Breaking News Newsletter for Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme
Jun 2017
A newsflash for project partners and participants with news items, project updates, special features and forthcoming events.
Brecks Earth Heritage Trail Launch
Sheep in the Brecks
The Brecks area has a fascinating Earth heritage, with a story of early human settlement set against a geological backdrop of millions of years of environmental change. Ice, wind and water have played a role in shaping the landscape we see today.
Participants at the grazing workshop learned about conservation grazing and sheep husbandry with the Breckland Society.
The Earth Heritage Trail aims to introduce you to 18 points of interest chosen for their publicly accessible geodiversity features, including geology, landforms and soils, and their links with Palaeolithic archaeology and wildlife. The Trail is supported a field guide, backed up by a smartphone app, a leaflet and web pages. Find out more on our website http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/ earthheritagetrail/
Royal Television Society Awards Some of the BNG team attended the Royal Television Awards East Central ceremony as our film “The Warreners Tales” with Ember Films was up for an award. Sadly they didn’t with the category but it was an honour to be shortlisted !
We would like to invite you to the Brecks Earth Heritage Trail launch event on June 29th 17:00-19:30 at Brandon Country Park. Join geology expert and trail creator Tim HoltWilsonfor a presentation, refreshments and a field outing to see some Earth heritage features in nearby Brandon Park.
You can watch the film, all about the history of Warrening in the Brecks here: https://vimeo.com/ 187637282
Book your free ticket here: http://bit.ly/2r3bg1z
Project Focus A5 Engine House Work is continuing to progress well on the restoration of the Engine House at Brandon Country Park - the contractors have now been on site for 18 weeks and the project is running on schedule. Since the last update the link building walls and roof have been finished with slate, and the external walls have been weather boarded. The internal walls are starting to go up for the kitchen area and toilets. The link building really opens up the two buildings and it feels like a much bigger space now. The glass doors have been fitted to the entranceway. The weatherboarding has gone up on the section of collapsed wall on the engine house and arch removed and rebuilt over the original entrance door.
All of the new electrical points for plugs and lighting are going in and the walls in the bothy have been plastered. Guttering has gone up and initial test patches have been undertaken to match the lime putty to the lime mortar currently in place.
Over the next month, once the remaining brickwork has been completed, the flint work will start to progress, removing crumbling sections and building them back up with new flints and lime putty.
We’ve also been doing some work on the Interpretation Panels for the Engine House. In researching this we came across some wonderful photos taken of Ronald Rule and his father who was chauffeur for the house in the 1930s. The photos show the Engine House and the vehicles which were kept there. Thanks to help from historic vehicle experts we’ve been able to identify them all: 1924 Standard 14 Open Tourer
1921 Studebaker Special Six EH Touring
All photos: Rule family collection
Two views of a 1928 BSA 770cc V Twin Motorcycle and Sidecar
Brecks Events BNG Events (see more and how to book at www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events)
Breckland Flora Art Workshops 3rd June, 5th Aug, Oct TBC, Various Locations Brecks Heritage Conference (Tickets Free: http://bit.ly/2oL5iQZ) 24th June, Carnegie Room, Thetford, 10:00-16:00 Earth Heritage Trail Launch 29th June 17:00-19:30 Free tickets here http://bit.ly/2r3bg1z Partners Events Forest Fest 2nd June, Brandon Country Park 10:30-15:30 (£3 per passport) Wild at Weeting (arts, crafts and guided walk—call 01842 827615 to book) Sat 5th August NWT Weeting Heath 10:00-16:00 Enchanted Forest
25th August Brandon Country Park 10:30-15:30 (£3 per passport) If you’d like to see your event here, please send us details at bng.admin@suffolk.gov.uk
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Picture of the Month The flock at the Grazing Practitioners Workshop
Kerry Ellis—Work Placement with Norfolk FWAG Kerry Ellis undertook a three week placement with Norfolk FWAG funded by the BNG Work Placements project. Here she writes about her experiences and what she gained from the placement. I am an ecology and conservation degree student from Sparsholt College in Hampshire, in my final few months of the course with three exams remaining. I am a born and bred Norfolk girl, growing up in the Norfolk countryside means my countryside pursuits and passions are extremely deep-rooted. These include farming, shooting, deer stalking and working dogs. I never planned on leaving Norfolk however when considering my future education after school I knew I wanted to work in the countryside and being a girl I was going to need to give myself the best possible opportunities. I visited Sparsholt College to view their facilities for a Countryside game and wildlife Level three extended diploma. After seeing the high quality facilities at Sparsholt College I decided to apply, within a month of my GCSE Grades being finalised I was offered a place. September and the new academic year arrived and me and my six month old Labrador puppy left Norfolk for Hampshire. After completing my Level three extended diploma I was advised by my tutor at the time to carry on and pursue my career in investing in the countryside by completing the ecology and conservation degree. The subjects I’ve studied in the last two years include global ecosystems, science, conservation work practice, habitat and species identification, land based ecology, countryside law and policies, conservation land management and field ecology techniques. Two years later and I’m very close to the end of my degree, as part of the degree it is essential that you find a work placement of three weeks out in the industry. I’ve worked on a farm at home in Norfolk that my older brother also works on during busy periods and during summer for three years now and will soon be approaching my second full harvest with them. When thinking about a work experience placement I decided to look into Norfolk FWAG after doing some work with my degree group with FWAG in Hampshire putting up dormouse boxes and of course my passion for farming. I spent my three weeks with FWAG and during my time here i have worked on several Countryside Stewardship applications including visiting a couple of farms in the Brecks near Croxton. I did some work for the HLF funded project Breaking New Ground, phoning schools to try and get planting visits organised, working on the website pages to try and encourage people to monitor pinelines using an on-line recording system. I was also present at a crucial meeting with the Sandringham estate as they began work with Norfolk FWAG on their agri-environment scheme. I have learnt lots about a county I thought I knew well – the Brecks in particular is an area I didn’t know very much about before this work experience. I received some training in GIS mapping skills which I’m sure will be useful to me in my future career. Heidi and the team at Norfolk FWAG have invited me back when I have graduated for more work and to explore the possibility of a paid short-term contract.
Get your Brecks Events/News noticed!: If there is something that you would like included in the next newsletter, please send details to Amy : 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