Breaking News Newsletter for Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme
April 2016
A newsflash for project partners and participants with news items, project updates, special features and forthcoming events.
Landscape Revolutions project Workshops
Progress on the Engine House
The landscape of the Brecks was transformed in the period c.1700-1930. Many parishes experienced dramatic change during this time as heathland commons were replaced by enclosed fields and plantations. Through the Landscape Revolutions project, our partners the University of East Anglia will seek to chart these changes and explore the stories behind them, drawing together existing research and presenting new findings through a new project website using interactive maps.
We’re excited to report that works have now started on the restoration of the Engine House at Brandon Country Park, so we will keep you up to date as things progress! Earlier in the month we had a visit from 89 year old Ronald Rule, whose father worked as a chauffeur for Brandon Park in the 1930s. Ronald grew up in a house in the grounds of Brandon Park, near the Engine House, where his father There will be several introductory workshops for also worked. He showed us some fascinating groups or individuals who might be interested in photos of his childhood and then we went for a the project or getting involved. There will be a short walk to look at how the Engine House has talk on the project, and the landscape history of changed. Breckland followed by an opportunity to look at historic maps and other sources from the period. Workshop Dates: More info and booking at http://bit.ly/1RWY8pt 16th April 10:30-1pm Santon Downham Village Hall 30th April 10:30-1pm Santon Downham Classroom 7th May 10:30-1pm Santon Downham Classroom 28th May 10:30-1pm United Reform Church Thetford
Project Focus B4: Wildlife Recorders of Tomorrow There is a lot going on with the Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service “Wildlife Recorders of Tomorrow” project at the moment in a drive to get everyone on-line to record the wildlife they see: Bee Workshops Steven Falk, author of the Field Guide to Bees of Great Britain and Ireland, will be giving two free workshops on the Bees of the Brecks to help you identify, record and conserve bees. Spring Workshop: Blossom Loving Bees Date: 23 April 2016 - 24 April 2016 Time: 10:00 - 16:00 Location: Lynford Lakes, Lynford, Norfolk.,
Free but booking essential. http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events/ bees-of-the-brecks-spring-blossom-loving-bees/ Summer Workshops: Heath Loving Bees Date: 16 July 2016 - 17 July 2016
Time: 10:00 - 16:00 Location: Cranwich Heath
Free but booking essential: http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events/ bees-of-the-brecks-summer-heath-loving-bees/ Launch of WildWalks A great new way to discover the Brecks through a series of short walks, and record the wildlife that you see whilst you are out and about. Find out more at http://www.nbis.org.uk/breckswildwalks Easter Wildlife Hunt Date: 8 April 2016 - 10 April 2016 Time: 10:00 - 16:30 Location: Brandon Country Park IP27 0SU Come to Brandon Country Park and pick up your wildlife recording card, then go out and see how many species you can find! Bring your card back for a prize!
More Wildlife Recording Introductory Sessions If you are keen to start recording wildlife and would like to learn more, come along to our of NBIS’s introductory sessions. Next dates are 28th & 30th April and 19th and 21st May To book: https:// www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-session-wildlife-recorders-of-tomorrow-tickets19745280666
Project Focus C13: Brecks Fest 2016
Thanks to everyone who came along to this year’s Brecks Fest at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, we hope you had a great time despite the weather! We loved seeing the very first performance of ‘Bex and Rex in the Beastly Brecks’ by Tangram Theatre. Look out for further performances at schools and events throughout the year.
Events Coming Up: Easter Wildlife Hunt: 8-10 April, Brandon Country Park Brecks Building Skills—From the Ground Up: 9th April, West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, 10-4 Landscape Revolution Introductory Sessions: Various dates in April and May (see cover) Ice Age Brecks 23rd April, Thetford Carnegie Room 09:30-17:00 Bees of the Brecks 23-24th April Lynford Lakes, 10-4pm IBA Watercolour Workshop: Painting a Wildlflower: 7th May Santon Downham Village Hall Find out more and book at http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events
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Picture of the Month Pupils from Drakes Primary School celebrating their new raised beds provided by the builders working at the school (Morgan Sindall) and tree nursery developed through the BNG in the School Grounds project with the Green Light Trust
What the Brecks Means to Me... To me, the Brecks is a landscape full of discoveries waiting to be made. Until I started working for Breaking New Ground 7 months ago, my only experience of the Brecks was had been to visit Brandon on my narrowboat in the hope of spotting otters. So it has been a great adventure to go out and explore what the Brecks has to offer—the forest and heath are both so rich with wildlife and history. I love how incredibly varied my job can be—one day I could be out helping to release a previously extinct species of pool frog and then the next I could be visiting a museum or talking about the history of the forest with someone who grew up there. Another highlight was spending the day on Brandon Heath with a drone camera man helping him shoot footage of our Ground Disturbance project. Over the next few months there is a lot to be excited about but one thing I’m particularly looking forwards to is the opening of our new Brecks Trail next month—as a keen walker I can’t wait to follow this new trail from West Stow to Brandon Country Park. We’ll be holding an event to explore this new route as part of the Suffolk Walking Festival. Amy Tillson Business Support Officer, Breaking New Ground
Were you fooled by our story on April 1st? Don’t worry, your Frisbees are safe from “Keith”, there won’t really be any Elemoths roaming the heaths of the Brecks! If you are interested in learning about a time when Wooly Mammoths did roam the Brecks, then come to “Ice Age Brecks” a day school on April 23rd 9:30-17:00, Thetford Carnegie Room. The Day School will focus on the contribution that successive warm and cold periods have made to life and landscape in the area. We will introduce you to the evidence for environmental change, not forgetting to weave in the story of earliest human occupation. To book, follow this link: http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events/ice-age-brecks/ Get your project noticed!: If there is something that you would like included in the next newsletter, please send details to Amy and Martina by 22nd April: BNG.Admin@suffolk.gov.uk Breaking New Ground c/o Visitor Centre, Brandon Country Park, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0SU 01842 815465 e: bng.admin@suffolk.gov.uk t: @TheBrecksBNG f: TheBrecksBNG. w: www.breakingnewground.org.uk