SUN 1 BROWNSEA MEMBERS’ DAY, depart Sandbanks 11am, return 3pm with Brownsea Island Ferries. Booking essential (see booking form included in DWT magazine). Adults £10, child £5.
SUN 1 EAST DORSET/ARC WORK PARTY, 10am – approx 2.30 pm. Lend a hand with practical conservation work at Parley Common. Meet at the Barrack Lane entrance (SZ 094993) which can be accessed from Christchurch Road; drive past the Golden Acres Nursery & then drive along the road with speed bumps. For more information, please contact Jon Crewe on 07989 777757.
WED 4 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS, working on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273.
WED 4 THE GREAT HEATH VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 4pm. Practical conservation work on a variety of habitats. A wide range of tasks will be carried out; tools & training provided. Come along every Wednesday throughout the year & enjoy what the countryside has to offer. For more information call Sally Wright at the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
THUR 5 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS, meet at 10am every Thursday at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Beacon HillLane, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Bh21 3RX. Practical conservation work; all tools & training provided. For details of each task contact Andy Fale on 07970 552673 or the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
FRI 6 THE LENNON LEGACY PROJECT – LAND CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT, an illustrated talk by David Ramsden, Barn Owl Trust. 7.30pm, Bridport United Church, East Street, Bridport. Suggested £2 donation (£3 for non-members) to cover costs (inc. refreshments).
SAT 7 WINTER BIRDS ON BROWNSEA, 11am – 1pm. Discover the birds of Britain’s favourite nature reserve with DWT. Meet at the public hide by the cormorant sculpture (100m from the National Trust Quay). Boats from Poole or Sandbanks at 10am. No DWT charge but normal boat fares & NT landing charges apply. For more information, please ring 01202 692033 or 01202 709445 or email [email protected]
SAT 7 WILD LORTON DAY, 10am – 4pm. Join us for a ‘Wild Activity’ at the Lorton Meadows Wildlife Centre – each month will feature a different activity from pond dipping to making a bird box to helping look after the reserve. Please see our website for specific details for each date. The Wildlife Centre will be open for visitors, come along for a walk around the reserve, then drop in for a hot drink, & peruse our selection of gifts & wildlife books. Plus watch the birds on the feeders on screen, find out what to feed your garden birds during the colder months & purchase bird seed, feeders & nest boxes. Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826].
SAT 7 SOVELL DOWN VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 4pm. Practical conservation work; all tools & training provided. Please bring lunch. For details of each task please contact Steve Claxton on 07967 032626.
SUN 8 WEST DORSET SUNDAY WORK PARTY, working on a variety of different tasks, including scrub clearance & hedge-laying, across West Dorset reserves. Please phone West Dorset Reserves Warden Steve Masters (07557 561624) two days prior to the event to book or for further details. Bring waterproof footwear/clothing, lunch & drinks.
SUN 8 BROWNSEA ISLAND WORK PARTY, 9.30 am. Join the regular volunteering group on Brownsea Island on alternate Sundays throughout the year. Tasks include pine thinning, opening out the alder carr & rhododendron cutting. For details of boat timings contact Richard Proctor on 07718 511432 or 01202 693039.
MON 9 VENEZUELA – LOST WORLD TO ANGEL FALLS, an illustrated talk by David Sagar. 2.30pm, Langton Matravers Village Hall. All welcome.
TUES 10 DISTURBANCE & ESTUARY BIRDS, a presentation by Catherine Collop from Bournemouth University about her research into the effects of disturbance on wintering birds. 7.30pm, Carter Community School, Blandford Close, Hamworthy, BH15 4BQ.
TUES 10 SOUTH DORSET MID-WEEK VOLUNTEERS, Habitat management on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT warden James Hitchen on 07436 157328 for details.
WED 11 VOLUNTEERS CONSERVATION TASK, Lorton Meadows NR (Free), 10am – 3pm. Join us for a day of practical work on site, to restore the habitats important for local wildlife. Tools, gloves & drinks supplied. No experience necessary, please bring a packed lunch. Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826].
WED 11 THE GREAT HEATH VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 4pm. Practical conservation work on a variety of habitats. A wide range of tasks will be carried out; tools & training provided. Come along every Wednesday throughout the year & enjoy what the countryside has to offer. For more information call Sally Wright at the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
THUR 12 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS, meet at 10am every Thursday at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Beacon Hill. Practical conservation work; all tools & training provided. For details of each task contact Andy Fale on 07970 552673 or the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
THUR 12 PASTURES NEW VOLUNTEER TASK, 10 am. DWT Pastures New volunteers working on multifarious sites across West Dorset. Come & join in with all sorts of tasks from wild flower seeding to water vole conservation, coppicing to mayfly-counting. Flapjacks are on us. Please call Nick Gray on 07824 438974 for details.
SAT 14 I LOVE WILDLIFE, 12 – 3pm, Chesil Beach Centre. Come to the Centre this Valentine’s weekend and make gifts for the wildlife in your garden to show how much you love them! All ages welcome. Crafts ranging from 50p – £3. The Chesil Beach Centre. Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre, Portland Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XE. [SY 668 755]. Tel: 01305 206191.
SUN 15 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS, working on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273.
TUES 17 NEST BOX EVENT, 10am – 2pm. Come & make your own home for birds with DWT’s Family Event for National Nest Box Week. £5 per box made. Find us beside The Ark Café in Poole Park, part of The Great Heath Living Landscape. For more information contact Katie Wilkinson on 01202 692033 or [email protected]
TUES 17 CATERPILLAR KIDS – MINI NATURE RESERVES, Lorton Meadows NR (£2/child, Family Event), 10.30am – 12.30pm. Explore the woods, meadows & ponds of the nature reserve then create your own mini version to take home, plus games & more with the Community Conservation Officer. No unaccompanied children. Booking essential, please contact the Community Conservation Officer (01305 816546). Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826].
TUES 17 HOUSE THE BIRDS! 10am – 12pm, £5 per child. As part of national nest box week we are encouraging children to get creative & have a go at making their own nest boxes to take home & put up in their garden to help house the birds. As spring arrives, wait & see who moves in! 01300 321409 or visit our website for more information: www.kingcombe.org The Kingcombe Centre, Lower Kingcombe, Toller Porcorum, DT2 0EQ.
TUES 17 TRUFFLES IN ENGLAND – TO BE SNIFFED AT, a talk by James Feaver (The English Truffle Company). 7.30pm, Herrison Hall, Charlton Down. Free entry but donation £3 requested incl. coffee and biscuits.
WED 18 THE GREAT HEATH VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 4pm. Practical conservation work on a variety of habitats. A wide range of tasks will be carried out; tools & training provided. Come along every Wednesday throughout the year & enjoy what the countryside has to offer. For more information call Sally Wright at the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
WED 18 HOW DORSET’S WILDLIFE LINKS ACROSS THE SW REGION an illustrated talk by DWT President, Tony Bates. 7.30pm Fontmell Magna Village Hall (SP7 0JU). £2 (including teq/coffee/biscuits. Children free.
WED 18 CATERPILLAR KIDS – BOGGARTS OF THE WILD WOODS, Lorton Meadows NR (£2/child, Family Event), 10.30am – 12.30pm. Discover the creatures of wild Withy Woods, make boggarts for the trees & wood elf puppets to take home, plus games & more with the Community Conservation Officer. No unaccompanied children. Booking essential, please contact the Community Conservation Officer (01305 816546). Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826].
WED 18 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS, working on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273.
WED 18 SPRING HUNTING ON MALTA, a talk by Andrew Morgan, Birdlife Malta. 7.30pm, Digby Memorial Church Hall, Digby Road, Sherborne. Cost £2.50. Coffee/tea & biscuits available: donations appreciated.
THUR 19 BLANDFORD OTTERS & KINGFISHERS. Wildlife films by Dudley Higginson. 7.30pm, Christchurch Baptist Church Hall, Bargates, corner of Beaconsfield Road, Christchurch. Cost £2 incl. coffee & biscuits.
THUR 19 FOREST FRIENDS, 10 – 12pm, £3 per child. We welcome back a Kingcombe Kid’s Club favourite this half term with the return of forest friends! Using only natural materials let your imagination run wild & create your very own forest friend to take home! The Kingcombe Centre, Lower Kingcombe, Toller Porcorum, DT2 0EQ. Visit www.kingcombe.org.uk for more information.
THUR 19 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS, meet at 10am every Thursday at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Beacon Hill Lane,Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Bh21 3RX. Practical conservation work; all tools & training provided. For details of each task contact Andy Fale on 07970 552673 or the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
THUR 19 CHESIL CODE CRACKERS, Use your powers of observation & investigation to solve clues in & around the Chesil Beach Centre & crack the secret Chesil code, learning about local wildlife as you go! £2 per child. Sessions 11am and 2 pm.The Chesil Beach Centre. Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre, Portland Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XE. [SY 668 755]. Tel: 01305 206191.
FRI 20 ‘THE BACK OF BEYOND› – ADVENTURES & WILDLIFE IN THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, a talk by Tony Bates. 7.30 pm, The Quarterjack Suite, The Allendale Centre, Hanham Road, Wimborne Minster.
SAT 21 & SUN 22 HEDGELAYING COURSE, 10am – 4pm. Join Dorset Wildlife Trust for a weekend learning the traditional skill of hedgelaying. Day 1: theory & practical; Day 2: practical. All tools & safety equipment provided. £15 per person per day. The course will be based from the Urban Wildlife Centre, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Bh21 3RX with transport provided to the site. Max 8 people per day so booking essential on 01202 692033 or [email protected]
SUN 22 BROWNSEA ISLAND WORK PARTY, 9.30 am. Join the regular volunteering group on Brownsea Island on alternate Sundays throughout the year. Tasks include pine thinning, opening out the alder carr & rhododendron cutting. For details of boat timings contact Richard Proctor on 07718 511432 or 01202 693039.
SUN 22 URBAN WEEKENDERS, meet at 10am at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Beacon Hill Lane, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, Bh21 3RX. Join the Urban team of Dorset Wildlife Trust on a regular weekend work party on DWT Upton Heath, on the last Sunday of every month. Volunteers will be helping wardens carry out conservation work on this important wildlife site. DWT will provide tools & safety equipment, but please wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, sensible footwear & bring food & drinks. Families welcome, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Please contact Sally Wright on 01202 692033 for details or email [email protected]
TUES 24 ISLE OF PURBECK MID-WEEK VOLUNTEERS, Habitat management on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT warden James Hitchen on 07436 157328 for details.
WED 25 THE GREAT HEATH VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 4pm. Practical conservation work on a variety of habitats. A wide range of tasks will be carried out; tools & training provided. Come along every Wednesday throughout the year & enjoy what the countryside has to offer. For more information call Sally Wright at the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
WED 25 VOLUNTEERS CONSERVATION TASK, Lorton Meadows NR (Free), 10am – 3pm. Join us for a day of practical work on site, to restore the habitats important for local wildlife. Tools, gloves & drinks supplied. No experience necessary, please bring a packed lunch. Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826].
THUR 26 THE DORSET HARE, an illustrated talk by Sarah Williams, DWT Project Officer. 7.30pm. Methodist Church, North Street, Wareham. All welcome.
THUR 26 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS, meet at 10am every Thursday at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Beacon Hill. Practical conservation work; all tools & training provided. For details of each task contact Andy Fale on 07970 552673 or the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
THUR 26 PASTURES NEW VOLUNTEER TASK, 10 am. DWT Pastures New volunteers working on multifarious sites across West Dorset. Come and join in with all sorts of tasks from wild flower seeding to water vole conservation, coppicing to mayfly-counting. Flapjacks are on us. Please call Nick Gray on 07824 438974 for details.
