Country life
Amphibious digger
The Butterfly Ball
Gift to Nature, will be staging a very special event this
Spring, on May 26, at the iconic Golden Hill Country
Park in Freshwater, just a stone’s throw from the site of
the legendary 1970 Isle of Wight festival.
The Butterfly Ball is billed as an outdoor music event
with a difference, featuring headline act Tensheds,
a classically-trained rock pianist, and a host of
supporting artists in this beautiful, countryside setting.
Children, and big kids alike, will be encouraged to
spot the butterfly amongst the trees, or simply to
bo ogie on down, and listen to the tones of Tensheds
and friends as the sun sets over the surrounding
stunning landscape.
The event is a fundraiser for the Island’s conservation
charity, Gift to Nature, who look after and improve
the Island’s public open spaces and nature reserves -
helping butterflies and friends to flourish. A licensed
bar and hot food will be available throughout the
event, and accompanied children are welcome.
Tickets cost £10-£12 and can be purchased in our
Newport based shop on Holyrood Street or visit
www.gifttonature.org.uk for tickets and more
information.
Dawn chorus magic
A two-hour wildlife spectacular, led by Ian Boyd of
Arc returns to get you out of bed before sunrise! So
set your alarm and experience one of Nature’s great
treats. You will hear from a host of resident and
migrant songbirds (and there’s always a chance of a
nightingale!)
Anyone using the cycle track between Newchurch and
Sandown, may recently have spotted a rather unusual
looking digger and wondered what on earth it was!
Work to clear overgrown willow scrub has been
taking place along land bordering the track at
Alverstone Marsh - and because of the ‘bogginess’ of
the site, a normal digger would not have been suitable.
Instead, Natural England working with Island-based
Natural Enterprise decided that an amphibious digger
would be just the thing.
Working alongside Landscape Therapy, the monster
16 ton digger that can actually float on water, helped
with the clearance of more than five acres of willow.
www.naturalenterprise.co.uk
Scouts Tree Planting
Nine Scouts who are heading out to the World Scout
Jamboree in North America and Canada next year
have been planting trees at Westridge Re-cycling to
help raise funds for their trip.
Westridge Manager, Andy Liddell gave the Scouts a
guided tour of the facilities, explaining how the waste
they received was sorted and recycled before being
sent, not just to the mainland but around the world,
as a useable product, and thereby saving thousands
of tons of waste being land-filled here on the Island.
The Scouts then planted over 100 native trees on the
site, before being presented with a cheque. www.
isleofwightscouts.org.uk
Cost: Free. Where: Meeting at Longwood Lane,
outside the Southern Water Treatment Works,
Sandown, PO36 9PR.
For more information: [email protected].
www.visitilife.com
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