D) An Account of Previous Presentations
June 20th 2019: Gwyneth Hawkes gave an illustrated presentation entitled “All about Hydrangeas”. The talk covered: the origin of hydrangeas; the meaning of the hydrangeas in the language of flowers; the categories and types available; growing and caring for hydrangeas; how to prune the different types of hydrangeas; propagating hydrangeas and their use in flower arrangements.
September 19th 2019: PC Mathew Andrews gave a talk on all aspects of his work as a Police Wildlife Officer in Gwent. He explained that Gwent Police officially launched the dedicated Rural Crime Team in January 2019. He outlined the wide ranging remit of the Team, all of whom have specialist skills relating to their role. He described how the Team works closely with the rural communities to increase the reporting and detection of rural crimes and highlighted some of the cases it had been involved in subsequent to the launch.
September 26th 2019: Gwyneth Hawkes and Jan Howell gave a joint presentation on the Starling Murmurations at the Newport Wetlands with an account of our visit in November 2018 to witness the spectacle. The talk explained what a Starling Murmuration is how and why it is formed. It also covered why and when Starlings were introduced to various other countries and, as a non-native species, the significant adverse impact they are having on the agriculture and environment of these countries.
October 17th 2019: Vicki Worsley from the Woodland Trust gave a talk entitled “Stand up for Trees”. She spoke of the work of the Trust and its role in combating the increasing number of pests and diseases attacking trees and wildlife in the UK. She also explained how, amongst other things, climate change, inappropriate development and pollution are all threatening the future of our ancient woodlands and trees
October 24th 2019: Isabelle Paradice entertained us with a talk on the Land Girls of WWII. The talk covered the history of the Land Girls both in the first and Second World War; their role in ensuring continuity of the food production and also some personal accounts from individuals.
January 16th 2020: Sheena Crossley gave an illustrated talk entitled “My 30 favourite plants coupled with my 20 most disliked plants”. As well as slides to illustrate her talk Sheena brought along some cuttings of the plants, which members were invited to take away at the conclusion of her talk with a view to propagate them.
January 23rd 2020: Gwyneth Hawkes gave an illustrated presentation entitled ”Rewilding Britain”. The talk encompassed the restoration of the valleys and rivers of South East Wales; the reintroduction of the Beaver and Pine Marten to our rivers and woodlands; reforestation and the rewilding of the Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex.