Sunshine, Stalls and Reaching out to People

It was a surprisingly sunny March morning in Keighley as I took my camera out of the car and decided to leave my jacket behind. I put on a hat and dabbed sunscreen on my sticky-out ears as I tried to figure out where I needed to go. Two ladies were pushing a barrow of nature-related items for a stall. We joined forces to find the location for the #TeamWilder Action for Nature Day.

It was when we found the stalls that I realised there was so much going on, there would be little time for taking notes. Now, at the point of writing, I wish I had taken notes as I can’t even remember which of the many organisations involved the two ladies were from!

My first job was to introduce myself to the stall holders and ask their permission to take pictures of the stalls. This took much longer than expected as every stall had a tale to tell, and I was a willing listener. The stalls represented a wide selection of nature interests, mainly from the Bradford area - it’s fair to say there was something for everyone here.

“If one in four people take visible action for nature, we will create the social tipping point required to reverse nature’s devastating decline” - this is the message outlined on the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust #TeamWilder webpage. Events like this one, funded by Natural England, are one way we can reach out to people. Natural England is the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England, and they aim to protect and restore our natural world. I think we can see how #TeamWilder and Natural England align.

Seeing Things through Different Eyes

All of the event stallholders, mainly volunteers, have aligned aims and want to see nature in the best possible condition. The Yorkshire Beekeepers Association, for instance, are concerned with anything that impacts honey production, including the loss of wildflowers and general threats to insect populations. Interestingly, they see Himalayan Balsam as a good thing as Balsam’s abundant flowers increase yields by extending the honey season. At the same time, they acknowledge that it does favour the more common and adaptable pollinators at the expense of the specialists. We were able to discuss the possibility of controlling Balsam through the use of a natural fungus to limit Balsam’s over-competitiveness without eliminating it, keeping everyone happy. This was just one example of the discussions that are possible when different organisations get together under one roof. One of the top take-aways for all the stallholders was just how many of them are walking towards the same goals!

Luckily, the hornet I found recently was European… - Yorkshire Beekeepers Association give Howard a crash course in insect ID © Howard Roddie

Cliffe Castle grounds and museum

When I say “under one roof” it is a bit misleading, as half of the event took place outside in the gorgeous setting of Cliffe Castle gardens. The other half took place in the impressive octagonal Bracewell Smith Hall at the heart of Cliffe Castle museum. The museum itself is a little gem, covering a wide variety of subjects in a beautiful building. Well worth a visit - and it’s free too,  with a modest suggested donation. I’m definitely going to go again to have a proper look round and meanwhile the Cliffe Castle Support Group were on hand to tell me how they manage the place.

She may look gentle, but I can tell you, she knows her way around funding and publicity! – © Howard Roddie

Keighley Green Vision - Direct, Engaging and Home-made

I was not the only one drawn to the Keighley Green Vision stall by its home-made graphics - no photoshop here, just raw energy. It brought me back to the excitement of my old punk days. I did want to say more about Keighley Green Vision but I can’t find a website - and, why should everything have a website, anyway? Dare to be different!

It’s great to see small groups like this in the same space as the more established organisations.

“The role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible”  - We definitely lose that impact when we seek perfection using computer tools – © Howard Roddie

“Make Compost, not war” - What a slogan! – © Howard Roddie

As I said, I was not the only one drawn to this stall… Many towns have a Green Man pub, but it is rare indeed to meet the man himself. © Howard Roddie

Identifying Trees in Winter

It wasn’t all about the stalls though, there were many events going on at the same time and I took part in a few. Identifying trees in winter is something that appeals to me as a YWT Task Day volunteer. Which should we remove, and which should we leave? The ‘Our Precious Woodlands’ tour of the park, identifying trees from their buds, bark and scattered seeds, opened my eyes to the way you can read not only a tree's species, but also its history just by looking at it.

“Yes, that’s definitely a Horse Chestnut” – © Howard Roddie

Precious Peat and the link with Art

As the day progressed, I realised I was learning a lot of new things and making connections between them. The ‘Precious Peat’ session took this further, linking art to nature. Of course this is nothing new. Everyone has had a go, whether it’s Keats with his odes on Nightingales and autumn or Wordsworth’s famous daffodils. Whether you think of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers or Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers”, there’s art with nature for you. Naseem Darby took this a stage further with her intriguing hands-on art session. For the first part of this, the YWT team introduced us to the “mega bog”, a miniature peat bog outside the glasshouse near the park cafe.

The YWT team explain the importance of Peat and, in particular the role of sphagnum moss – © Howard Roddie

The “Mega Bog” - not what you expect to find in a town park – © Howard Roddie

One budding artist getting inspiration from sphagnum moss – © Howard Roddie

Following our introduction to the peat bog, Naseem took us indoors to turn it into art. But not just by sitting down to draw bits of moss. No, that would be too easy… Instead the group had to draw with their non-dominant hands. There were other exercises too, like drawing without looking at the paper and drawing with the paper on your head. In this way the budding artists were connecting to nature while doing what is not natural to them.

Look at that concentration! – © Howard Roddie

Making the connection between art and nature – © Howard Roddie

Wharfedale Naturalists and an important visitor…

In a blog like this, it’s impossible to do justice to all of the stall holders and their contributions. I haven’t even mentioned the Wharfedale Naturalists who have been recording, conserving and educating about the wildlife and natural history of the local area since 1945. The amount of work they do is astonishing.  Not only do they run reserves and projects, they write about it in the local papers - 52 weeks of the year. They also publish an extensive annual review “A Year in Nature” which, as well as being available as a book, is maintained as a free-to-all archive . That is the spirit of #TeamWilder – generously informing people about nature - and the Wharfedale Naturalists have been doing this for 80 years.

Steve and Brian with some Wharfedale finds – © Howard Roddie

When I came back to the Wharfedale Naturalists’ stall, they had a special visitor in the form of Chris Herd, the incoming Mayor of Keighley, who as a farmer himself takes a great interest in nature. Whilst he was wearing the regalia of his current position of Deputy Mayor, I suspect, from talking to him, that he would have been likely to attend anyway.

Great to see the next Mayor of Keighley taking a keen interest in nature – © Howard Roddie

Romanian Snakes in Shipley

Of course, we all have favourite subjects in nature and one of mine is reptiles, so I was intrigued to hear that a lot of the grass snakes around Shipley have Romanian DNA. They are distinctly different to UK specimens, whilst still being the same species. Without the work of the Bradford Urban Wildlife Group (BUWG), and in particular Paul Redmond, the world might never have known about this. What is more, Paul has traced the snake's likely provenance back to a trailer of grass clippings brought into the area some years ago. Often it is an interest in a specific creature or aspect of nature that draws us into the bigger picture.

Paul Redmond knows a lot about snakes. He’s not bad on peregrine falcons either – © Howard Roddie

Paul isn’t the only one who knows about snakes. His enthusiasm is shared by the other BUWG members – © Howard Roddie

#TeamWilder, wild gardening and connections

I couldn’t write about this event without mentioning Jo Rawson, YWT Community Engagement Manager and the organiser of the Action for Nature day. In addition to organising the event, she also presented a special session on urban wildlife gardening. If you missed the presentation, it’s worth reading Jo’s guide to wildlife gardening for yards and small gardens. It’s clear and concise and makes you want to do something more than just sit and read about it. At the end of the day, that’s what Team Wilder is all about.

You can visit YWT’s Wildlife Gardening Hub here

Jo, in full flow – © Howard Roddie

I could write a lot more about this event. Each stall has its own story and deserves more attention. We want to connect nature reserves and create pathways that even the shy Adder will use to spread out. But we also want to connect people to nature and organisation to organisation. Events like this one allow us to connect with each other and to reach out to new people. We need more of them. “Them” being both people and events like this.

Here are some more pictures…

Someone is “getting out more” – © Howard Roddie

City of Nature CIC (Community Interest Company) - Thanks for the Nolana Bluebird seeds “Harvested from Adele’s garden 2025” – © Howard Roddie

Facepainting and fun at “Toad Patrol” – © Howard Roddie

People signing up for eco goodies and more at the Keighley council and YWT stalls – © Howard Roddie

ID session with River Worth Friends – © Howard Roddie

The “Drain of Thrones” Board game - High stakes indeed! © Howard Roddie

Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust bath salts! – © Howard Roddie

It’s all to play for with another board game in the hall… © Howard Roddie