Upcoming Events

Creating links with the Village Hall

Posted on 20/07/2023 by committee

The Wildlife Trust is excited to hear that East Keswick Village Hall’s offer for the Illingworth Field, which lies directly behind the Village Hall’s garden, has been accepted.

The Village Hall has our full support in acquiring the Illingworth Field. We believe it will contribute to protecting, improving and extending existing local multifunctional green corridors. It will enable an increase in connectivity to the existing local habitat network, including the Ellikers nature reserve to the north of Illingworth Field, and offer the potential for wider links around the parish and beyond.

East Keswick Wildlife Trust is committed to working with the Village Hall to preserve this green space and create opportunities for the local community and visitors to learn and play a central role in working with nature to address the causes and consequences of climate change.

Peter Guildford and David Wort from the Village Hall committee meet David Smith, Chairman of East Keswick Wildlife Trust, to discuss plans to improve biodiversity on the land behind the Village Hall.

A Great Family Day!

Posted on 11/07/2023 by committee

Last Sunday we enjoyed another great family day and even managed to avoid the storms! We had lots of activities and of course tasty pizzas.

All hands on deck to help load the 2 charcoal kilns

Debbie with her tawny owl explains the
importance of feathers

Paul emptying and identifying moths from his overnight trapping session

Izzy wizzy let’s get busy with frothy potions

Many thanks to everyone who came and made the afternoon such a success

Family Day – Sunday 9th July

Posted on 29/06/2023 by committee

We will be holding our annual family day on Sunday 9th July from 2-4pm at the charcoal burn area in Oxclose Wood.

This year we won’t have the kilns lit, but will be loading them ready to burn – something that children love being involved with. We would recommend bringing gloves to protect your hands. It is a great opportunity to learn about the charcoal burns too, but without the smoke!

The pizza oven will be fired up and we will provide the dough. If you can bring tomato sauce and toppings that would be great. We won’t be able to provide seating, so please feel free to bring rugs or chairs.

There will be lots of fun for the children including willow weaving, scavenger hunt and drawing. Our Trust moth expert will have traps to show the children the variety of moths that live in the woods. There will also be the opportunity to learn more about the Trust, with talks on charcoal burns and how the woodland is managed.

This event is free for members or a minimum donation of £5 for non members.

We need to know numbers, to enable us to plan activities and prepare the right quantity of pizza dough. If you could let us know if you are coming and how many of you there will be, by Thursday 6th July that would be helpful. We are limited to the number of pizzas we can cook in the time available, so please book early to avoid disappointment. Please reply to thomasin@ekwt.org.uk, we hope to see you there!

Bardsey Fields

Posted on 28/05/2023 by committee

We are delighted to announce that the land purchase of Bardsey Fields completed on Friday 26th May. We can now start planning a consultation about how we manage the land going forward. Watch this space for further updates!

East Keswick Wildlife Trust AGM Wednesday 10th May in the Village Hall, East Keswick at 7.00pm

Posted on 15/04/2023 by committee

Dan Carne, a director of the Wood Meadows Trust will give a talk ‘Forgotten Landscapes: wooded grasslands in Great Britain’. Dan will explore the history and ecology of wood meadows and wood pastures and make the case that these ancient agricultural systems have an important role to play in our modern landscapes. All welcome.

Bluebell Walk Wednesday 3rd May

Posted on 15/04/2023 by committee

Join us to see the display of bluebells in Ox Close Wood. Meet in the Crabtree Lane car park at 7.00pm, all welcome.

Letter from the King

Posted on 11/03/2023 by committee

David, our Chairman, wrote to the King on behalf of the Trust to let him know about our campaign to raise funds to buy Bardsey Fields and this is the reply that we received.

Winter Bird Survey Results

Posted on 20/02/2023 by committee

The winter bird survey took place on 14th January 2023. A total of 36 different bird species were observed during the walk from St Mary Magdalene Church on Moor Lane, through the Marsh and then along Moor Lane. We then crossed Harewood Road and walked along by the river, up Fitts Lane and back into the village.

Bird species observed

Blackcap	Wren
Goldcrest	Robin
Greenfinch	Goldfinch
Bullfinch	House Sparrow
Dunnock	Starling
Blackbird	Song Thrush
Redwing	Fieldfare
Blue Tit	Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit	Willow/Marsh Tit
Magpie	Jackdaw
Rook	Crow
Pheasant	Red Kite
Sparrowhawk	Buzzard
Wood Pigeon	Rock/Feral Dove
Greater-spotted Woodpecker	Heron
Greylag Goose	Canada Goose
Mallard	Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull	Cormorant

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is blackcap-1024x674.jpg — Blackcap

Winter Walk – Saturday 11th February

Posted on 16/01/2023 by committee

Our winter walk is to The Scotts Arms in Sicklinghall.

If you would like to join us, please email info@ekwt.org.uk as we will need numbers to book lunch.

Please meet in the Crabtree Lane car park, East Keswick at 10am.

This event will be weather dependent.

Winter Bird Survey Saturday 14th January

Posted on 04/01/2023 by committee

We will be meeting at the entrance to St Mary Magdalene Church, Moor Lane, East Keswick at 10.00am. You are welcome to come and go throughout the day, please bring snacks and lunch, also binoculars if you have them. From the Church we will be walking through the Marsh, then along Moor Lane to the cricket field. We will then cross Harewood Road and walk down to the river, back up Fitts Lane and into the village. If time allows we may also include Ox Close Wood.