfly Identification
Grahame Hawker’s talk about butterfly identification was greatly anticipated, drew the second biggest audience of the year and didn’t disappoint. Grahame is the Vice-chairman and Conservation & Recording Officer for the Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation – and the champion of one of our area’s local treasures, the Silver-studded Blue. In an information-rich presentation, … Continue reading Talk Summary – Butterfly Identification
March’s Monthly Talk – Butterflies
Our next Monthly Talk, to be held on Monday 16th March, will be a great deal of fun, as our speaker is Grahame Hawker from the Upper Thames branch of Butterfly Conservation. He’s going tell us about the many species found in our area and teach us how to tell which is which. So if you've always wanted … Continue reading March’s Monthly Talk – Butterflies
Better late than…
The dastardly Gremlins managed to waylay our summary of January's trip to Dinton Pastures but, belatedly, it's here! Apologies to Heather King who organised the trip and produced a brilliant write-up of a memorable morning. Thank you to those who attended our birdwatching trip to Dinton Pastures on 31st January, we were very lucky with … Continue reading Better late than…
The Jubilee River – Summary of January’s Evening Talk
Last Monday (Jan 19th) local wildlife expert Brian Clews gave an excellent presentation on the Jubilee River to a packed room. This fascinating talk covered the Jubilee River's design and construction, the storm damage in 2003, and the wildlife it attracts. This is the largest artificial channel in the UK, created to protect homes and … Continue reading The Jubilee River – Summary of January’s Evening Talk
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