Breaking News Newsletter for Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme
February 2016
A newsflash for project partners and participants with news items, project updates, special features and forthcoming events.
We’re Halfway Through! We’re already halfway through the Breaking New Ground scheme, so we thought we’d take a look back at some of the unexpected successes and forward to the exciting things coming up in the second half!
Looking Back
Still to Come
Big Brecks Fest 2015
Big Brecks Fest 2016 27th & 28th March
We predicted just 250 visitors to the Easter 2015 Big Brecks Fest, but thanks to a huge effort put in by the hosts, West Stow Anglo -Saxon village, the event drew 1,500 visitors!
This fun family event will take place at West Stow again this year, and will be a chance to explore the history, wildlife and produce of the Brecks.
Grant Pot The exciting thing about the small grant pot is that we never know what projects are going to come out of it. We’ve been delighted with the creativity of all the small grant projects, from poetry workshops to community art and the Thetford Munzee Trail. Pool Frogs At the start of the project we’d not imagined that we’d be able to reintroduce a species of previously extinct frog to the country, but with the involvement of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, that’s exactly what we did!
Perfect Peace: Short Film Release Feb/Mar We can’t wait to see the short dramatic film which was filmed last year and will soon be ready to release. Watch this space! Grant Pot 2016 deadline Mar 31st For this year’s round of small grant applications, we’re focusing on projects to restore or conserve built heritage of the Brecks, so if you’ve got a project you think would fit, get in touch for advice and application guidelines. Enchanted Forest (26th Aug at Brandon Country Park) & Enchanted Heath (22nd October at West Stow)
The two events will bring the Brecks to life as forest and heath are transformed into ‘enchanted lands’, with an opportunity to discover Brecks life as a bug, an animal or a tree and provide different experiences including a magical kingdom and forest folklore.
LiDAR
Opening of Two New Trails
The LiDAR data revealed far more than we had dared to hope for, and with our partners, we have lots of exciting plans for how to use it in development!
2016 will see the opening of the Brecks Trail (West Stow - Santon Downham) on May18th and The Brecks Forest Way (Brandon Thetford), date TBC, to coincide with the Suffolk Year of Walking.
Project Focus C17: Brecks Military History Many people associate the Brecks with the eye-catching fly-overs of military aircraft. Despite a wealth of archival material, the military history of the area has never been fully assessed and recorded. Nor have some of the most significant remnants of military camps been properly investigated. There is also a need to record the memories of those who remember the effects of the Second World War on the landscape of the Brecks and of those whose families came to the area as refugees. If you’re interested in taking part, the project kicks off in February with an archival research training event 19 February 2016 13:30 - 16:30 Suffolk Record Office, 77 Raingate Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk , IP6 0ER Tanks being transported by rail past the Brandon Forestry depot during WW2
If you have any enquiries about this event or the project in general contact: brecksmilitaryhistory@gmail.com
B4: Wildlife Recorders of Tomorrow Lunar Yellow Underwing Moth Larvae Workshops Two evening training workshops and walks to record the larvae of the rare lunar yellow underwing moth with Sharon Hearle, of Butterfly Conservation. This attractive moth is found only in the Brecks and a few other heathland sites in lowland Britain. The caterpillars overwinter feeding on grasses and are best searched for after dark. The Brandon Country Park event will also look at other moth and butterfly species as indicators of habitat quality, such as Grayling and there will be a chance to debrief with hot drinks and snacks in the visitor centre at the end. FREE but booking essential. Feb 4th 5:30–8:30pm: Weeting Heath http:// www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events/lunar-yellowunderwing-workshop-weeting-heath/ Feb 18th 5:30–8:30pm: Brandon Country Park http:// www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events/lunar-yellowunderwing-workshop-brandon-country-park/ Introduction to Wildlife Recording Workshops If you’re interested in finding out more about how you or your organisation can learn to record wildlife, the Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service are holding several 1:1 sessions throughout February. To book yours, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-session-wildliferecorders-of-tomorrow-tickets-19745280666
Project Focus D6: Breaking New Ground in the School Grounds Students from Thetford Grammar School planted a new pine tree in their school grounds with the Green Light Trust. To mark the occasion, they held a Tree Ceremony and hung hand-made decorations on an older tree in the school grounds.
Events Coming Up: Yellow Lunar Underwing Moth Workshops 4th &18th Feb 17:30 Weeting and Brandon Heaths Fantastic Flint Discovery Day: 17th Feb 10:30-13:30 Ancient House Museum Archival Research Training Workshop 19th Feb 13: 30 Suffolk Records Office, Bury St Edmunds Introduction to Wildlife Recording Sessions: Various dates in February Find out more and book at http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events
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Picture of the Month Words and art at the Apex exhibition of Brecks inspired artwork and poetry
What the Brecks Means to Me... Although I was born and brought up in Woodbridge, on the beautiful Suffolk coast, I feel invested in the Brecks, personally, professionally and emotionally. My grandparents are buried at Rushford Church, which pins me to this wonderful landscape, and I often stop by and visit them when I’m in the area. One of my first jobs, as Reserves Manager for Suffolk Wildlife Trust, opened my eyes to this breath-taking area which feels almost coastal, while inland. Then I had oversight of some of the Brecks best nature reserves. Wangford Warren gives a glimpse of what the Brecks once looked like http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/reserves/wangford-warren. It is the best surviving example of a once extensive Brecks sand dune system. Also Norah Hanbury-Kelk Meadows, just outside Mildenhall, a network of small, flower-rich wet meadows and dykes and of course the birders paradise at Lackford Lakes, which I saw the final restoration of as RMC Aggregates finished their gravel extraction operation on site. Now in my role at Suffolk County Council I have oversight of the fantastic Brandon Country Park, which we like to think of as a real gateway to the Brecks and the forest. Of course there is also this project, Breaking New Ground funded by HLF, which has enabled a step-change in helping to inspire a new generation of interest in this distinctive landscape. What does the Brecks mean to me? It means family, memories, some of Suffolk and the country’s best wildlife, a landscape as distinctive as any AONB or National Park and one that tells the story of our past back into prehistory. We’re lucky to share this jewel with Norfolk. Nick Collinson, Head of Natural & Historic Environment, Suffolk County Council
The dune system at Wangford Warren
© Suffolk Wildlife Trust
STOP PRESS: IBA Botanical Art Watercolour Workshops 2016 Dates 7th May (Wildflowers)—9th July (Insects & flowers)—24th Sept (Pinelines)—8th Oct (Fungi)
Booking for these very popular workshops will open in early March.
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 26th February: 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