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E-newsletter #10 - April 2021
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The sunshine yellow flowers of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) are some of the first to appear in early spring. Copyright 2021 Steven Cheshire (Transforming the Trent Valley)
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Dear <<First Name>>
Welcome to the latest e-newsletter from Transforming the Trent Valley.
Following what seems like an awfully long winter, the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions and signs of spring bring hope and joy to us all. Of course, the fickle spring weather may get the better of us at times. As I write, an azure blue sky and bright sunshine outside my home-office window contrasts sharply with the black brooding clouds and snow flurry that passed through just a moment ago.
Yet throughout lockdown, more and more of us have recognised the importance of nature and outdoor space to us and its ability to heal us and improve our state of mind. Allowing nature into our lives, even if it is for just a few minutes every day can make a huge difference to our health and wellbeing. It therefore goes without saying that maintaining a healthy, vibrant, diverse environment in which to live, work, play and explore as we start to come out of lockdown is fundamentally important to us all.
Transforming the Trent Valley alongside its partners is doing its bit to help restore nature and the health of our environment through our Living Floodplains and Rolleston Brook Hollows projects. We are also working hard to save our cultural heritage through our Transforming the Trent Valley’s Heritage and Stop! The Military Heritage of the Trent Valley projects whilst our Connecting Communities through Action and River Valley Connections projects will encourage people of all ages to explore and discover this precious landscape and all it has to offer. |
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None of this would not be possible without the support of the
National Lottery Heritage Fund so we thank them and all our partners
for their continued support during these challenging times.
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Trent Talks... it's good to talk!
Our ever-popular Trent Talks continue this month and into May covering a broad and diverse range of subjects. All our Trent Talks are free to attend and include plenty of time for questions and a chat at the end. Details of upcoming talks can be found below. Future talks will be added to our website and to Eventbrite. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Dog Walking and Nature Connection. Copyright 2021 Peter Cairns/2020VISION
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THIS THURSDAY>> Trent Talks with Sheila Harper: Dog Walking and Nature Connection
Thursday 8th April, 7.00 to 8.30pm via Zoom
Join us for an evening to celebrate our furry friends and find out how best to enjoy the countryside with your dogs.
Book My Place >>
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Trent Talks with Tilley Bancroft: Art in Public Spaces.
Thursday 22nd April 7.00 to 8.30pm via Zoom
Join us as we chat to Tilley Bancroft, director of Making Trails, and hear about inspiring communities through art.
Making Trails was the team behind the Burton Swans exhibition. Burton Swans was Burton’s largest outdoor art trail which ran in the Summer of 2020 raising over £11,500 for charity and seeing over 11,000 visitors to the town.
Book My Place >>
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Trent Talks with West Midlands Ringing Group: Farmland Birds.
Thursday 6th May 7.00 to 8.30pm via Zoom
We are delighted to welcome back West Midlands Ringing Group, who will be leading a presentation about Farmland Birds. Join us to hear about their partnership work with farmers and landowners, and the techniques and surveys they carry out on farmland across the West Midlands.
Book My Place >>
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Trent Talks with Outdoor Answers: Connection and Community Outdoors.
Monday 17th May 7.00 to 8.30pm via Zoom
Join us as we talk to Katie Reed from Outdoor Answers (@outdooranswersuk) who will be talking about the importance of connection and community in the outdoors, and how she promotes this through four key ways: expressing the self, appreciating the outdoors, interacting within nature and enjoying time outdoors.
Book My Place >>
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A 3d reconstruction of the Type 24 Pillbox as it may have looked in 1940 on the banks of the River Tame at the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas. Copyright 2021 Transforming the Trent Valley.
With thanks to Peter Lorimer of Pighill Heritage Graphics
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Stop Line Number 5
The Type 24 Pillbox is a form of small fortification built during the early years of the Second World War.
It was designed to have a garrison of seven machine gunners and two riflemen with the majority having been built in 1940. Following the Dunkirk evacuation, weapons and ammunition were in such short supply that if Hitler had invaded Britain, it is questionable as to whether these pillboxes would have been occupied by sufficient soldiers or Home Guards, to have been effective.
Pillboxes in the Transforming the Trent Valley landscape were part of Stop Line Number 5, formed by a network of these defensive structures that used the rivers Trent, Tame and Dove to provide a natural barrier to invading forces. Pillboxes were built at strategic points along the rivers, particularly overlooking bridges and shallows where Nazi forces could have crossed the rivers.
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The Tucklesholme Pillbox. Copyright 2021 Steven Cheshire (Transforming the Trent Valley)
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You can discover much more about Stop Line Number 5 on our web site where we have a web page dedicated to the Type 24 Pillbox. You can explore a 3d model of a typical Type 24 and a growing gallery of images of these impressive defensive structures from right across the Transforming the Trent Valley landscape area.
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Explore a 3d model of a typical Type 24 Pillbox. Copyright 2021 Transforming the Trent Valley.
With thanks to Peter Lorimer of Pighill Heritage Graphics
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The Mystery Pillbox
There is lots we do not know about pillboxes including the reason for a series of rather strange pillboxes such as the one at the Old River Dove SSSI near Marston-on-Dove. No-one who should know, appears to know anything about these four-sided shed-shaped variants!
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Wildlings and Getwild sessions are Back! Copyright 2021 Adrian Clarke (Staffordshire Wildlife Trust).
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Wildlings and Getwild sessions are back
With lockdown restrictions easing, we are now able to bring back our Wildlings and Get Wild sessions. All sessions adhere to current government guidelines.
Wildlings at Tucklesholme Nature Reserve (10.00 to 11.30am) for children aged 6 months to 4 years old.
The next session of Wildlings at Tucklesholme will take place this Thursday, 8th April.
Book my place >>
Places are still available for our next session on Thursday 15th April.
Book my place >>
Wildlings at Beans Covert (10.00 to 11.30am) for children aged 6 months to 4 years old.
The next session of Wildlings at Beans Covert is this Friday, 9th April.
Book my place >>
Get Wild at Eton Community Park, Burton-upon-Trent (10.30am to 12.30pm) suitable for ages 8 to16 years.
Thanks to funding from #peoplepowerfund and The Staffordshire Commissioner, our free... yes FREE Get Wild sessions are coming back to Eton Community Park, Burton-upon-Trent from next week!
The next Get Wild session takes place tomorrow Wednesday 7 April.
Book my place >>
Places on our Get Wild sessions are still available for
Monday 12th April Book my place>>
Tuesday 13th April Book my place>>
For more information on all our events or to book your place, please visit our events page on our website.
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Community grants
Constituted community groups are invited to apply to our Community Grants scheme. Do you have an idea for a project which connects people to their local landscapes, or benefits the biodiversity of the Trent Valley?
You can apply for up to £2000 to deliver a project in the TTTV scheme area. More information about the grants and the application form can be found on our website.
The deadline for the next round of applications is 25th August 2021.
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Our first virtual tour is now available on our website. Copyright 2021 Transforming the Trent Valley.
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Tucklesholme virtual walk goes live
This self-guided, augmented reality walk of Tucklesholme Nature Reserve is the result of many hours work by a dedicated team of volunteers that allow you to move around the landscape, explore 360° views, photo galleries, video, and sound from the comfort of your home. This is the first of several virtual walks that we will be developing over the coming months.
Want to get involved?
We are looking for volunteers who can help us develop our virtual tours by creating exciting and stimulating content that will help illustrate all aspects of the landscape, from its geology and history to its people and wildlife. From time-lapse and 360 photography to writing content and recording the sounds of wildlife, if you can offer a different perspective to interpreting the Transforming the Trent Valley landscape area, its people and wildlife, we would love to hear from you.
For more information, please contact Steven Cheshire, Senior Interpretation Officer by email at s.cheshire@staffs-wildlife.org.uk.
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Our first virtual tour is now available on our website. Copyright 2021 Transforming the Trent Valley.
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Share what you see
How many times have you been out on a walk and seen an interesting animal, bird or plant, and managed to take a half-decent picture on your phone? You bring it home, do a bit of research and see that you've spotted quite a rare species for your area! Then what do you do? You probably tell your family and friends, but who else wants to know?
We do - we want you to tell us about your wildlife sightings!
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Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) Copyright 2021 Steven Cheshire (Transforming the Trent Valley).
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So you've seen some interesting wildlife - what should you do next?
Out latest blog post by Nicola Lynes our Community Engagement Officer explains just how easy it is to share your sightings with us.
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A landscape in pictures
While it’s been difficult to get out during lockdown, a few of our photography volunteers have been out locally with their cameras as part of their daily exercise and they have managed to start capturing views of the Transforming the Trent Valley landscape area. Their photographs will form part of a continually growing online gallery, showcasing everything that the scheme area has to offer both for the local community and visitors to the area.
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Volunteers wanted
We need volunteers to help us in a number of specific roles. New opportunities are often coming up with the latest opportunities listed on our website.
As well as the roles listed on our website, we are always interested to hear about you and the skills or experience you may be able to offer. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please contact us as we may have project coming up that you may be able to support to our mutual benefit.
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If you would like to submit an article for inclusion in future editions of this e-newsletter, please contact Steven Cheshire, Senior Interpretation Officer/Communications Officer by email s.cheshire@staffs-wildlife.org.uk.
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Staffordshire Wildlife Trust - Registered Charity No. 259558. Limited Company No. 959609.
Registered Office: The Wolseley Centre, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST17 0WT
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