Wild About Bath Newsletter

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Newsletter Number 8 - November 2022

- Photo Competition - Fungi Foray - Upcoming events -

What's Been Happening?

Wild about Bath Photographic Competition 9 October 2022

What a marvellous display of local wildlife photos we had this year.

Thank you to everyone who contributed photos for the competition. We had 76 entries, an increase from last year. Our three judges were impressed with the standard of the work and took an hour and a half to make their decisions!

Congratulations to Tania Orgil from Monkton Combe who was the winner in the adult section and the ‘People’s Choice’ winner.

We had 19 child entries. The first prize winner in this section was a girl of 6! Monkton Prep school’s photographic club entered 13 photos and scooped second and third prize in the child section.

Photography seems to appeal across the age range; we had entries from 6 year olds to 79 year olds.

We felt we had gone someway to fulfil the aims of Wild about Bath to enjoy nature, conserve wildlife and to build community.

Christine Absolon

Above: Tania Orgil from Monkton Combe, winner in the adult section and ‘People’s Choice’ winner.

Fungi Foray - 15th Oct 2022

It has been a fabulous autumn for fungi - at least since the rain started in earnest and the soil and rotting vegetation were thoroughly saturated. Our outing came after the first dampness but before the incredible proliferation that is still evident. After some checking we decided on the Bushy Norwood area as a venue. Many eyes make a difference and as we made our way into the woods that are close to Bath Uni we only got about 200 m before we hit a rich spot with log piles, mounds of wood chips and fallen leaves.

We had a mixture of interests in the group, from those who knew very little about mushrooms and toadstools and their relatives and were there for the enjoyment of something they hadn’t looked at much before, through children revelling in the hunt, to someone who was studying fungi that are crop pests under the microscope. We had a variety of aids to identification – small Collins guides, to the amazing photographic record by Roger Philips, but mostly we enjoyed the different colours and shapes. One thing is for sure, each time you go, it will be a different spectacle. Several of our participants couldn’t resist going further on the day or venturing to explore other local woods and damp places.

By Ann Stuart

Above: Pictures by Louise Johns, via Facebook: "Tentative IDs are (corrections welcome please!) 1=Oyster 2=??? 3=Inkcap (Coprinus, undetermined species) 4=Verdigris toadstool (Stropharia aeruginosa) 5=Candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon) 6=Mycena stylobates

Exploring Autum Leaves - Children's Event - 22nd October 2022

We had a lovely time at the Wild About Bath Children's Event this morning. We read “We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt” then we actually went on a leaf hunt and found lots of lovely coloured and shaped leaves! We had fun making crowns and bangles! We also made some hedgehogs for snack! Yummy, some of them were too cute to eat! Thanks to all who came! And Emma Parry for helping!

By Claire Stuart

Upcoming Events

You are now able to book for events using Eventbrite if you follow the links. The outdoor walks have small numbers so it may be good to book early, but let us know if you are not able to come so your place could be made available to someone else.

Swift Talk

Save the Date! 3rd February 2023 7pm - further details to be announced soon

Children's event - Bird feeders
January - more details to be announced ASAP

Meadow in My Garden Talk

March, a weekday evening. Further details to be announced ASAP!

More events will be posted on the website as the dates are finalised.

We hope the cold isn't biting anyone too harshly at the moment!

- The Wild About Bath team