SAT 1 ROCKPOOL RAMBLE, 2.30 – 4pm, Fine Foundation Marine Centre, Kimmeridge. Celebrate Marine Week. Join us at the best rockpooling site in Dorset. Short walk involved. Weather dependent. £3 adult/£1.50 child.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
SUN 2 ROCKPOOL RAMBLE, 2.30 – 4pm, Fine Foundation Marine Centre, Kimmeridge. Celebrate Marine Week. Join us at the best rockpooling site in Dorset. Short walk involved. Weather dependent. £3 adult/ £1.50 child.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
SUN 2 THE BIG WILD CHESIL EVENT, 10am–5pm. Chesil’s BIGGEST wildlife event of the year. Find out about the fascinating wildlife of Chesil Beach, Portland & what Dorset Wildlife Trust is up to across the rest of the county. Help with a pink seafan, shark eggcase or butterfly survey. Try bird watching, have a go at Whose Poo!, Music, dancing, a barbecue & an action packed programme of wildlife activities for the whole family. FREE EVENT (donations welcome).Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
SUN 2 OPTICRON OPTICS DAY, 10am – 4pm. Looking to buy some new binoculars or a telescope? Rob Laughton from Opticron will be on hand to give expert advice on optics. Try out a large range of binoculars and scopes whilst viewing the spectacular wildlife at Chesil.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
TUES 4 MOTH IDENTIFICATION WORKSHOP, 10.30am & every Tuesday until end September. Learn & marvel at the moths trapped overnight on Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Brownsea Island reserve. Workshop open to all & led by DWT wardens. Meet at The Villa on the DWT nature reserve. Event lasts 1-1½ hours depending on the moths! Weather dependent. Boats from Poole or Sandbanks at 10am, fares & National Trust landing charges apply. Suggested donation £3.Please see website, ring 01202 709445 or email [email protected] to confirm the week before.
TUES 4 SEASHORE DETECTIVES, 3 – 4.30 pm. Explore the amazing underwater world of the Fleet Lagoon. Use your detective skills to hunt for tracks & signs of marine wildlife along the shore. Spy anemones, sea squirts & scurrying crabs with our underwater seascopes. Wellies advised. £2 per person.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
TUES 4 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 3.30pm. Booking is essential for new volunteers as places are limited. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624 for further information.
TUES 4 KAYAK SAFARI Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
TUES 4 SHIBORI WITH INDIGO DYEING WORKSHOP Learn this traditional Japanese art of stitch resist to create your own unique textile designs with Annabel Wilson. Cost £80 (inc. materials). Pre-booking essential – limited places. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684.
WED 5 THE GREAT HEATH VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 4pm. Wildlife survey at Knoll Gardens. Come along every other Wednesday from April until September and enjoy what the countryside has to offer. For more information call Nicky Hoar on 01202 692033 or email [email protected]
WED 5 ECO-CRABBING 2.30 – 4pm. Celebrate Marine Week. Learn how to catch and care for crabs without harm to other rockpool animals. £3. Cost includes crab kit to take home, bait and equipment.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
WED 5 – FRI 7 A BRUSH WITH NATURE – ILLUSTRATING THE NATURAL WORLD Explore drawing & painting techniques of natural history illustration, in the studio and out in the field with Sarah Morrish. Cost R £280 (NR £199). Pre-booking essential – limited places. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684.
THUR 6 PASTURES NEW VOLUNTEER TASK, 10 am. Join the regular volunteering group in West Dorset. Tasks can range from hedge laying to Himalayan balsam pulling in locations all over West Dorset. Please contact Nick Gray on 07824438974 or at [email protected] for details.
THUR 6 KAYAK SAFARI Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
THUR 6 A GUIDE TO EVERYTHING CHESIL, 11am – 12.30pm. Join your guide to discover the secrets of Chesil Bank and the Fleet Lagoon. This whistle-stop tour covers everything from the formation of the beach to the rich wildlife and military history. Adults £3, Children £2.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
FRI 7 – SUN 9 PRINTMAKING WEEKEND Create your own exciting lino-prints whilst learning simple techniques using the natural world as inspiration with Sarah Morrish. Cost R £295 (NR £215) (inc. materials). Pre-booking essential – limited places. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684.
SUN 9 CHESIL BEACH CLEAN, 11am – 1pm. Bring family & friends and help us clean one of Dorset’s most spectacular beaches to protect our local wildlife during National Marine Week. 10% discount on food & drink at Taste Café for those taking part & free parking for the duration of the event. All equipment provided.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
MON 10 – WED 12 GRAZING ANIMALS FOR CONSERVATION
Learn about the essential elements of livestock handling, welfare & habitat management with Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Emily Newton & Ashlea Kirk. Cost R £280 (NR £199). Pre-booking essential – limited places. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684.
TUES 11 SOUTH DORSET MID-WEEK VOLUNTEERS Habitat management on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT warden James Hitchen on 07436157328 for further details or to book a place.
TUES 11 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 3.30pm. Booking is essential for new volunteers as places are limited. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624 for further information.
TUE 11 KAYAK SAFARI Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
WED 12 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS Meet one Sunday a month, on a DWT nature reserve, throughout the year, & various Wednesdays. Practical conservation tasks include habitat management, surveys & monitoring. Tasks subject to change. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273 or email [email protected].
WED 12 THE GREAT HEATH VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY 10am. The group will be visiting various Great Heath reserves & alternating between wildlife survey days & practical conservation/access tasks. The length of the day will vary depending on the day & activity, e.g. survey days will be much shorter. Please contact Sally Wright on 01202 692033 or at [email protected] for more information.
THUR 13 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS, From April until September meet on the second Thursday of the month at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Beacon Hill. For this week meet at 9am for a moth trap opening and 10am for recording/monitoring tasks. For details of each task contact Andy Fale on 07970 552673 or the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
THUR 13 KAYAK SAFARI, Fine Foundation Marine Centre, Kimmeridge. Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
THUR 13 WALK AT HENGISTBURY HEAD, guided by the Warden. 10.30am – 12.30pm, meet at the Visitor Centre by car park (map ref. SZ172908) (Centre has a café.) Limited to 20. Cost £3. Please book on 01202 697325. Wimborne Group.
FRI 14 SEASHORE DETECTIVES, 12–1.30 pm. Explore the amazing underwater world of the Fleet Lagoon. Use your detective skills to hunt for tracks & signs of marine wildlife along the shore. Spy anemones, sea squirts & scurrying crabs with our underwater seascopes. Wellies advised. Adults £2, Children £2.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
SAT 15 BAT WALK with local bat group expert, Chris Dieck. Meet at 8.45pm outside the Fox Inn, Ansty (DT2 7PN) to walk part of the Ansty Jubilee Trail. North Dorset Group.
SAT 15 WILDFLOWER WALK, 10am – 12pm (site TBC) but will be within The Great Heath. £3 per adult, £2 per child. Booking essential on 01202 692033 or [email protected].
SUN 16 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS, Meet one Sunday a month, on a DWT nature reserve, throughout the year, & various Wednesdays. Practical conservation tasks include habitat management, surveys & monitoring. Tasks subject to change. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273 or email [email protected]
SUN 16 SEASHORE DETECTIVES, 1.30 – 3 pm. Explore the amazing underwater world of the Fleet Lagoon. Use your detective skills to hunt for tracks & signs of marine wildlife along the shore. Spy anemones, sea squirts & scurrying crabs with our underwater seascopes. Wellies advised. Adults £2, Children £2.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
TUES 18 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am – 3.30pm. Booking is essential for new volunteers as places are limited. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557561624 for further information.
TUES 18 KAYAK SAFARI Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
WED 19 WEYMOUTH CARNIVAL Join us at the Carnival where we will be celebrating Dorset’s local wildlife. Look out for the giant lobster!
THUR 20 PASTURES NEW VOLUNTEER TASK 10am. Join the regular volunteering group in West Dorset. Tasks range from hedge laying to Himalayan balsam pulling in locations across West Dorset. Please contact Nick Gray on 07824 438974 or at [email protected] for details.
THUR 20 KAYAK SAFARI Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
FRI 21 GREAT CHESIL EGGCASE HUNT, 11am – 12.30pm. Get active with shark conservation. Join us to search for shark & ray eggcases along Chesil Beach. Learn about British sharks & find out what lives inside a mermaids purse! Your finds will be recorded & used for the conservation of these charismatic species. £2 per person.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
SUN 23 A MORNING BUTTERFLY WALK ON BALLARD DOWN Led by Jon Bellamy (01929 450182). Meet 11am in Ulwell lay-by on Swanage to Studland road (map ref. SZ 021809). Joint event with Dorset Butterfly Conservation. Hope to see good numbers of second broods of Adonis blue & brown argus, plus many other summer butterflies & insects. Isle of Purbeck Group.
TUES 25 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY 10am – 3.30pm. Booking essential for new volunteers as places are limited. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624 for further information.
TUES 25 ISLE OF PURBECK MID-WEEK VOLUNTEERS, Habitat management on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT warden James Hitchen on 07436157328 for further details or to book your place.
TUES 25 KAYAK SAFARI Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
WED 26 THE GREAT HEATH VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY, 10am. The group will be visiting various Great Heath reserves & alternating between wildlife survey days & practical conservation/access tasks. The length of the day will vary depending on the day & activity, e.g. survey days will be much shorter. Please contact Sally Wright on 01202 692033 or at [email protected] for more information.
WED 26 MUNCHING CATERPILLARS, 11am – 12.30pm. Learn all about butterflies & moths. Go on a butterfly beach hunt & plant your own butterfly fuel or caterpillar munch box to take home! Joint Event with Butterfly Conservation. Children £2.Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
THUR 27 KAYAK SAFARI Experience wildlife like never before with our clear-bottomed kayaks & goggle-viewers. 3 x 2hr sessions, £25 per person, 6 per session. 2hr session includes guided safari in Kimmeridge Bay. BOOKING ESSENTIAL.Purbeck Marine Centre, Kimmeridge, Wareham, BH20 5PF. Map Ref: SY 909787 Phone 01929 481044 for more information.
THUR 27 AN AFTERNOON WALK ON WAREHAM COMMON at 2.30pm. Led by Harold Gillen (01929 550850). Meet at the track of Streche Road, Wareham, just past the hospital) SY 917874. An SSSI & an example of river flood meadows. Although agriculturally improved it has interesting flora & fauna. Isle of Purbeck Group.
SAT 29 AUGUST BIRD RINGING DEMONSTRATION AT LYTCHETT BAY
7.30 – 9.30am. A rare chance to see wild birds up really close. See the birds being ringed by the experts of the Stour Ringing Group on the shores of Lytchett Bay, part of The Great Heath Living Landscape. Booking essential on 01202 692033 or email [email protected]. Suggested donation £3.
SAT 29 SEASHORE DETECTIVES, 12 – 1.30 pm. Explore the amazing underwater world of the Fleet Lagoon. Use your detective skills to hunt for tracks and signs of marine wildlife along the shore. Spy anemones, sea squirts and scurrying crabs with our underwater seascopes. Wellies advised. £2 per person. Chesil Beach Centre, halfway along the A354 between Weymouth and Portland. Post code: DT4 9XE. Phone 01305 206191 for more information.
