Settle Walk for Creation - Castleberg - Evening 1 Sept

1st September is a Day to Pray for Creation - and two walks were held in Settle. (See first walk in the afternoon)
For the second one we assembled at 5.45pm at Holy Ascension church, ready for the walk to Castleberg. There were four of us but the fourth person never arrived as they went to a different meeting point. Here you see two of us - plus a Flower-pot Shepherd

Shepherd (Settle Flower Pot Festival), Judith and Revd Hilary Young.
Photographed by the third member: Revd Stephen Dawson

We spent ten minutes here just sitting and looking around. 

We thought of biodiversity in the churchyard

our efforts to help it-- the bird feeder sponsored by Althea;
the efforts to have an area of longer grassland
the debate about whether to use weed killer on some of the grave areas;
the time factor involved in working out greener solutions - which often take a lot of extra time

we admired the wilder area on the adjacent railway banking

 We thought about the climate - 
The wet summer we are having is making it harder for some farmers to harvest their grass. Our climate may not be hot this year but Stephen's brother who had just been to the Mediterranean reported enduring 32 degree temperatures, and that the 34 degree temperatures in Spain were harming the crops.

With our lush cool damp summer it is hard for people in England to understand that this year 2015 world wide is the hottest year ever recorded: - quote from 29 Aug 2015 Independent:

It is rare for climate experts to make such a bold prediction so soon in the year, but they believe that a surge in ocean temperatures in particular now makes it almost inevitable that 2015 will turn out to be the hottest year globally since instruments were first used to gather readings more than 130 years ago.

We thought about waste and recycling.

We climbed up to the flagpole at Castleberg Crag,, where we met two young cyclists.

What a view

Just left of the centre on the horizon is a mast - Waddington Fell - see below for telephoto picture of the same

Waddington Fell/Newton Fell Mast 15 miles away

Fruit of Wild Arum (or Lords and Ladies)

Looking over Settle 

We walked down the gentle route. I was pleased to find Woodruff

This post has a special alga on it called Prasiola crispa.
We look at it using our handlenses

How many people have been on a walk on 1 September and enjoyed looking at Prasiola?
It reminded me of the first time  found some on a mosses course at Preston Montford in 2013

This is what it looks like under a handlens

Prasiola crispa: This is what it looks like under a microscope

Here it is under higher power.

And so we came down to earth in Settle


Fourth walk - at Bentham on 10 Oct 2015