Well, what can I say? What an amazing turn out! I confess to a sleepless night the evening before the plant and seed swap, worrying that there would be few plants or seeds available and lots of people who wanted things. How wrong was I? It was an absolutely astounding turn out. The way the community came together is something you should all be extremely proud of! The pictures below were taken at the start of the day, before people really started to turn up, and by the time "Swap-O-Clock" came, the tables were positively groaning!
Lots of people came, and there were lots of smiling faces. I think everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. There was a great deal of feedback - all positive and constructive, for which I thank everyone. I am very pleased to say that at the end of the morning there were very few plants left over, no equipment remained and only a carrier bag of seeds (which I still have, a wide variety of, so if anyone is wanting any seeds please do let me know!). The Community Hall next to St Andrew's Community Church was a lovely location. They have worked so hard to make it a comfortable, welcoming space and they've done such a great job of it in a short period of time.
The main question is: will we do another next year? Absolutely, yes! We will keep the format the same as this year; however, we may hold it slightly earlier next year than this year. Early enough that seeds that are collected at the event still have time to be planted, but not so early that there won't be lots of plants and seedlings available. We will also make sure we advertise it a little better, with some more posters in the local area, and hopefully set up a 'drop off' point somewhere for people who can't make the event to drop off plant, seed and equipment donations.
Finally, lots of people said we should charge money or ask for monetary donations for each plant. We are really very keen on primarily making sure the seed swap is accessible for all: money can be a big barrier when it comes to gardening. For this reason, and the fact that all plants, seeds and equipment were donations from you, we don't want to charge even a nominal fee per plant. However, this year we did accept donations - of no suggested amount, it was really important in my mind that people only donated what they could afford and only if they wanted to. We raised a fantastic £24, which paid for the refreshments for the morning and for our next event, and we thank all who donated.
Please do start saving seeds, equipment and plants ready for next year, I have a feeling (and a hope) that it will be even better! As a point of interest, yesterday I ate the first strawberry from one of the strawberry plants I collected, and it was delicious! There's lots of information online about seed saving, such as this one from the Royal Horticultural Society, and if you are interested in learning how to grow plants from cuttings why not attend our cuttings workshop next week?
Thank you again to everyone who donated plants, seeds or equipment, to everyone who stopped for a natter, to everyone who enjoyed refreshments, to everyone who took something home with them, and thanks also go to Mark and Lucia Bagott and Sue Monk for their help on the day.
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We met in the shadow of the church in Monkton Combe on a fine evening, armed with hi-vis vests, torches and bat detectors. Before heading down to Tucking Mill we were graced with the early arrival of some Pipistrelle bats flitting around the gravestones and trees, giving us a good opportunity to learn how to use the bat detectors before darkness truly fell. We ambled down to Tucking Mill, and when we arrived we walked around the lake on the footpath (we were separated from the lake by a fence). Sadly there was some interference from something on the bat detectors, but we still heard lots of bats - and we could even see them! Many bats flitted under the bridge, others swooped down over the lake for water, while others hunted for insects higher up, over the trees or around the grassy area. We heard many "thhhhhpt!" of a feeding buzz that night! Overall, we heard at least two species of Pipistrelle (common and soprano), Noctule and Daubentons.
We found the area wasn't actually a good one for a group bat-detecting activity, despite all the bat actvity, so are on the look out for good suggestions for other areas we might look. On the way back to the church we admired the beautifully clear sky, there was no moon that night but the stars were bright and glittering - including one very bright star. We couldn't work out what that star was at first, but one of the attendees researched and emailed us afterwards to suggest it may have been Venus that we could see! Fantastic! We even utilised some of the skills we learned at the event run by Tania Orgill a few weeks ago: A Sense of Smell, as there was a very strong odour of a fox at one point!
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Spring of 2020 helped us realise afresh the restorative power of nature close to home and gave us the opportunity to spend more time nurturing it. Neighbours came to know each other better and helped each other out. Our neighbourly WhatsApp group started spontaneously posting photos of previously unnoticed wildlife that we were spotting in our gardens. Springing from that time, out of a deep enjoyment and concern for nature, Wild About Bath was created in 2021 by founders and neighbours Christine Absolon and Ann Stuart
Since then, their ideas and passion have shaped Wild About Bath, helping it blossom and grow into the fabulous community we are. Christine stepped back from the day to day running of Wild About Bath in 2022, and in spring 2023 Ann also made the decision to hand over the reigns.
We are hence delighted to welcome Mark Bagott to the team, whose passion and experience will come as a great boon! Mark joins Cat McAlpine (me!), Simon Stuart and Sue Monk on the committee. You can read more about the founding of Wild About Bath and the current team by visiting our website.
We offer our heartfelt gratitude to both Christine and Ann for their drive to set Wild About Bath up, and especially to Ann's hard work over the last year in guiding us to continue their vision. Don't worry though! Christine still very kindly organises the annual photographic competition (details above), and Ann will of course still attend events as commitments allow.
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Orchids galore! June is a bumper bonanza month for spotting all sorts of willdife and plants. Pictured below is a pyramidal orchid with a six-spot burnet moth obligingly sat upon it (by Sue monk).
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Above is a common spotted orchid and a bee orchid (photos by Sue Monk).
June is a great month for birds, whether it's spotting chicks on their maiden flight from the nest; kites and buzzards gliding serenely; swifts, swallows and house martins zooming around up above, or finding an interesting feather on the floor. Pictured below is a barn own feather. If you look closely at it you can see that the feather is extra fluffy - this is what makes the barn owl's flight near silent (photo by Cat McAlpine).
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There are plenty of fun beetles out and about locally now as well! Above is a thick-thighed flower beetle, a male as only the males have the thick back legs. They are a brilliant metallic green colour and often found on meadow flowers and umbellifers. Next is the glow worm - another beetle! Males look like normal boring brown beetles, but the females are something special! They are just starting to glow now, so pop out just after dusk, adjust your eyes to the darkness, look down into grassy verges and hedgerows and see if you can spot some! If you do, make sure you record them as they are in decline because of light pollution and other effects of urbanisation.
Another special beetle, and one that is still on my wish list to spot! This one is the green tiger beetle (Photo by Erik Karits). While they haven't been recorded in the Wild About Bath area so far (it doesn't mean they cannot be found there though!) they have been recorded and are regularly found nearby at Brown's (or Browne's) Folly.
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Honestly a whole book could be written about what you could spot this month: grass snakes basking in the sun, bats flitting around after dusk, a plethora of butterflies (such as these in Abby Button's Guide to Summer Butterflies), rose chafer beetles, foxes and badgers and deer and on and on...
Go on, go and have a look to see what you can see, don't forget to let us know what you have found on your adventures though!
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Karen McCartney - Bees, Wasps and Ants
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We are starting a new section of the newsletter called 'Ask an Expert' - a small segment where each month I invite an expert in anything nature related to answer your burning questions! Some will be local, others not.
Karen, formally phobic of insects, is based in Greater Manchester, and is now one of the County Recorders for Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) in Greater Manchester, specialising in aculeate Hymenoptera (stinging bees and wasps ect.). She is also very knowlegable about urban wildlife recording, and has over the last couple of years completely redesigned her urban garden to be wildlife friendly on a budget.
If you have *any* questions you would like to ask Karen please contact us using the button at the bottom of the page.
The article will appear in the Wild About Bath Newsletter in July.
I will only include people's initials, so don't worry if you would like to remain anonymous! No question is too small, too silly, or too big!
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William's book recommendations this month include some beautifully illustrated ones!
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The Wonders of Nature by Ben Hoare
Uncover awe-inspiring stories behind the natural world with this nature book for curious kids aged 6-8.
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Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd
A lovely, lyrical picture book with gorgeous illustrations that explores the ways the wild makes itself known to us and how much closer it is than we think. For Children aged 3-7.
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Outside your Window - a First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies
This gorgeously illustrated volume of poetry — sprinkled with facts and fun things to do — sows an early love for nature in all its beauty and wonder. For chidren aged 3-7.
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Compiled by WIlliam J.B. Edited by Cat McAlpine
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These fabulous drawings were sketched by 7-year-old EF during a walk in Engine Wood. It's a great idea to sketch things as you find them in a special notebook, and a wonderful way to immerse yourself in nature for a while. In your sketches you can pinpoint features that you see best and can be used for identifying what you saw, such as the spottty leaves on a common spotted orchid. Drawing the insects you see is particularly useful, because they are always very difficult to photograph!
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We hope you enjoy this glorious weather and take the opportunity to get out and about to explore. Please do remember sun cream, a hat and some water though! Until next time!
- The Wild About Bath team
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