Tuesday 18 December 2012

A Natural Christmas at Penrose



Despite a few heavy down pours visitors to Penrose were able to pop in and create their very own wreath made out of things collected by rangers from the estate. Including willow, dogwood, ivy and holly 


Everyone was having a great time and it got even better when mulled wine and mince pies were served warmed on the camp fire!




There were also oppotunities to make home made wrapping paper with potato prints and mulled wine saches, as you can imagine the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg as well as chritmas songs made the atmosphere very festive!



Some people made candle stick holders and other things using the greenery





We also made a very long paperchain out of sweet wrappers, it was over two metres!


Thank you to everyone that came despite the hit and miss weather look out for this event next year!



Merry Christmas :)



Rosie

Thursday 6 December 2012

It never rains it pours!


We hope everyone has been out and about enjoying the cold crisp winter sunshine over the last few days, a bit of a change from the heavy rain! The Lizard didn’t escape the recent extreme weather that caused major flooding across the south west, and over the last couple of weeks National Trust staff and volunteers have been out and about checking and dealing with dangerous trees, blocked drains and damaged footpaths.

With the help of contractors, damaged and hung up trees in the woods at Tremayne have been cleared so they are no longer a danger to walkers. This has had the added bonus of providing lots of firewood!

On the footpaths around Poltesco, Church Cove, Tremayne and Lizard the water running down the paths was too much for the drains, and a lot of stone and sediment was dislodged leaving waterlogged paths with lots of holes, but the worst of it is now sorted with freshly rodded drains, replaced stone and some new culverts!
 

Perhaps the most dramatic and urgent of the storm damage was structural dammage to the coast path around Lizard and Inglewidden. There has been a significant landslip above Polpeor Cove where we have cordoned off a section of the road. We also temporarily diverted the coast path behind the Devil’s Frying Pan last week due to a crack that appeared in the path. However, yesterday a geologist inspected the site and said that the path there was not in danger of subsiding so it has now been reopened.

We’ll keep a close eye on all these sites over the winter, but if anyone has any questions or information or would like to find out about any of our work in the area, give us a call on 01326 291174.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Loe Bar overflow pipes!


The water level in Loe Pool reached a dangerous height this week after all the heavy rained that we had. The Enviroment Agency (who manage the water level of the pool) put in a series of pipes over the weekend to try and ease the pressure on the permenant overflow pipe. As the risk that Helston could flood was a possibility.


                                    

The three metal pipes are in sections to cope with the contours of the sand and travel from the pool to the sea on the western end of the beach.


The pool, which is the largest natural lake in Cornwall, has this week been one metre higher than normal, meaning that both the reed beds and bird hide have been flooded!


We also saw a pretty rainbow!







Sunday 11 November 2012

Thursday 1 November 2012

Winter holiday for Poltesco ponies


Our herd of seven hardy ponies have been doing a great job grazing the cliffs between Poltesco and Cadgwith over the last few months, opening up valuable habitat for rare plants on the rocky outcrops. However, today it was time for them to move on to pastures new at their winter grazing site at Chynhalls Point near Coverack. First thing in the morning, we ran them down off the cliffs, past Carleon House and into the Poltesco car park (with a little help from some tasty pony nuts as bribery!). There we met Mike the farrier who trimmed their hooves and assured us they were in good condition for a winter out on the cliffs. It then took four of us two journeys with the stock trailer and a few more pony nuts to transport the herd to Chynhalls, where they seemed very happy to have a new place to explore and lots of fresh grass to munch!

At their new site, the herd will be checked daily by NT staff and the volunteer stock checking group, however, if you have any questions or notice any problems, please call the Lizard rangers on 01326 291174.

We know a lot of people enjoyed seeing the ponies at Poltesco – don’t worry , they’ll be back next summer - or you could always go and pay them a visit at their winter retreat!

Beth

Monday 29 October 2012

Fine Farm Produce Awards 2012


Fine Farm Produce Awards 2012

Chyvarloe Farm

Pork Chipolata Sausages





The meat for the pork chipolata sausages comes from the pigs reared on Chyvarloe Farm in Cornwall by Paul and Charlotte Parfitt. The couple have only been farming for three years (the last two years at Chyvarloe) and keep 30 pigs (at any one time), 600 chickens and a 70 strong suckler herd.



Paul says: “We wanted to create a really meaty, great tasting sausage and have done this by ensuring that the whole of the animal goes into the sausage rather than just the usual ‘leftovers’ that many producers use. This gives a better quality sausage not only for taste, but also when cooking.”

The recipe for the sausage was devised by Paul’s wife Charlotte who used to work as a chef. She says: “We didn’t need to add many extra ingredients because the quality of the meat is so good. I’ve just added seasonings and a few secret ingredients to further enhance the flavour.”

Paul continues: “Winning the award is the highest level of endorsement we can get given what the National Trust stands for in terms of conservation and animal welfare



Contact:
chyvarloefarm@live.co.uk
www.facebook.com/chyvarloefarm
07979 196569

The Fine Farm Produce Awards recognise the very best produce from National Trust tenant farms and estates. For more information visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/finefarmproduceawards



Friday 26 October 2012

80 volunteers give the Lizard's famous rare wildflowers a helping hand


University of Exeter students lend a hand for wildlife

It's been a busy few weeks on the Lizard, with over 80 different volunteers aged 17 to 70 kindly donating many an hour to help safeguard some of our rarest wildflowers. 

First up, our working holiday team of 12 tackled the outcrops at Carn Barrow, near Cadgwith, where the resident cows kept a careful eye on proceedings! The old quarries here support a wealth of rarities including dwarf rush and a tiny grass like fern named land quillwort. Thanks to the team's hard work, the outcrops have been saved from encroaching scrub.





Rare and tiny - dwarf rush




Next up came 30 willing volunteers from the University of Exeter Cornwall Campus. The Geography students joined us for a day's work experience, tackling gorse on an outcrop at Bodriggy, near Cadgwith. This site is one of the few in Cornwall supporting four leaved allseed, which requires open ground to germinate and thrive. No cows to entertain here, just two inquisitive goats! The students made short work of clearing the whole site. 





Lizard speciality, twin headed clover


Moving on round the coast, to the cliffs above Poltesco, 35 students from Truro College joined us for a day out and about, where the aim was to clear yet more gorse from outcrops where our ponies graze. Here we've slowly been restoring the outcrops to more open grassy habitat, with the hope that the pretty little twin headed clover will make a re-appearance, last seen here 30 years ago. It's recently been refound on a neighbouring outcrop, so all looks hopeful now conditions are right.


What's happening here then? Inquisitive cows watch working holiday volunteers 



Special mention must also go to our team of regular volunteers, both residential and local, who have got involved too. Yes you guessed it - clearing scrub from rare plant sites! We've even been out and about lending a hand away from National Trust land, as part of a co-ordinated plan of winter work, led by representatives from all the local groups with an interest in the Lizard's rare plants. We spent half a day opening up overgrown trackway puddles that support a rare mint called Pennyroyal at Penhale near Mullion.






Thanks to all this hard work, we've got off to a great start this habitat management season, and the future is looking brighter for the Lizard's rarest plants.

Rachel









Monday 22 October 2012

Saturday 20 October 2012

Fungi Foray Fun


   Saturday 13th and Friday 19th October blessed us with beautiful Autumnal sunshine, combine this with the idyllic setting of the Helford Passage and you have a perfect setting for some fun in the woods, finding mushrooms.
   We all met at Gear Farm (they do amazing pasties) where Justin, the Head Ranger, gave an enthusiastic and engaging talk on the variety of fungi to be found in the area, what to eat, what to leave and useful ID tips to find out what you’ve picked. Armed with our new knowledge, we set off into the woods to explore.

Justin talking about the varied Fungi in the area
   Unfortunately, the wet weather has meant a bad year for a lot of mushrooms but we still found a large variety of edible ones including chicken of the woods (tastes like chicken!), beefsteak fungus (aptly named- it looks just like a raw steak and sometimes oozes red ‘blood’), and the amethyst deceiver (a beautiful, bright purple mushroom), unfortunately the much sought after Chanterelle eluded us.
   We also found a range of others including the shiny, pure white porcelain mushroom which grows high up in beech trees, bright yellow sulphur tufts (named for their colour), false deceivers, giant funnel mushroom, yellow club fungus, bright red Russulas and a false death cap.
   We came across a deadly poisonous destroying angel. This is one of the deadliest mushrooms known to man, and can cause kidney and liver failure within 24 hours. Needless to say, we left this well alone as when handling deadly fungi, there isn’t mushroom for error!
The fruits of our forage (plus a pasty)
   At the end of the walk, everyone tucked into a Gear farm pasty and enjoyed the sunshine on the banks of the Helford. We cooked up the mushrooms that we collected and had a taste, they were lovely and no-one on the walk has died to my knowledge.
   I feel a lot more confident about mushrooms after the walks, Justin knows a huge amount and is a good teacher. With just a few simple rules, you can collect edible mushrooms in confidence, the number one rule being that if you are unsure of the species, leave it! There are only about four or five deadly mushrooms in the UK and the vast majority are inedible but not dangerous, especially in small amounts.
   If you wish to find out more, keep a look out for our future fungi forays. The best times of year for fungi are autumn and spring, don’t be afraid to pick them, mushrooms are great an d you never know what you’re going to find, just make triple sure that you know what you are picking.

Happy foraging!

Ed

Thursday 18 October 2012

Hungry Sailors ate my mushrooms!

Earlier this month, I was approached by the production team behind The Hungry Sailors, starring father and son team Dick and James Strawbridge, requesting whether they could come and do some fungi foraging with me for their new series. Dick and James are sailing a 45’ Bristol Pilot Cutter, the Morwenna, around the SW coast, meeting foodies, farmers and foragers en route. Never shy of publicity, and the promise of a free meal, I agreed to take the boys foraging in Tremayne Woods for the day.



Now, this autumn hasn’t been the greatest for fungi. Last year I blamed the very dry and warm September and early October for the poor harvest (remember those sweltering autumn temperatures?). This year, it’s just been too damned wet! Fungi are fickle things; you can never quite predict when they’ll emerge. Earlier in the year I found Puff Balls in May, Chanterelles in June and ceps in July. October however, usually the month of fungal fruitfulness, has been a complete dead loss.


So, it was with some trepidation (and a basket of dried ceps and pickled blewits just in case) that we entered the woods last week not expecting to find anything worth picking. As expected, the woodland floor seemed all but devoid of any fungi aside from plenty of common earth balls and a couple of deadly poisonous Destroying Angels. Not exactly the culinary delights they were hoping to find.


As one enters into the more ancient oak woodlands around Tremayne, the fungi interest improves, and sure enough as we rounded the corner towards Point Field as the light was beginning to fade, a glint of orange gold in the leaf litter was the telltale sign of Chanterelles! Further scratching around amongst the litter unveiled more of these beautiful, and very sought-after, delicacies. With the added bonus of a nearby cluster of Amethyst Deceivers, (brilliant purple and frankly rather unlikely delicacies), and a most peculiar looking gelatinous Beefsteak Fungus, we finally had enough fungi for the Hungry Sailors not to go hungry.


On Sunday, I was joined by Simon and Linda, a couple of local monkfish fishermen who had taken James out fishing, and David from Gear farm who had helped Dick cook up my mushroom harvest, and we were taken out to Morwenna moored in the Helford River.

A wonderful three course dinner was then served. A superb wild mushroom ‘cappuccino’ with poached egg and wild mushroom pastry puff was served as a starter out on deck before going below deck for ‘Creek’ Curry, local monkfish cooked in a wonderful aromatic Thai style sauce. The meal was completed with a delicious hedgerow crème brulee and a shot of my very own hooch, Chanterelle Vodka.



Look out for the episode on ITV1 next spring. It should be rather entertaining!

  Justin

Friday 28 September 2012

Pigs don't fly, but tents do!


Stuff for kids of all ages!

We were out in force at the Little Big Gig last weekend, a small independent music festival in Lizard Village, running fun nature inspired activities to appeal to folk of all ages.

However, the gales and lashing rain got the better of us Sunday, and we had to admit defeat when we awoke to discover our events shelter had vanished, only to be found shortly afterwards in the pig pen over the hedge! Luckily the pig could be distracted with a baguette, whilst we nipped in to retrieve all our gear, although he had taken a few bites out of the bunting! Oh well, we can laugh about it now!

Luckily, the weather had been much kinder during Saturday, and we had a busy day in the Wild Crafts area, run jointly by the Lizard NT Ranger team and Claire Scott, Community Outreach Officer at Natural England.


Summer gets into the festival spirit
Word soon spread that we were the place to come to make yourself a lovely flowery head-dress, so much so that we had to keep sending out for more flowers from generous local gardeners! Also popular with kids were shell and bamboo shakers, all made from locally grown or collected materials.

For adults, there was the chance to learn some new rural skills, whether that be making a gypsy flower with a draw knife and a shave horse, turning a baby's rattle out of greenwood on the pole lathe, or mastering the technique for twisting natural cordage from leaf fibres. The race was on to see who could make the most feet of 'leaf string' in a day!

Apart from the pig wrestling and the gales scuppering plans on Sunday, we all had a great time and hope to be back next year!

Rachel

Thursday 27 September 2012

Pony Power


   For those of you wondering where the ponies up on Enys Head have gone, don’t worry. They’ve just moved next door to Kildown Point.
   We had a great time moving them on Tuesday, getting very wet in the process as the weather fancied doing a bit of everything. In between glorious sunshine, the squalls would disappear out to sea as quickly as they came, giving us no time to put waterproofs on and leaving us sodden.
   The ponies were great fun and as good as gold to move, they followed Beth, a fellow full time volunteer (FTV), without hesitation (probably because she had a big bucket of pony nuts). As soon as they saw greener pastures however, they were off with a snort and a whinny, charging as fast as their stubby legs could carry them, even old saggy belly managed a fast trot from the back of the herd.
Having a good roll around while the others graze, Bass point is in the distance.
   It great to see the ponies in their new area, they’re looking really well and are loving the new grazing. A perfect partnership between man and beast! (especially if you have pony nuts). It’s all part of the big project to return the cliff tops to their former botanical state, allowing the many rarities to flourish again and, of course, to provide ideal habitat for our choughs.

We’ll keep you posted on the goings on of our Lovable Trustables, so keep an eye out and keep enjoying the outdoors!

See you soon peeps,
Ed (FTV).

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Penrose Apple  Festival cancelled.


This year's festival has been cancelled due to a lack of apples in all our orchards.

Yields have been low across Cornwall and in fact Britain in general so with regret the decision was taken to cancel until next year when it will hopefully be more fruitful.

Keep an eye on the blog for next year's event.

Nick

Volunteers relax on a farm working holiday

Participants on a National Trust farm working holiday have spent a very enjoyable week helping out down on the farm.
The volunteer holiday-makers have helped farmer Paul Parfitt and rangers Laura, Nick and Greg run the 300 acre mixed farm at Chyvarloe, near Helston in Cornwall.

This working holiday is, we think, unique in the Trust calendar and involves participants in a wide-range of farming tasks including old favourites like mucking out the pigs. They have also brought in the cows for TB testing, fed all the stock morning and evening, carried out ploughing, fixed the fences, restored some Cornish hedging and successfully herded the flock of Soay sheep, ready to be wormed and separated for market.


holidaymakers select turkeys for christmas
 The week began with a Farm open day attended by 360 locals and tourists. The volunteers willingly pitched in and organised the car parking, refreshments and entrance gate and also held the turkeys for Christmas selection by the public.

Fine food and lots of it (plus the occasional bottle of Pinot Grigiot) also played a big part in proceedings, as well as trips to the Minnack theatre, Cadgwith for folk singing and competitive games of jenga and cluedo.

The farm holiday is definitely on the calendar for next year, and like all working holidays, it's the participants themselves that made it the success it was. So, a big thank you and well done to all of them!

Nick



Monday 3 September 2012

Working Holiday Fun



For most people the words "Work" and "Holiday" very rarely share the same sentence, but for a select few the idea of combining both is an opportunity not to be missed. On the 25th of August a group of 12 strangers awoke to begin their journey to the South West of England for an unknown week of work. One of the great things about National Trust working holidays is the variety, the variety of people you meet, places you see and things you do. The week starts by meeting at the place you call home for the week, Chyvarloe bunkhouse, located minutes from Loe Bar it’s a perfect place to relax after a days work.
Weather is always going to be a factor on any holiday, especially if you are working outdoors for 8 hours, on our first day the sun shone and where better to be than on the beach, well several beaches to be precise. The beaches of Cornwall are some of the best beaches in Britain, but like anything they also need maintaining. Our group took up the challenge of a 5 beach clean in one day. I was feeling ambitious and purchased 50 bags for our day, but after only 2 beaches we had to make a dash back to base for more. Its incredible what you find washed up on the beach, whether its cigarette lighters still washing up 10 years after a ship spilt its cargo, or French Champagne bottles that have crossed the channel you always turn up a surprise. The grand total for the day was 79 bags filled, when you see a skip almost full with things gathered off the beach it puts into perspective the need to try and keep Cornwall’s special places "special".

On day 2 of the holiday the weather had decided enough was enough and for 8 hours the heavens opened, but we few, we happy few continued on. The tasks of the day were two fold, tackle the jungle of Bamboo that had been left untouched for years and to "time team" uncover the building structures in the walled garden. Bamboo isn’t one of my favourite things after needing stitches after my last encounter but with a hardy group of volunteers armed with loppers and bow saws it was time for revenge, however it did not go quietly into the night as it sounded like a WWII film when burned. In the walled garden there were no Roman villas found but we uncovered the old potting sheds and can now begin to plan ahead.

After a well earned day off the group donned their spurs and chaps to help heard a local farmers cows out of the fields back into the farm yard, W.C Fields famously said never work with animals or children, well i can vouch for the animals aspect. The ladies did not want to go back into the field, and with their leader "Iron Mike" the bull they managed to run into an adjacent field. After I had played the rawhide theme and we are all feeling motivated we managed to get them back into the farm. Next stop on the day was a trip to Carmino Creek to lay chicken wire on the boardwalk. The sun was out again and after a fairly relaxed day we headed to the Minac Theatre to watch David Copperfeild, I am sure the first half of the show was amazing but I must admit to missing it as I spent my time watching two basking sharks feeding in the shallow water below the theatre.

Our last two days were spent fencing, I don’t mean parry and riposte fencing either. The order of the day was sheep netting with two strands of high tensile wire above. We were blessed again with the weather and I was blessed to have a group that were so skilled in fencing, the result was fantastic. To celebrate the days work a quick dip in the sea was in order, and after two days we had completed our work.


It was a fantastic week; we managed to get a massive amount of work done and still have a great time. I couldn’t have asked for a more willing, friendlier, harder working group of people to spend the week with. I hope to see every one of them again next year.

Friday 17 August 2012

Wildlife Holiday Fun

Families who headed down to Lizard Point on Tuesday this week were treated to a whole wealth of free wildlife activities courtesy of the National Trust Ranger team and our friends at Natural England. For those who were feeling brave, there was the chance to dissect owl pellets, piecing together the bones of voles and mice, and unravelling the mystery of the owl's last meal. Ever popular were a range of craft activities including swirly snakes, balancing butterflies, badge making and learning to make string out of nothing more than leaves.

It was brilliant to see kids take such an interest in their natural environment, especially in such a fantastic setting as Lizard Point. We even had choughs fly overhead on cue!

Everyone had great fun. We parked the tractor up so kids could climb inside and inevitably it was the most popular thing all day!
Rachel


Friday 10 August 2012

Fairy wands and can guitars



The National Trust kids area was bursting with a whole load of natural colour and music at this years Holifair!






Throughout this 3 day family festival children showed off their creative sides making beautiful headresses and eye masks using natural hedgerow materials as well as fairy wands and rainbow sticks. The rainbow sticks certainly brought out the rainbows as we were treated to all 4 seasons in a day!













In the tipi, workshops enabled families to make musical insturments such as shell shakers, bamboo maracas and can guitars. We formed the first 'chicken soup band' on Friday as some guitar enthusiats played slide guitar on thier instruments made out of recycled food cans. There were also workshops in felting and making natural cordage from flax leaves or wool where colourful bracelets and felt shapes were carefully designed and woven into place.







Turning a piece of sycamore on the pole lathe






Inside the woodland glade families were able to try their hand at wood turning on a traditional pole lathe or make a gypsy flower by pairing down a hazel rod on a shave horse. All the wood was sustainably sourced from local Trust woodland and the lathes powered by foot! Meanwhile the glade was decorated as children painted the trees in an aboriginal style with paints they had made from natural materials such as beetroot and charcoal.












The Trust team thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Holifair again. The festival is environmentally friendly and raises funds to support the Holifield Farm Project at Gweek.

Elle

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Time Travellers at Gunwalloe!

For the third summer running an excavation organised by the National Trust and funded as part of the Unlocking our Coastal Heritage Project is enabling archaeologists, local communities and visitors a unique opportunity to discover more about the history of this fascinating site. 

The project kicked off with a guided walk led by Dr Imogen Wood, an expert in the ancient history of Gunwalloe. We were lucky enough to see some of the artefacts she found during the previous years digs.

Dr Wood also showed us an artist's impression of what the area and the round houses might have looked like in the Bronze age.


The dig this year will focus on the promontory fort between St Winwalloe's Church and the open sea. The excavation began this week and so far a cow's tooth has been uncovered as well as some interesting charcoal layers in the soil. Students from Exeter University and local volunteers are carrying out the work on the fort which has captured people's imagination for hundreds of years but has never been investigated before.
 

You are welcom to talk to the people involved in the work and we warmly invite you to the Time Travellers open day event on Sunday 12th August from 11am-5pm. There will be children's activities, you can help to sift the soil and see the artefacts already uncovered. See you there.

Laura

Thursday 19 July 2012

60 and never surfed?

Now the weather is starting to look a lot better why not try something new and exciting outdoors? Our event "60 and never surfed?" planned for the 1st and the 8th August is an introduction to surfing for those who've never tried it but want to give it a go. It's never too late to learn to take to the waves with our Ambassador Business the Dan Joel Surf School at Poldhu.



If you think you'd like to give surfing a go or want to get back into the water get in touch here for details. Although the half day event is aimed at those over the age of 60, we aren't that strict!





Layla

Slippery Poles and Sea Horses

Summer briefly appeared on The Lizard at the weekend for the annual National Trust Mullion Harbour Day.


With a rare glimpse of sunshine at the weekend, hundreds of locals and visitors came down to Mullion Harbour for the annual Harbour Day. Working with our Ambassador Business, Lizard Adventure, they were treated to free taster kayak sessions, a raft race, harbour jumping, the "Sea Horse" Steeplechase (a run and swim whilst riding hobby horses made from discarded body boards) and the legendary "Greasy Pole" (pillow fights from a slippery pole jutting out over the harbour). Prizes for the games and races were kindly donated by local businesses. A hog roast and bar were provided to keep everyone fed and watered and stall holders set up shop around the harbour walls. The new RNLI Lizard lifeboat was on site and children's games and activities were provided in the marquee by our team of volunteers.

Jockeys prepare for the Sea Horse Safari Steeplechase / National Trust

Mullion's annual Harbour Day is organised by the Trust primarily as a community event, but it also raises much needed funds for the ongoing maintenance of the harbour itself. This year's event with the involvement of Lizard Adventure, meant we were able to offer much more of an 'outdoors experience' with kayaking and raft races. And with all the recent negative publicity regarding the dangers of 'tomb-stoning' and messing about in the sea, they also allowed the local kids the freedom to have a some serious fun in the safety of the harbour. As one young lad said, just before a particularly acrobatic fall from the greasy pole, "I've not had so much fun in years! They should have some of these activities at the Olympics."


mayhem and high jinks on the water during the raft race.....

A big thankyou to Elle and the rest of the Lizard ranger team, and the Lizard Adventure team for organising such a fantastic event.








...is that our old friend Trusty on a raft?



Justin

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Lizard Wildlife Weekend

pole lathes on Lizard Green
We teamed up recently with our friends at Natural England, RSPB and the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society to host two days of fantastic fun for all the family at the Lizard Wildlife Weekend. Based on the Green at the heart of the Lizard village the event was a huge success with both local and visiting families.

On offer were a range of guided walks introducing the local wildlife, the highlights of which were seeing a young family of choughs near Kynance Cove, watching the peregrine falcon scour the cliffs, and finding some of the Lizard’s rarest plants such as fringed rupturewort and long-headed clover. 





Peering inside the owl box

There were other activities ongoing throughout the day such as green woodworking demonstrations, pond dipping, children’s nature crafts, owl pellet dissection and Cornwall’s very own premiere of  ‘Birchett-Swan’s Barn Owl Box Cinema’ , allowing visitors to peer inside the secret world of an owl nest box and watch recorded highlights.  Children and adults alike were mesmerised by the footage of owl chicks, recorded locally in nest boxes by naturalist Matt Birchett.



The chough bunting production line!
Along with the hustle and bustle of all the events, the atmosphere on the Green was vibrant thanks to live music from local musicians Emily Howard, Jonathon Coudrille, John Holden and Harry Rowland. The festival atmosphere drew in a wide range of visitors and kept people entertained all through Saturday. Unfortunately like many events this summer, bad weather curtailed activities so soggy conditions meant only a limited programme of events could be run on the Sunday.Well done to those intrepid families who braved the rain to go pond dipping with us!

For more information on all that happened at the Lizard Wildlife Weekend visit: www.cornishchoughs.org

Thanks to all who helped with this event.    Rachel and Rosie

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