We’re lucky to have fantastic Business Fundraising Members and for 2010 we’d like to highlight every month some of the great ways they are raising funds, and encouraging or promoting Island wildlife at their sites. To start this off are Corries Cabin and Rosemary Cottage B&B – if any of our other business members would like to send in an update on what they’ve been up to on behalf of Gift to Nature that would be much appreciated!
Richard Quigley owns and runs 2 fish and chip shops – Corries Cabin in Shooters Hill, Cowes and Corries Cabin in Oakfield High Street, Ryde. We asked him recently about his involvement as a Gift to Nature Business fundraising member;
“For over 18 months Corries Cabin has been a member of Gift to Nature. Our involvement started following a local press report about what they did. As we own businesses that rely on the local community, it made perfect sense to support them. One of the fundraising events we have in the shops is a week where 50p from every meal goes to a selected charity. In 2009 Gift to Nature was one of them. I also perform stand-up comedy so was more than happy to perform and compere the recent Twestival
in aid of Gift to Nature. We all need to do at least a little bit to protect the fantastic environment we have on the Isle of Wight and Gift to Nature is a good way of doing this.”
Over in Newchurch, David Hughes, who runs Rosemary Cottage B&B has recently put up 3 Squirrel Feeders in the B&B’s garden and diligently keeps these fully stocked with hazelnuts. And David’s efforts have paid off, with squirrel visitors to all the feeders on a daily basis! David has been poised waiting to snap a squirrel in nut-munching mode, but as soon as he reaches for a camera they’re gone! But as soon as one is available we’ll post it up ……..in the meantime here’s one we prepared earlier.
For more pics see our Smugmug site
Sandman Snowman
January Sunday 24 10.30am
It’s free and it’s fun, you bring spades and buckets, we’ll supply the carrots, coal and hot chocolate. Visit http://owfhow.xrt.me/ to see fab pictures of past events.
Meet at Small Hope Beach Shanklin
Leader Island 2000 Tel 298098
Ventnor wild food walk
February Sunday 7 1 – 4pm
Explore Ventnor’s land and seascapes and find out about edible and useful plants. Circular walk of about 5 miles. Booking essential.
Leader Rowan Adams Tel 298098
Meet Ventnor Botanic Garden reference library GR 547 768
Cost Donation to Friends of Ventnor Botanic Garden
Celebration: The origin of the Origin
February Friday 12 1 – 4pm
Walk between the hotel and the villa where Charles Darwin (born 201 years ago today) wrote the first chapter of the Origin of Species. There-and-back-again walk of about 5 miles
Booking advised
Leader Rowan Adams Tel 298098
Meet outside the seaside entrance to the Ocean Hotel, Esplanade, Sandown GR 600 841
Cost Donations welcome
Appley birdwatch
February Sunday 28 10.30am
On this bird walk, we’ll look for grebes, divers and gulls before exploring Appley Park for winter thrushes and finches.
Leader Island 2000 Tel 298098
Meet Ryde seafront behind the Waterside pool
Cost £2 donation to Gift to Nature
Gift to Nature Spring Walk – Members Only
March Sunday 28 10.30am
Guided Walk down through Alverstone Marshes and back along the cycleway – woodlands and wetlands full of flowers, bugs and birds
Meet in Newchurch parish Car Park (by the school)
Ventnor wild food walk
March Sunday 7 1 – 4pm
Explore Ventnor’s land and seascapes and find out about edible and useful plants, circular walk of about 5 miles
Booking essential
Leader Rowan Adams Tel 298098
Meet Ventnor Botanic Garden reference library GR 547 768
Cost Donation to Gift to Nature
G2N sites provide a natural larder of berries, fruit, seeds, nuts – just think of the Hawthorn bushes at Totland Meadow or the fruit trees at Sandown Wetlands Orchard. But everyone can help by feeding the birds which come into gardens, plus you then have the added bonus of being able to observe them at close quarters.
Put out high-energy food such as fat balls, pastry, cheese, nuts and seeds, fruit (apples, pears, sultanas). Don’t forget to keep the food topped up daily though, as once birds start to associate a garden with food they’ll waste needless energy flying there if on arrival the table is bare! Different species have different requirements in terms of how the food is ‘served up’ – so mix and match with hanging feeders, bird tables, food like cheese or pastry wedged into cracks in walls, or scattered on the ground. You might even put out any left over dog or cat food! It’s a good idea too to ensure they are able to access unfrozen drinking water even if it’s just some warm water in an upturned bin-lid.
Fieldfare by Wikimedia user MPF
Our Director Ian Boyd was enthusing about our iconic Wall Lizards on the BBC this week.
The Green Gym cleared bramble, bracken and Willow, in order to make room for smaller wetland plants, such as Heath Spotted Orchid and Marsh Pennywort. They also set to work repairing dams in order to maintain water tables, again to help these type of plants flourish. The cut Willow was recycled, as it was used to create a woven willow fence to replace a broken section of the existing cleft-oak fencing.
Conservation work in January this year
Excellent news from Parkhurst, the Pearl-bordered Fritillary population is recovering. This is in part thanks to conservation work Gift to Nature funded. Green Gym volunteers cleared swathes of ride edges to provide the essential habitat for this rare little butterfly. The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is one of our most threatened species, principally due to the reduction in coppicing, the butterfly responds well to clearing work which provides their favourite food sources.
Pearl-bordered Fritillary courtesy of ukbutterflies.co.uk
Parkhurst is now back in Forestry Commission management after a lapse of a few years and has already undergone quite a transformation in 2009 which will lead to some interesting changes in the future.
Join us for a fantastic quest along the Troll Trail tomorrow. Answer the questions as you go, pop into Birchmore Pond to spot the dragonflies. Take it at your own pace, pick up your question sheets from me (Sam) at Merstone Station between 2.00 and 2.30 then head off along the trail answering the clues, some are easy, some are much harder. Submit your answers by email and those with the most correct will win a years membership of Friends of Nature.
The Troll Trail Quest is one of the Isle of Wight Cycling Festival events, for more check out their website www.sunseaandcycling.com
How much fun can you really have with a sack of pine cones, some leaves, bark, glue and googly eyes? Well a whole load actually. Our Director helped entertain the chilled out crowed at the Bestival in the Quay Arts tent. Then we spent a very sunny afternoon at the slightly more laid back 1200 Strong Voluntary and Community Fayre. Well, while we did have great fun with the googly eyes we also chatted to loads of very friendly people about Gift to Nature conservation and gave out lots of free walk leaflets and our few remaining Green Guides. Thanks to Karl Dyson for arranging the event and Brading Roman Villa for being wonderful hosts.
Photo Courtesy of Mark Thirlwall
The first ever Isle of Wight Twestival voted to support Gift to Nature with a comedy and cocktails night. Check out the iowtwestival website for photos of the night and your chance to buy any of the images – all proceeds to Gift to Nature. Gift to Nature would like to say a huge thank to all those that made the night possible, this includes the whole iowtwestival team who generously gave their time and skills for months leading up to the event. We would also like to thank all of the musicians, comedians and DJs who performed for free. Also the Black Sheep bar who not only provided the venue for free but also the most excellent complimentary cocktails and tasty (yet ever so slight medicine like) blue shots. Thanks to Island printers who printed the tickets and posters for free. We also send out a huge thanks to all of those generous businesses and individuals who provided raffle prizes particularly Son of Leek Rabbit who has found a new home where he will be well cared for. And finally thanks to all of those who bought tickets and took part in the auction, you made the night an fantastic success.
I am continuing my rolling tests of the BeeWicks. They are still coming up though they’re taking a little longer now.
The IW Green Gym visited Totland Meadow last Wednesday, the previous day we commissioned Roger Lamlugh to cut a section of the meadow to the west of the field and GGs task was to rake up all of the cuttings. This removes nutrients from the ground and encourages a more diverse mixture of plants. The cut material was stacked onto the hibernaculum and in amongst the hedgerow undergrowth. Braken had started to encroach from the north-east corner, this was cleared and the material stacked. Volunteers also cut down encroaching scrub and cleared litter.
We made it to Wolverton despite finding that our display kit was all barricaded behind Heras fencing as part of our building’s (we share with Vestas) defence measures. But the show will go on and a washing line of our favourite photos and pics of our members did us proud today. If you are visiting Wolverton tomorrow (worth it just for Last Orders) please come and say hello, Martin and Lin will be manning the stand.
contributed by Ian Boyd
Tonight a merry band toasted the return of the Arreton Hare by the light of a glorious full moon.
Long may she stay exactly where she is, and be loved by all.
Grange Farm is situated on the south coast of the Island, an excellent area for exploring the coast and the countryside. The Farm also boasts an exotic mix of inhabitants who you will be introduced to by your hosts, including llamas, kune-kune pigs, goats, water buffalos, and a range of poultry. Accommodation at the farm ranges from camping and caravans to beautiful converted barns.
Grange Farm has donated a weekend family camping pass for the Twestival Comedy and Cocktails night on the 12th of September, all proceeds go to Gift to Nature. To find out more and buy tickets check out the Isle of Wight Twestival website
contributed by Lin Watterson
The last two months have been memorable for many of us due to the theft of the Hare carved at Arreton Cross. This occurred overnight between 25th and 26th July.
Concerned phone calls were made by passers-by, coordinated by Pat Phillips and when I arrived at the site along with James Pickett and Ann, this was the extent of the damage.
As you can see several cuts were made by hand including across the magpie and under the Hare’s toes. with a handsaw. A mechanised saw was then used to hack the Hare away from its supporting stump.
A concerted effort was immediately made by members of the Parish Council, Island 2000 Trust, Local Police, and local people, one of whom was able to get our pictures onto South Today. National newspapers were contacted and the theft was put on-line under “Public Art Theft” by the Daily Mirror. The aim was to point out how unique this piece of work is. The County Press agreed to come out and cover the incident in which the perpetrators were asked to return the Hare.
The Hare was found during the first week in August.
When the holidaymakers who found the Hare picked it up, they took it to Russell Palin’s woodyard and Russell, knowing both Paul Sivell the artist and Ian Boyd the Director of Island 2000, was able to immediately tell them where it belonged. A further co-incidence was that this couple had taken a shine to the food and hospitality at the White Lion and Chris and Katie the owners, were the first to know the good news! The couple, Mr and Mrs Yates from Tarleton, Lancashire have been coming to the Isle of Wight for 19 years. They went to Culver Down to admire one of their favourite views and to their surprise found the Hare in the car park, before the artillery fort. They weren’t sure what it was, so as they were staying at Beaper Farm camp site, dropped it into the Whitefield wood yard at Beaper Shute.
Chris and Katie Cole generously offered to start a collection for Gift to Nature to help put the Hare back. Lin Watterson our Administrator made up a special “Hare restorer” box and to date the pub have raised more than £60. The original project was backed by the Parish Council with £100 donation and commissioned by Gift to Nature , with the help of IWC Parks and Countryside Manager Matthew Chatfield. Gft to Nature and The IWC paid the majority of the costs and obtained approval. The charity now faces £150 bill for the restoration costs but it looks like this will be covered mainly by local donations. Matthew has asked me to say that the idea of “public art” is that the local people would enjoy and feel that they own items such as the Hare and this certainly seems true. Several people have observed that the magpies seemed to be crying or mourning without the Hare so it was great to have him/her back!
Gift to Nature Hare at Arreton Cross
Welcome to Gift to Nature’s brand new website. We have added loads more content for you to browse through. We want this to be a collaborative site, we’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences of the conservation, whether you saw Wasp Spiders at Totland or heard the plop of a Watervole at Sandown Wetlands.
This is a brand new site so if you come across any glitches or broken links please let us know and we will get it fixed.
If you would like to send us a photo or a post for the site or there is something you would like to know more about please email me at sam@gifttonature.org.uk
We are all very excited about the upcoming Twesitval, especially when they voted Gift to Nature as the charity to benefit from the event. Come and join us for a fantastic night of comedy and live music.
Where: Black Sheep in Ryde, IW
When: 12th September 2009
How much: £10 in advance or £12 on the door. Get tickets here
Lineup:
- Music: Twestival DJs
- Music: acoustic live set from Ben Fiddle
- Comedy: Richard Quigley
- Auction: a charity auction with some amazing lots to bid for… more details soon.
- Comedy: Ric Wharton (student comedian of the year) One of the biggest names in student comedy today – live on the Isle of Wight!
For a unique holiday on the Isle of Wight you might want to take a look at Gift to Nature member “The Really Green Holiday Company“. Their take on a self catering holiday is quite different to anything I’ve come across before, offering a range of yurts and bell tents sited in the beautiful orchards at Afton Park. TRGHC are keen to look for as many ways of keeping your holiday green as possible, from composting loos (no they don’t smell, I have checked!) to ferry pick up and bike hire options so you can leave your car at home or at the port. They saw membership of Gift to Nature as an obvious way to give their visitors a chance to give something back to the Island and help maintain the captivating beauty of the Isle of Wight. You’re just a short bike ride or a moderate walk away from the Gift to Nature site at Totland too (One Horse Field).
The Really Green Holiday Company ask their visitors to make a contribution to Gift to Nature for every basket of logs or bag of charcol used during their holiday. These are provided at no charge to guests, so we hope if you visit you will be as generous as your hosts!
