Northumberland Wildlife Trust is hosting a special Big Wild Saturday on 20 June and have exciting news about being featured on television.
Big Wild Saturday 20 June
Northumberland Wildlife Trust is holding a special Big Wild Saturday on 20 June at one of its most popular reserves at Northumberlandia, and they’re inviting everybody to come and join in the fun!
Northumberland Wildlife Trust is joining forces with the other 45 wildlife trusts all across Britain, as part of the annual 30 days wild UK nature challenge which takes place every year in June. Across the country there will be a number of great events, with the aim of helping people to improve their health and well-being while at the same time bringing them closer to nature.
The event runs from 10 am to 4 pm and will feature medicine and herb walks, a mindfulness in nature session, an outdoor sound bath experience, outdoor yoga and an introduction to foraging, all as the Wildlife Trust themselves say “under the watchful eye of Northumberlandia herself!”
The medicinal herb walk and talk around the grounds of Northumberlandia will be led by professional herbalist Davina Hopkinson. Members of the public will be able to learn more about the benefits of different kinds of plants that have been used for centuries to help heal people.
Meanwhile Michael Atkinson, a mindfulness professional, will it be on hand to help anybody who is feeling stressed with daily life. He will gently guide people through a mindfulness in nature session which is designed to calm the mind and leave an individual feeling refreshed and relaxed.
On the same day Alison Scanlan is hosting an outdoor sound bath session. Alison is a professional sound bath therapist who will leave people through a therapeutic sound bath experience using her voice, a number of different instruments, and periods of silence to help people find a state of calm in their body and mind.
If anybody is tired of staring at the same things on supermarket shelves, then the Cramlington forager aka Gemma Gee will guide people around the site while talking about foraging and pointing out edible plants along the way and how the hedgerow is nature’s larder that has been used for centuries by people to supplement their diets. It is very important to know what is safe and edible and what isn’t it…
Last but not least, there will be a forest bathing and nature crafting session hosted by the trust’s community and nature team. They will take groups through the woodland around Northumberlandia to find out more about the benefits of green spaces, while also creating their very own piece of art inspired by mindful nature.
Find out which event are bookable and which events are a ‘drop-in’ here.
Frances Smiles, Community Events Co‑ordinator at Northumberland Wildlife Trust, commented:
“Whether you live in a busy city centre or in the countryside, wildlife can be found everywhere if you spend just a moment looking for it.
“Connecting to the natural world is the first step to caring for it and playing a part in protecting it. It starts with the simple things – listening to morning birdsong, hearing hedgerows humming with life, or even just pausing to watch clouds drift across the sky. This June, join the national 30 Days Wild family and have some fun.”
CBeebies at Hauxley Nature Reserve
In more exciting news from Northumberland Wildlife Trust a CBeebies series this November will feature Hauxley Nature Reserve near Amble as it follows a local child going to a nature reserve for their very first time.
Hauxley Nature Reserve teamed up with the production company to film a special episode of My first…
This is a long running series on CBeebies that follows young children as they do something for the first time in their life. The series has been going on since 2016 and has covered more than 50 young people doing things for the first time including opening a bank account, going on a boat trip, getting glasses and having a haircut before starting nursery.
As you could probably guess this episode will feature a first visit to a nature reserve, in this case Hauxley Nature Reserve on Druridge Bay.
In the programme, a local youngster explores the reserves discovery centre habitats and wildlife and they even hope that Druridge Bay Landscape manager Alex Lister will appear as the narrator for part of the episode.
This is not the first time that Hauxley Nature Reserve has been on camera as it already appeared on the BBC’s flagship wildlife series Springwatch, CBeebies favourite Hamzas Eco Quest, Robson Green’s weekend escapes which looks at lovely parts of our Northumbrian landscape and Hauxley reserve has also been on Countryfile.
The discovery centre team at Hauxley has lots of experience of having film crews around and the trust have noted that this latest collaboration continues to put Northumbria’s wildlife on the national stage
Alex Lister, Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Druridge Bay Landscape Manager said:
“I had a wonderful day filming with the crew – the sun shone and the wildlife didn’t disappoint. Whenever the Hauxley reserve features on national television we have an influx of visitors onto the site and into the café all to see for themselves what they saw on their screens, and I have a feeling it will be the same when this CBeebies episode airs.”
Cleaning ponds at Weetslade Country Park
The recent warm weather has been taken advantage of by Northumberland Wildlife Trust to clean several of its ponds at Weetslade Country Park in North Tyneside.
The Country Park lies on a strategic wildlife corridor and at the hilltop of the reserve there is a prominent drill head sculpture to remember the site’s mining past, while on a clear day it’s possible to view the city of Newcastle the Cheviots and the North Sea
The wildlife charity has been working with a local contractor to oversee the clearing of quickly growing vegetation from one of the ponds.
There are several benefits to having open exposed patches of water in a pond. They provide a safe watering hole for voles, birds and hedgehogs allowing them to drink without getting caught up in dense wood. It also allows sunlight to reach plants that help the water breathe and bats to swoop down and scoop up newly hatched insects.
Around the edge of the pond a three-metre margin has been left for birds such as starlings, hen harriers and pied wagtails to take shelter and nest in.
Meanwhile nesting islands have been created elsewhere on the reserve by a team of staff and volunteers on three of the other ponds. These will encourage the return of birds such as reed buntings and swans.
In the summer this popular nature reserve is alive with the gorgeous song of dozens of skylarks and visitors can delight in the aerial shows of martins, swifts and swallows.
Peter Ernstm, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Estates Officer commented:
“Weetslade Colliery Park is an absolute gem of a reserve visited by thousands of people each year. Our volunteers work tirelessly throughout the year to keep it wonderful for visitors and the resident wildlife.”
Northumberland wildlife Trust is hosting two free guided walks (courtesy of The Land Trust) on Friday 10 July and Friday 7 August. Members of the public will be able to enjoy an informal and relaxed and tour of the site and learn interesting facts about how the site was established and what is being done to help preserve the resident wildlife in the future.
For more information visit www.nwt.org.uk/events
Bylines Network Gazette is out!
The latest Bylines Network Gazette is out now. Become a Friend of Bylines Network or upgrade to a paid Substack subscription, and you will get access to a vital collection of citizen articles and stories.
Journalism by the people, for the people.
