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  • Half Term Activities at Woodlands Farm 

    Carrier bag chicken

    One of the items you can make during half-term week!

    Thanks to Woodlands farm for sending in news of their forthcoming half term events.

    As spring approaches the birds are starting to look for somewhere to nest. Although there is normally plenty of food available during this time, there are increasingly less natural nesting areas. This is why it is so important to put up nest boxes.

    During half-term we are running a ‘Bird Box Day’ where you can come and make a special box to put up in your own garden and support the birds as they set up home during nesting season. We will be building open fronted bird boxes, which are a favourite for robins and wrens, and can also be used by pied wagtails and spotted flycatchers. To build your very own nest box, come along to Woodlands Farm on 14th February between 10am-2pm to build your box. It costs just £3 and all materials are provided.

    On Wednesday 15th February from 10am-3pm we are running the ‘Carrier Bag Creatures’ activity (see picture). Pop in any time to create your creature using just carrier bags and newspaper. You can make anything from a chicken, to an ant or whatever creature you can imagine. This event is free, so just pop by and see what you can create.

    On Thursday 176th February we are holding our regular Toddler club  event, which runs from 10am to midday and the cost if £2 for adults.

    On Friday 17th February between 10am and 2pm we are getting ‘Wild in the Woods’. This will be a chance to come along and explore our woodland at The Woodlands Farm. With a variety of activities including scavenger hunts, woodland art and shelter building there will be plenty of things to ‘get wild’ at! This activity is free so come along anytime between 10am-2pm and join in the woodland fun! We will be out whatever the weather so warm, waterproof clothing is recommended.

     

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    8:27 pm on February 1, 2012
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  • Bird Ringing at Woodlands Farm 

    Checking the wing feathers of a Goldfinch at Woodlands Farm

    Checking the wing feathers of a Goldfinch at Woodlands Farm

    It was an early start on a clear, cold, crisp, winter Sunday morning when I headed down to Woodlands Farm to see the British Trust for Ornithology’s bird ringing demonstration. The ringers had already been there for a several hours, setting up the mist nets to catch the birds and making a start on the ringing.

    Bird ringing is a very skilled job, and practitioners have to undergo extensive training by an experienced ringer and be licensed. As well as being able to recognise different species of birds and decide their gender and age they need to be able to disentangle the birds from the mist nets, handle them without harming them and crimp the rings on to their legs. They also need to be able to withstand pecking assaults by ferocious Blue Tits.

    The BTO volunteer and Woodlands Farm Education Officer have been regularly ringing birds at the farm for about a year, though today was the first time it had been open for viewing.

    Goldfinch being weighed at Woodlands Farm

    The indignity of a Goldfinch being weighed

    They can ring as many as 60 or 70 birds in a morning, starting at dawn. While I was there they had a GoldfinchRed Poll, Blue Tits, Great Tits and a Blackbird to ring, or record details from an existing ring.  They also weighed them – dunked head first in a small pot on a tiny weighing machine. Sex and age were decided by looking at the plumage and the detailed colouration, size and wear of wing feathers. The lengths of the birds’ wings are also recorded. I am always amazed at how docile birds are when being handled by experienced ringers (notwithstanding attacks by Blue Tits).

    The BTO have over 2,600 trained volunteer ringers in the UK and Ireland, who ring over 900,000 birds each year. This provides information to help understand bird movements and population changes, which contributes to conservation initiatives. They are keen for others to get involved, for example through their Garden Birdwatch or by reporting bird ring details.

    Woodlands Farm is part of the Natural England Higher Level Countryside Stewardship Scheme which has a number of environmental aims such as reversing the decline of farmland birds, securing the recovery of UK Biodiversity Action Plan species and improving people’s enjoyment and understanding of the farmed environment. They are taking steps to improve wildlife habitats at the farm, for example by planting new hedgerows and encouraging plants that provide food for birds.

    I have seen bird ringing demonstrations before at the British Bird Watching Fair and always find them fascinating. Hopefully Woodlands Farm will be able to let more people share in this activity.

    Red Poll being ringed at Woodlands Farm

    Red Poll being ringed at Woodlands Farm

     

    10:08 pm on December 18, 2011
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  • Christmas Holiday Activities at Woodlands Farm 

    Winter at Woodlands Farm

    Woodlands Farm poster about their winter activities

    Woodlands Farm were in touch with details of  their activities for young people over the Christmas break. Their e-mail said:

    Tuesday 20 December: Winter Woodlands
    Take a trip into our woodlands to learn how to get by in the cold. Shelter-building, fire-making and cooking are just some of the activities which will be taking place.

    FREE (donations welcome); no booking necessary, drop in between 10am and 2.30pm. Ages 6+.
    Will take place whatever the conditions, so do wear appropriate clothes and footwear for the weather.

    Wednesday 21 December: Making cards and gifts
    Yet to sort out a card and present for your nearest and dearest? No worries, the farm offers a one-stop shop for both, with a chance to make Christmas cards and photo frames from natural and re-used items. Saves you money and is kind to the environment!
    FREE (donations welcome); no booking necessary, drop in between 10am and 3pm. All ages.

    Thursday 22 December: Toddler Club
    It’s Christmas at Toddler Club!   £2 per adult; children FREE; no booking necessary, drop in between 10am and 12pm. For more information, see our website or contact David Hunter on david.hunter@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org

    The Woodlands Farm Trust
    (registered charity no. 1051680)
    331 Shooters Hill
    Welling, Kent
    DA16 3RP
    Telephone & Fax: 020 8319 8900
    Email: woodlandsft@aol.com
    Website: http://www.thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org
    Nearest tube: North Greenwich
    Nearest BR: Welling
    Buses: 486 & 89

     

    10:06 pm on December 6, 2011
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  • Woodlands Farm Christmas Fair Next Sunday 

    Woodlands Farm Christmas Fair Sunday 27th November 2011

    Woodlands Farm Christmas Fair Poster

    The Woodlands Farm Christmas Fair will be held next Sunday, 27th November, starting at 11 O’Clock. A chance to listen to carol singers  while drinking mulled wine, and browse the local craft stalls.

     

    7:00 pm on November 20, 2011
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  • Equestrian Centre Leaps Final Fences 

    The controversial Equestrian Centre that is proposed for the area between Woodlands Farm and Thompsons Garden Centre on Shooters Hill Road has passed two potential barriers to its implementation. Both the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State have decided not to intervene in Greenwich Council’s decision to grant approval for the Centre.

    The Mayor’s letter stated:

    Having now considered a report on this case (reference PDU/2760/GK02 copy enclosed), I am content to allow Greenwich Council to determine the case itself, subject to any action that the Secretary of State may take, and therefore do not wish to direct refusal.

    However I request that Natural England are fully consulted in relation to the discharge of condition 22 regarding the ecological mitigation and management plan.

    And that from the Secretary of State’s representative:

    The Secretary of State has carefully considered this case against call-in policy, as set out in the 1999 Caborn Statement. The policy makes it clear that the power to call in a case will only be used very selectively. The Government is committed to give more power to councils and communities to make their own decisions on planning issues, and believes planning decisions should be made at the local level wherever possible.
    The Secretary of State has carefully considered the impact of the proposal and the key policy issues, which this case raises. In his opinion, the proposals do not: involve a conflict with national policies on important matters; have significant effects beyond their immediate locality; give rise to substantial regional or national controversy; raise significant architectural and urban design issues; or involve the interests of national security or of Foreign Governments. Nor does he consider that there is any other sufficient reason to call the application in for his own determination.
    The decision as to whether to grant planning permission will therefore remain with Greenwhich Council.

    The decision does include 31 conditions, including a stipulation that there should be a minimum of 82 horse-riding hours a week access to the facilities by the local community, a prior programme of archaeological work and production of an Ecological Mitigation and Management Plan.

    The report accompanying the decision reveals that 12 sites were considered as possible locations for the centre, most of them local sports grounds and playing fields, and the brief reasons why they were discounted.

    It also states that the Council are seeking agreement for the Blackheath donkeys to move to a site in Woodbrook Road.

    Perhaps most importantly the report mentions the “very special circumstances” that are necessary to justify development on Metropolitan Open Land. Mentions but doesn’t detail…  in the words of the Mayor’s report:

    The ‘very special circumstances’ put forward to justify the harm to MOL regarding Olympic legacy, increasing participation in sport, education, community benefit, lack of alternative sites and the financial justification from connection activity on the site are now, on balance, acceptable, and the application complies with London Plan policy.

    So that seems to be that. Greenwich Council is allowed to decide on the planning application that they themselves have put forward.

    Plan of the area where the Centre will be as it is now taken from the planning documents

    Plan of the area where the Centre will be as it is now

    Plan of the area where the centre will be after the Centre is built taken from the planning documents

    Plan of the area after the Centre is built

     

    10:40 pm on November 15, 2011
    Tags: , , , woodlands farm