Tuesday 2 November 2010

Friends of the Harnham Water Meadows Trust: Open events during winter and spring, 2011

The Friends of Harnham Water Meadows Trust is pleased to announce its programme of open events between January and May 2011. Children are always welcome, but for safety they should be supervised. No dogs please as the meadows are farmland.
Public demonstrations of ‘drowning’. Water meadows are traditionally irrigated (‘drowned’) during the winter and early spring, this brings forward the ‘early bite’ of grass for livestock. The Harnham Water Meadows Trust is proud of its restoration programme that has been funded by the Friends, the former Salisbury District Council and the Environment Agency and assisted by many volunteers. We are now able to drown key areas, all accessible from Town Path.
The demonstrations are planned for:
Saturday 8th January
Saturday 29th January
Saturday 5th February and
Saturday 12th February
On each occasion, meet 10.00am at Rose Cottage, the programme takes about 1hr 30 min. Admission is free, there will be an invitation to make a donation to the Trust at the end, and light refreshments in the cottage from 11.30am. Natural circumstances may cause cancellation at short notice. Teachers are especially welcome, but there will be other opportunities to demonstrate drowning to school parties.
Demonstrations Saturday 26th February through to Saturday 12th March. Demonstrations may be arranged by appointment for schools and community groups. We invite a donation to the Trust, based on a minimum of £1 per pupil.
Spring Open Day Saturday 26th March. Come to Rose Cottage between 10.30am and 4.00pm. For the Friends this is the herald of spring. Admission is free, a sale of publications and light refreshments are available.  Guided walks at 11.00am and 2.30pm (£2.50 for adults; under 16s free).
Family Environment Event Saturday 7th May. Rose Cottage is open between 2.00pm and 5.00pm (admission £1, under 16s free). There is a guided walk at 2.30pm (£2.50 for adults; under 16s free). We invite a range of local environmental organisations, there are events for children.
Summer open days and walks on the meadows. These were successful during 2010 and a programme will be announced later.

          Hadrian Cook, November 2010