Settle Spinning and Sewing Club to donate

Settle Spinning/Sewing Club that meet on Tuesday afternoons at the Church Hall have been collecting "coppers and change" in a bottle over the past year for the fund. This afternoon they are going to open the bottle and I will give a little talk at coffee time. I am looking forward to that. - To opening the bottle - and to seeing all the interesting craftwork that they make.

Also today we have arranged to have a Coffee Morning at St John's Church on Tuesday 7th April 10am to midday. I have just sent an email to the Craven Herald.

The Prince and the Rainforest

I arranged to be at watching ITV on Sun 22 March 6.30pm to see "The Prince and the Rainforest" - featuring Prince Charles, first in the Amazon Rainforest and later at the Galapagos.

He had visited this area in 1982 and was now back again. He visited some sustainablity projects and permaculture - to show positive projects.

The interviewer said "Six/eight years ago most scientists agreed that climate change was taking place.. (as opposed to disputing that it was taking place) Now the scientists are saying it is taking place much faster than they thought six/eight years ago. Things are moving on much more rapitly than we expected.
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Later that evening I heard the Radio 4 Appeal - for Rainforest Foundation UK. It was given by Stephen Fry (of Twitter fame) I hope that raises lots of money.

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Prince Charles in the Yorkshire Dales and examples of how he likes nature ...

I have seen him in real life four times -
When he opened the National Nature Reserve of Ingleborough, above the Hill Inn
When he opened a room at the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, two weeks after the above event.
When he opened a "Post Office in the Pub" at Stainforth
When he went on a ride on the Settle Carlisle Railway
(And I know he came up to Malham Tarn Field Centre to open a new wing there)

He recently commissioned a book of botanical illustrations of the plants that grow at Highgrove House - a Florilegium .

Prince Charles is doing his best to protect nature -
What are you doing?


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E-peace, Students and Wildlife Conservation - Practical and Campaigning

Sat 7th March

It is a whole year since I acted as a resource person for Leeds University for their First Year Field Course in the Dales in their role play session.

To help them were a quarryman, a farmer, a walker , a local, several others - and myself as an environmental activist.

I was pleased to be asked back again, and this time they held their day at Grassington.

As I understood it my group of 12 students would be representing an environment campaigning group (with a made up name E-Peace) in a role play situation. I, as a member of our local wildlife group "Craven Conservation Group" had been invited to answer their questions in preparation for their task.

They showed me their excellent poster. - I thought the aims on the poster were good.

They had visited this website, to last year's page .. through a web search for E-Peace. (Brilliant - all hits welcome -Thanks!

I belong to so many environment groups and wanted to get so much information across - I had produced some photocopied material - that I talked (in response to questions) rapidly for about five minutes till I could see it was getting rather much for some of them (igo - eys glazed over) - So I asked questions instead -

"Do you belong to any conservation organisations?" I asked.

One girl did. She did practical world with a voluntary group at the university - cutting down trees etc. I had a really goood chat with her and it was good to see the other students interested in what she did.

"Are you interested in conservation or did you just get put in this group?" I asked.

"The latter."

"Are you members of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust?" I asked - After all Leeds in in Yorkshire. Zero uptake. "Well you should all go away and join". (Was that too bossy? - and let's face it, I only started joioning such organisations quite a few years after university..

They asked about otters, they asked "What would you do if you could improve the Dales for conservation... Hmmm...