TUES 1 MOTH IDENTIFICATION, 10.45am & every Tuesday until end September. Marvel at the moths trapped overnight on DWT’s Brownsea Island Reserve. Open to all & led by DWT Wardens. Meet at the Villa on the reserve to identify & record the species we find in the traps. Event duration will vary depending on the quantity of moths (15mins – 1hr30). Visitors are welcome to stay & enjoy the reserve afterwards. Normal charges apply for DWT reserve, National Trust landing fee & boat fares. Please note: In the event of rain during the night before, moth trapping will not go ahead. Please ring 01202 709445 or email [email protected] if you have any queries.
TUES 1 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624.
THUR 3 PASTURES NEW VOLUNTEER TASK 10am. Join the regular volunteering group in West Dorset. Tasks can range from hedgelaying to Himalayan balsam pulling in locations all over West Dorset. Please contact Nick Gray on 07824 438974 or at [email protected] for details.
THUR 3 WEST FLEET WALK WITH THE WARDEN 2 – 3.30 pm. Join the Fleet Warden for a guided walk along the shore of the Fleet Lagoon. Discover the wildlife of this internationally important site & hear fascinating stories about Chesil Beach. Meet at Abbotsbury Swannery car park. Adults £3, Children £2.
THUR 3 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. The Fine Foundation Marine Centre SY 909787, BH20 5PF. Phone 01929 481044
SUN 6 EAST DORSET/ARC WORK PARTY, 10am – 1pm. Lend a hand with practical conservation work at the Sopley Common Reserve. Tasks include scrub clearance, pine & sycamore control, path clearance etc. Meet at the Ramsdown car park. For more information, please contact Jon Crewe on 07989 777757.
SUN 6 BROWNSEA ISLAND WORK PARTY 9.30am. 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 etc contact Richard Proctor on 01202 693039 or 07718 511432.
TUES 8 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624.
TUES 8 SOUTH DORSET MID-WEEK VOLUNTEERS 10am – 3pm. Habitat management on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact warden James Hitchen on 07436 157328 for further details or to book your place.
WED 9 THE GREAT HEATH PROJECT 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 10 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS meet every Thursday at the Urban Wildlife Centre, Beacon Hill. For this week meet at 9am for a moth trap opening and 10am for practical/surveying tasks. For details of each task contact Andy Fale on 07970 552673 or the Urban Wildlife Centre on 01202 692033.
THUR 10 A GUIDE TO EVERYTHING CHESIL 11am – 12.30pm. Join our 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. Meet at the Chesil Beach Centre. Adults £3, Children £2. Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre, Portland Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XE. [SY 668 755]. Phone 01305 206191
FRI 11 – SUN 13 FROM FLEECE TO FELT Learn the art of traditional natural wool dyeing & the techniques of needle felting using local plants & Kingcombe’s very own Dorset Poll fleeces with Carla Taylor and Annabel Wilson. Cost R £320 (NR £239). Includes Materials. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684. Pre-booking essential – limited places.
SAT 12 – AUTUMN MIGRANT BIRD WATCH at West Bexington Join us to discover the migrant birds of this stunnning coastal reserve of reed beds, including a bird ringing demonstration, weather permitting. Cost £5. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684. Pre-booking essential – limited places.
SAT 12 – 13 MAD ABOUT MOTHS WILD WEEKEND 10am – 4pm. Come and meet the moths at Lorton Meadows and see what surprises are in our over-night trap! Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826]. Phone 01305 816546.
MON 14 – NEEDLE FELT ANIMAL WORKSHOP Create your own unique needle felted hare using Kingcombe’s own fleeces with Carla Taylor. No experience necessary. Cost £80. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684. Pre-booking essential – limited places.
TUES 15 BIRDS OF BROWNSEA – MIGRATION TIME 11am – 1pm. Discover the birds of the Dorset Wildlife Trust Brownsea Island Nature Reserve.
The bird migration season is underway & Brownsea’s internationally important lagoon is a stopover for many wading birds. Meet at the public hide by the cormorant sculpture (100m from the quay). Boats from Poole or Sandbanks at 10am. No DWT charge but boat fares & National Trust landing charges apply. BOOKING ESSENTIAL on 01202 709445 or 01202 692033 or email [email protected].
TUES 15 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624.
WED 16 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS Working on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273.
WED 16 WILDLIFE OF DUNYEATS HILL, 10am – 12 noon. Discover the wildlife of Dunyeats Hill, part of the Great Heath Living Landscape, with Dorset Wildlife Trust & Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (ARC). Meet at the entrance marked ‘FP No 97’, 2nd turning in Merriefield Ave, off Upper Golf Links Rd, Broadstone. Please do not block residents’ access. All welcome but children must be accompanied by adults & strong sturdy footwear is advised. For more information contact ARC on 01202 391319 or [email protected].
WED 16 TEA WITH AN AUTHOR MERRILY HARPUR ‘ROARING DORSET’, 2 – 3 pm. Author of five books including critically acclaimed ‘Mystery Big Cats’, Merrily Harpur has investigated big cat phenomenon nationally & has given talks on the subject in the USA, England & for BBC Radio 4. Join Merrily for tea & cake as she talks about her home county of Dorset, location of some of the closest & most vivid encounters of these elusive felines. Meet at the Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre, Portland Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XE. [SY 668 755]. Phone 01305 206191£6 per person. BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01305 206191.
WED 16 WILDLIFE QUIZ, 7.30pm, Fontmell Magna Village Hall (SP7 0JU). Cost £2 incl. tea/coffee & biscuits.
WED 16 DORSET’S WEIRD & WONDERFUL FUNGI a talk by Bryan Edwards of Dorset Environmental Records Centre, 7.30pm, Digby Memorial Church Hall, Digby Road, Sherborne.
THUR 17 THE ART OF ENJOYING NATURE 10am – 1pm. Discover your inner artist with a drawing workshop led by artist Julie Herring. Suitable for adult beginners or improvers, this is a chance to see & draw the wild world of The Great Heath. Based at the Urban Wildlife Centre with refreshments provided, but please wear stout footwear for (weather permitting) a short walk on Upton Heath. Cost £5. Limited spaces, BOOKING ESSENTIAL on 01202 692033 or [email protected]
THUR 17 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS meet every Thursday at 10am 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 17 PASTURES NEW VOLUNTEER TASK 10am. Join the regular volunteering group in West Dorset. Tasks can range from hedgelaying to Himalayan balsam pulling in locations all over West Dorset. Please contact Nick Gray on 07824 438974 or at [email protected] for details.
THUR 17 KING BARROW QUARRIES NATURE RESERVE GEOLOGY & QUARRIES WALK 11am – 1pm. Join us for a guided walk around this disused quarry that nature has reclaimed, to discover the geology of the site exposed by the quarrymen, along with their huts, gullies & tunnels. Meet at the entrance to the reserve, by the name stone, on Yeates Road, just off A354 (map ref. SY 689728). Please wear suitable footwear. £1 per person. Booking essential: please contact the Community Conservation Officer 01305 816546.
THUR 17 MAMMAL WATCHING IN BRITAIN, an illustrated talk by Dominic Couzens. 7.30pm, Christchurch Baptist Church Hall, Bargates, corner of Beaconsfield Road, Christchurch. Cost £2 inc coffee & biscuits.
FRI 18 – BREAKFAST WITH BIRDS A morning bird discovery of Kingcombe nature reserve residents and migrants followed by a hearty breakfast back at The Kingcombe Centre. Cost £15. Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684. Pre-booking essential – limited places.
FRI 18 FLOWERS ON YOUR DOORSTEP a talk by Eric Watson. 7.30pm, Allendale Community Centre, Hanham Rd, Wimborne.
SAT 19 – 20 DISCOVER BADGERS WILD WEEKEND 10am – 4pm. Come to Lorton Meadows and take part in a kids badger trail, running all weekend. Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826]. Phone 01305 816546.
SUN 20 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS working on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273.
SUN 20 BROWNSEA ISLAND WORK PARTY 9.30am. 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 etc contact Richard Proctor on 01202 693039 or 07718 511432.
SUN 20 HAPPY BOTTOM & BEYOND, 10.30am – 2.30pm. Walk the Roman Road & discover the sites purchased by the Great Heath Partnership. Bring packed lunch, & wear suitable clothes. Friendly canines welcome. Meet at Corfe Mullen Recreation Ground (Bradbury road off Blandford Road).
SUN 20 AUTUMN BEACH CLEAN 11am – 1pm. Bring family & friends for this annual event, helping to clean one of Dorset’s most spectacular beaches. 10% discount on food and drink at Taste cafe for those taking part & free parking for the duration of the event. All equipment provided. Meet at the Chesil Beach Centre, Portland Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XE. [SY 668 755]. Phone 01305 206191
SUN 20 BEACH CLEAN 11am – 1pm, Worbarrow Bay (map ref. SY 865803). Help with our end of summer clean-up. All equipment provided but bring a drink & own gloves if you have them. Free Event.
TUES 22 SOUTH DORSET MID-WEEK VOLUNTEERS 10am – 3pm. Habitat management on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact warden James Hitchen on 07436 157328 for further details or to book your place.
TUES 22 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624.
TUES 22 – FRI 25 AUTUMN PLANTS IN WATERCOLOUR Explore the rich colours and varied forms of autumnal berries, fruits, seed heads and flowers in this botanical painting workshop with Christina Hart Davies. For those with some experience. Cost R £395 (NR £275). Book online at www.kingcombe.org or call 01300 320684. Pre-booking essential – limited places.
WED 23 WILDLIFE OF LYTCHETT HEATH 10 – 11.30am. Discover the special wildlife of Lytchett Bay Nature Reserve’s heathland, part of The Great Heath Living Landscape. Led by Dorset Wildlife Trust & Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, this is a chance to find out about the wildlife & habitats of this special site on the shores of Poole Harbour. Meet at the Lytchett Heath entrance to Lytchett Bay Nature Reserve on Sandy Lane, Upton (just west of Moorland Way junction), map ref. SY 974927. Suggested donation £3. For more information contact ARC on 01202 391319 or [email protected].
WED 23 NORTH DORSET VOLUNTEERS working on a DWT nature reserve near you. Please contact DWT Warden Steve Oliver on 07824 874273.
WED 23 THE GREAT HEATH PROJECT 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 24 URBAN WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS meet every Thursday at 10am 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 24 AN AFTERNOON FUNGUS & LICHEN FORAY AT STUDLAND led by Joy Fildes (01929 450449). Meet at 2.30pm outside the National Trust Information Centre at Knoll Beach (SZ 033836). Parking free for National Trust members.
SAT 26 – 27 POND LIFE WILD WEEKEND Come along to Lorton Meadows to learn more about what you can find in a pond! Pond dipping both days 1-2pm.Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre, Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH. [SY 674 826]. Phone01305 816546.
SUN 27 A GUIDE TO EVERYTHING CHESIL, 11am – 1.30pm. 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. Meet at the Chesil Beach Centre. Adults £3, Children £2. Meet at the Chesil Beach Centre.
SUN 27 URBAN WEEKENDERS 10am – 1pm. Join the Urban team of the Dorset Wildlife Trust on a regular work party on DWT Upton Heath, on the last Sunday of every month. Meeting at the Urban Wildlife Centre (BH21 3RX), volunteers will be helping wardens carry out conservation work on this important wildlife site. Tools & safety equipment provided. 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]
MON 28 LANDSCAPES & WILDLIFE DEEP IN THE AUSSIE OUTBACK, a talk by Tony Bates MBE (President DWT). 7.30pm, Colliton Club, opp. County Hall, Dorchester. Free entry but £3 donation requested. Tea/coffee & bar available.
TUES 29 WEST DORSET VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY Please contact DWT Warden Steve Masters on 07557 561624.
WED 30 TEA WITH AN AUTHOR: JULIE MUSK ‘LESSER KNOWN WEYMOUTH’, 2 – 3 pm. Author of 3 successful books & owner of Roving Press, a Dorset-focused book publisher, Julie is perfectly placed to provide a unique insight into all things Weymouth. Join Julie for tea & cake as she gives you a close-up view of Weymouth – past & present. With surprising facts & stories that draw your attention to what many visitors & residents often miss. Meet at the Chesil Beach Centre, Portland Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XE. [SY 668 755]. £6 per person. BOOKING ESSENTIAL on 01305 206191.
