24th September 2022 (Saturday)
The GREAT BIG GREEN WEEK Opening Gathering, good weather, good crowd and some enthusiastic young eco warriors from St Mary’s primary.
Eco Church/Living Churchyard: We really enjoyed being part of the Saturday events for the Great Big Green Week. We are continuing to work within the church to encourage people to think about their lifestyle and about how we live affects others worldwide, as well as looking at eco issues relating to church buildings.
Walk for Rosemary-Jubilee Trail: a covid delayed 25th anniversary programme of walks for the Jubilee trail (Forde Abbey to Brokerly Dyke) honouring Rosemary Bramah who was instrumental in overseeing its success. These are Ramblers Dorset events and are listed below as Walks 1-5. Non members welcome.
Walk 1: 8.5 miles. Circular, covering from Coles Cross to Four Ashes.
Walk 2: 9.5 miles. Circular, covering Parnham to North Poorton.
25th September 2022 (Sunday)
Bridport Community Orchard Group invited the public to come along to the third and final apple juicing session of the year. Despite the long dry summer the apples this year have been really juicy and almost free from damage by pests. As a result the 200 pasteurised bottle target has been met; the bottles of pasteurised juice will be on sale at the Makers Market on Saturday 8th October.
Bridport Tree Planting invited the public to walk around their latest initiative. Plans include new planting of pollinating shrubs, trees and a new flower meadow. A visit to Otter Bend nature reserve after the briefing.
Walk 3: (see Sept 24th). 7.5 miles. Circular route from Pound Cottage, DWT Kingcombe to Wynford Eagle.
Tuesday 27th Sept
River Monitoring: a practical demonstration of two techniques for monitoring the health of rivers was held on the Brit. Riverfly is the systematic collection of small invertebrates from the river bed by scuffing the substrate and netting the result. Citizen Science investigation makes general observations and then tests phosphate, suspended solids, temperature and turbidity. Both retain the data for long term scrutiny and share results with the Environment Agency. More Details
Wednesday Sept 28th
Energy Champions is a mobile energy advice scheme of the town council. They were able to engage the adults in energy advice and some came along to specifically talk about renewable alternatives. Children enjoyed designing their new homes with some fantastic creatures. The next step is to show thermal images of homes to have a more fruitful discussion about insulation solutions.
Thursday Sept 29th
Visit the Beaver’s lair:
Dorset Wildlife Trust hosted 11 visitors to their enclosed beaver trial site in west Dorset, to see the amazing wetland habitat created by these semi-aquatic rodents. And learn about how their presence in our landscape can help riverine water quality, provide habitat for wildlife, and maintain water levels in both flood and drought seasons.
More information can be found on Dorset Wildlife Trusts Beaver Blog – https://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/stephen-oliver/beaver-blog-august-2022.
Demonstration of the Wonderbag: St Swithun’s Church car park 10.30-11.30. Rachel Millson shows how to use this useful way of cooking and keeping food warm without an oven. Free tastings using glut produce from the weekly stall.
Bridport Primary School Wild and Edible Garden: 1.30 and 2.30 visits to see this facility set up alongside the school by TTB and Home in Bridport. Volunteers and some pupils will show you round the garden which includes rough areas and a pond so that wildlife can flourish. Here the children learn how to grow their own food and what insects and amphibians contribute to this. Numbers are restricted so need to be booked through Eventbrite
Friday Sept 30th: Rest Day
1st October 2022 (Saturday)
Bike through Bridport: West Dorset Foe’s slow ride through the town centre, led by the Mayor and the town cryer in full regalia, once again showed that cycling through Bridport can be fun and safe for all ages.
Bridport Energy Champions: (See Wednesday) Bridport Town Council is developing energy champions in local communities to assist with the often confusing choices to keep our homes warm, reduce our energy needs and shift away from fossil fuels. caroline.pearce@bridport-tc.gov.uk
Greener Homes: 2 weekends: Oct 1-2 and Oct 8-9. Over 50 homes will be open to visitors showing greener ways of living. Find out how to upgrade your home, or simply save energy, by visiting households who have taken the first steps. Details on: dorset.greenopenhomes.net Note: We are still open to new homes. If you have taken steps to use less energy, insulated your home, installed a heat pump, grow organic vegetables, a wildlife friendly home etc and are happy to talk to visitors, please get in touch. dorsetgreenerhomes@gmail.com
October 2nd (Sunday)
Paddle & Clean the lower Brit. Starting below the weir at Palmers, Bay paddle boarder volunteers swept the lower Brit clean of litter and managed to have some fun on the way. A littered plastic chair amused us all!
October 2nd started with heavy rain but turned into the sunny afternoon, perfect for a Swim in the Sea! Refreshments provided Plastic Free Bridport, it was perfect ending to the Great Big Green Week.
