Kennedy Way Pond Workday - Saturday 5 October

We shall be carrying out general management works on the reserve including vegetation clearance at this local wildlife haven. Meet at the Kennedy Way Pond, Link Road, Yate Shopping Centre, 10.00 am

Parking is available at the Yate overflow car park, which is also on the eastern side of Link Road, BS37 4AY.

Bicycle Safari (nature ramble on wheels) - Sunday 29 September

Enthusiastic local families listening to
Ian McGuire at last year's Bicycle Safari

Local cyclists will be able to discover the green spaces of Yate and Dodington on a family-friendly cycle ride on Sunday 29 September. The Bicycle Safari will be led by local wildlife educator Ian McGuire of Wild Owl TV, exploring the nature that lives alongside us in our town.

The ride will set off at 11.00 am from Riverside Car Park next to Yate Cinema, BS37 4AY. Cyclists can meet the South Gloucestershire Council Bikeability Team from 10.15 am onwards, to have their bikes checked or find out more about safe cycling with family and friends. Children are very welcome but under 12s must be accompanied by an adult.

The event is organised by the Joint Cycleway Group, which has members from local councils and cycling organisations and meets regularly with South Gloucestershire Council. They lobby for new and improved routes for cyclists, and run events to encourage cycling in our area.

Local councillor Paul Hulbert, the Secretary of the Joint Cycleway Group, said "We've run Bicycle Safaris for the past two years and they've been very successful. This year we're exploring the south and west of the town, down to Wapley Common and then across to Yate Common. We're so lucky to have these marvellous green areas"

"This year's Bicycle Safari is being financed by Yate Town Council and Dodington Parish Council. We're very grateful to South Gloucestershire Council's Bikeability Team for providing instructors, and to Yate Shopping Centre for letting us use the Riverside Car Park for the start and finish"

Report from Wapley work morning Sunday 8th September

The weather was kind to the 8 volunteers who tackled some valuable tasks at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve. The usual September task was clearing out the bed of the seasonal stream that flows down through the Ancient Woodland, so that it doesn'r overflow into the surrounding vegetation. This time we also had to saw off two trees that had fallen across the stream.

Another significant job was cutting a corner of the orchard area that had been missed when the mowing was done - hence the very traditional scene in the photo above (though as we didn't have scythes we resorted to slashers instead)

Talk and slide show “The Wild Owl TV Garden” - Wednesday 18 September

Talk and slide show “The Wild Owl TV Garden” by Ian McGuire at St Nicholas Family Centre at 7.30 pm. Find out how you can encourage animals to visit and breed in your garden.