Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2011 | Page 83
country life
Island Life - February/March 2011
Orange-Peel fungus
Marching Frogs!
Sticklebacks
Quite common and found in many different
places, grasslands, gardens, woodland and
roadside verges. The inner surface is much
brighter than the underside. It has a nice
taste and texture and is often used as an
addition to other wild mushroom dishes,
giving both flavour and colour.
Frogs begin to emerge from their winter
retreats in February and March. On the
‘right night’, they will congregate in their
thousands at a suitable breeding site,
some travelling half a mile to get there.
The males will arrive first, striking up a
croaking chorus to attract the females.
You can find sticklebacks in streams,
ponds, ditches even rock pools! They
start breeding in March when there is
plenty of food around. The male will
build a nest on the bottom and lures
females into lay eggs, which he
fertilises. He will then guard the nest
until the young hatch and continue to
look after them for another week.
Bouldner NFU AGM
At this years NFU AGM, The Conservation Award was given
Farm
to Geoff Hughes for his work on wood chip fuel and Graham
Biss of Natural Enterprise was presented the Outram Trophy,
hosts
for his support to the farming community through the
‘LEADER’ programme. Both awards were presented by Kevin
2011
Roberts, the Director General of the NFU.
[email protected]
Wood
IOW Young Farmers
Fair
Club Reunion
In celebration of the 50th
Anniversary of the Hampshire
and Isle of Wight Wildlife
Trust, the local team will be
hosting an Autumn wood
fair at Bouldnor Forest on 9th
October. Although the format
of the day will be that of a
country fair, the theme will
be Isle of Wight woodlands
and the associated rural skills,
produce and wildlife. There
will be activities for children,
refreshments, guided walks
and much more. Enquiries are
invited from local craftsmen
and producers who would
like an exhibition space at
the event. The team would
particularly like to hear from
those who work with locally
sourced timber. For further
information please contact
Kathy Grogan on 01983
529199 or email kathyg@hwt.
org.uk
"The Leverets" are organising
a reunion evening for all IOW
Young Farmers on Saturday
21st May 7.30pm - 11.00pm
to be held at The Chequers
Inn, Rookley. On offer is a
hog roast, scrumpy cider,
raffle, guess the weight of
the lamb, a shooting gallery,
music and much more. Naomi
and Vanessa are hoping for
a good display of old photos
and memorabilia and would
love to hear from anyone who
could help. Please tell everyone
that you know who used to
be a Young Farmer. Contact:
Naomi Bellamy (Chairman of
"The Leverets") on 741184
or Vanessa Whitewood on
525511 for more details.
Getting kids into the countryside!
The West Wight Landscape
Partnership has been busy
encouraging kids to learn more
about the outside around them.
Year 1 of Brighstone School
visited Grange Chine and
created some environmental
art on the beach, with Year 2
visiting the Yar to learn about
the river and the plants and
animals it supports. St Saviours
School hosted a star gazing
night and WWLP is involved in a
huge grounds project involving
parents and artists.
www.wwlp.co.uk
Visit our new website - www.visitislandlife.com
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