Isles of Scilly Festival of Nature

Welcome to the Isles of Scilly

Festival f Nature

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust and our partners are delighted to bring you our first Festival of Nature. Over ten days, there will be guided walks, fascinating talks, creative workshops including crafts and nature writing, events and quizzes, live music, debates and more. We are excited to be showcasing our diverse environments and celebrating sustainability across the archipelago.

Thank you for joining our first Festival of Nature.

Every day, from 5-6.30pm, the Festival team will be in The Slip Inn Bar at The Mermaid Inn, Hugh Town, St Mary’s, to answer your wildlife questions. The bar will be open for drinks.

St Mary’s Boatmen’s Association (SMBA) run daily trips to the off-islands (check their Facebook for times, usually departing St Mary’s 10.15am). Boat tickets are not included in prices.

Activities will be taking place across the islands, but to help you focus your schedule, we’ve pulled together four key island days:

Sunday 16th - Beautiful Bryher

Monday 17th - Wild St Agnes

Tuesday 18th - Magical St Martin’s Sunday 23rd - Timeless Tresco

A member of the Festival team will be on the SMBA boat to help you get the best from the day. If you’re staying off-island, please contact St Agnes Boating (for St Agnes, 01720 422704), Tresco Boating (for Bryher and Tresco, 01720 423373) or SMBA (for St Martin’s, 01720 423999).

Illustrations by Ellie Tabron, Island Images ellietabron.com

Saturday 15th

Welcome Evening Event

The Slip Inn Bar, Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s 5-7pm

Join us for a warm welcome to the Isles of Scilly Festival of Nature, with introductions from the Festival team and a chance to meet some of the activity leaders. The bar will be open and serving hot drinks, local ales and ciders, and a wide range of soft and alcoholic drinks. The Mermaid restaurant will be serving meals, but booking is recommended.

Bird Log - Isles of Scilly Bird Group

The annual October Bird Log will be taking place every evening throughout the month in the Lyonnesse Bar, Scillonian Club, Hugh Town, St Mary’s, from 9pm. Find out what birds and wildlife have been spotted that day!

SWISH

The Big Scilly Clothes Swap

The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s 7pm onwards, no need to book £5 entry free, proceeds to IoSWT

Swishing is the easy way to update your wardrobe! It’s guilt free shopping with no cost to your wallet and great for the environment. Simply bring one or more pieces of clothing that you don’t want anymore. For every item, you’ll receive a ticket. Our team will sort all the clothes into categories whilst you enjoy a drink or two at the bar with friends, and then you can get swishing - swap your tickets for items of clothing. The more you bring, the more you can get.

Island Wildlife Tours, Will Wagstaff

Will Wagstaff is Scilly’s resident ornithologist and naturalist. For guided Wildlife Walks, please check the boards in Hugh Town or contact 01720 422212 or will@islandwildlifetours.co.uk.

Sunday 16th

Beautiful Bryher.

Hillside Farm, Guided Walk

Ruth & Graham Eggins & Julian Branscombe 11am-1pm

Meet at Hillside Farm, Bryher Cost: £10

Discover how farmers Ruth and Graham are striving to create a farm that is both productive and sustainable with an abundance of wildlife at its heart. Julian Branscombe, CEO of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, will be identifying wild plants. Dogs welcome on leads.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Bryher’s Landscapes, Guided Walk

Chris Potterton & Jaclyn Pearson

11am-1.30pm

Meet at Bryher Quay, off the 10.15am boat Cost: £7

Join local resident Chris Potterton to discuss history, geology and what we discover.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

What’s

Eateries

Olivia’s Kitchen at the Vine

Hell Bay Hotel

Fraggle Rock Bar

Galleries & local producers

Alex Bagnall, the Potting Shed, Open Studio (p8)

Richard Pearce Studio, 10am-4pm

Scilly Succulents

Veronica Farm Fudge

continued... Sunday 16th.

Staying on St Mary’s?

Watercolour Workshop

Stephen Morris

9.45am-1pm

Meet at Glandore Gallery, Porthloo, St Mary’s

Cost: £30, includes materials

The session starts with a short talk about techniques, then you will go onto the beach to paint (indoor facilities for wet weather in the gallery).

Places limited. To book, contact Stephen direct on glandoregallery@gmail.com or 01720 422535.

Scilly Beach Painting

Ellie Verrecchia

2-4pm

Meet at Porthmellon Beach, St Mary’s

Cost: £45, includes materials

Join Gallery Tresco artist Ellie Verrecchia to make an island seascape painting on natural birchwood board. Simple techniques suitable for everyone (indoor facilities for wet weather).

Places limited. To book, contact Ellie direct on ellieverrecchia@gmail.com or 07734 994548.

In the evening...

Bird and Wildlife Pub Quiz

hosted by Mark Pickersgill

8pm-late

Meet at the Atlantic Inn, Hugh Town, St Mary’s Cost: £1/person, proceeds to IoSWT

Form a team (or pop along to join a table) and test your knowledge of local birds and other wildlife, whilst enjoying a drink in the Atlantic Inn. Bewaresome of the questions will be fiendish!

Alex Bagnall Open Art Studio

The Potting Shed, Bryher

10am-1pm & 2-4pm

Daily, Sunday 15th-Wednesday 19th

Meet artist Alex Bagnall and explore her huge colour-sorted collection of beach finds – from bones and South American beans to lego flippers and Smartie lids. Her illustrations, cards and paintings will be on sale.

Wild St Agnes.

Seabirds & Zero-plastic Lobster Potting

Jaclyn Pearson, John Peacock & Jof Hicks 10.45am-12.30pm

Meet at the Turks Head, St Agnes Cost: £5

A walk explaining the conservation efforts of the rat removal on St Agnes, finishing at the Zero Plastic Micro Fishing Research Project with Jof Hicks.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Turks Head

Café

& local producers

Emma Eberlein, Pot Buoys Gallery, 10.30am-4pm

Mark Eberlein, Wood Tattoos, 2-4pm, Island Hall

Lou Simmonds, Pottery & Crafts, 2-4pm, Island Hall

Willow Lobster Pot Workshop

Jof Hicks

12-1.30pm

Meet outside St Agnes Church, Periglis, St Agnes Cost: £15

Join Jof Hicks from the Artisan Zero Plastic Micro Fishing Research Project to try some aspects of traditional lobster pot making craft.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Troytown Farm, Guided Walk

Sam Hicks

1.45-3pm

Meet at Troytown Farm, St Agnes Cost: £6, includes an ice cream

Enjoy a tour of the dairy farm, including how they bring sustainable practices into their farm and campsite.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

17th.

Wildlife Safari for Seabirds and Seals

Spirit of St Agnes

1-3pm

Meet on St Agnes Quay

Cost: £21/adult, £10.50/child

Includes a trip to the Bishop Rock Lighthouse weather permitting. £2.50 of your fare is donated to the Wildlife Trust to maintain rat free status on St Agnes to protect the nesting seabirds.

To book, contact John Peacock direct 01720 422704.

Staying on St Mary’s?

Healing Properties of the Sea

Liz Bray

10am-12 noon.

Meet on the quay by ticket kiosk, St Mary’s Cost: £9

Liz Bray has been a qualified homeopath for 25 years. Her talk will be an in depth look at the properties of seawater, its qualities, signs and signatures.

To book, contact Liz direct lizbrayart@gmail.com or 07795 254644.

Shell Drawing Workshop

Maxine Bryher 2-4pm

Meet at Phoenix Craft Studios, St Mary’s Cost: £30, including materials

Maxine will help participants to draw shells and make them into greetings cards to take home.

Places limited. To book, contact Maxine direct maxinebryher@gmail.com or 07379 120422.

In the evening...

Seagrass: superhero of the ocean

Talk from a variety of expert speakers 7pm

Meet at The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s Free

Speakers from University of Plymouth, Ocean Conservation Trust and Natural England will provide an exciting talk on Scilly’s seagrass, the specialist wildlife of seagrass beds and the research to protect them. No need to book.

18th

Magical St Martin’s.

Seagrass Workshop on St Martin’s

Variety of expert guides

10.15am-1pm

Meet at St Mary’s Quay for 10.15am boat

Cost: donation to IoSWT

The workshop begins aboard the boat. We will then explore Scilly’s seagrass meadows with experts from the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, University of Plymouth, Ocean Conservation Trust and Natural England. We can’t wait to see what wildlife we find.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Churchtown Farm, Guided Walk

Zoe Julian

1.30-3.30pm

Meet at Churchtown Farm Cost: £5, to be donated to IoSWT

Take a walk with Zoe Julian, local farmer and joint owner of Scilly Flowers. Explore the landscape of St Martin’s, including a guided farm tour and a walk out to the Daymark. Dogs welcome on leads.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Fay Page Open Studio, Lowertown, 9.30am-4.30pm

Middletown Barn, Middletown, 9am-4.30pm

18th.

Scilly Beach Painting on St Martin’s

Ellie Verrecchia

11am-12.30pm Meet on St Mary’s Quay for 10.15 boat Cost: £45, includes materials

See p7 for activity information. Wet weather alternative will be available if needed.

Places limited. To book, contact Ellie direct ellieverrecchia@gmail.com or 07734 994548

Scilly Organics Farm Walk

Jonathan Smith 12-1pm

Meet by the Scilly Organics stall, near the Island Hall.

Cost: Donation to IoSWT

Join Jonathan Smith on an organic fruit and veg farm walk.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Sea Show on St Martin’s SquashBox Theatre

1.30-2.30pm

Meet at the Island Hall, St Martin’s Free

Open to visitors and families, the Sea Show is a quirky and hilarious mix of puppetry, natural history and cabaret.

Places limited. To book, contact St Martin’s Base, Five Islands Academy direct 01720 422802.

St Martins Vineyard Tour & Tasting

James Faulconbridge & Holly Robbins

Open 1-4pm. Guided introductions at 1pm & 2pm.

Meet at St Martin’s Vineyard, Highertown Cost: £10

Join a regenerative vineyard tour and tasting, with an introduction from the owners about why biodiversity is so integral to the vineyard. Tours take around one hour.

To book, contact James direct on stmartinsvineyard@gmail.com or 07936 710262.

continued... Tuesday 18th.

Staying on St Mary’s?

Medicinal Properties of Local Plants

Liz Bray

10am-12 noon.

Meet at Old Town Church, St Mary’s

Cost: £9

Join homeopath Liz Bray on a gentle walk which will cover the traditional medicinal, herbal and homeopathic properties of local plants.

Places limited. To book, contact Liz direct lizbrayart@gmail.com or 07795 254644.

Embroidery on Paper Workshop

Emma Humphries & Emily Shaw

2-3.30pm

Meet at Phoenix Craft Studios, St Mary’s

Cost: £30, including materials

Embroidery on paper using a selection of yarns and natural finds. Participants can bring something from nature to embellish their work.

Places limited. To book, contact Emma direct emma@popplestonestudio.com or 07522 417477.

In the evening...

Night at the Natural History Museum

Kate Hale & Vickie Heaney

6.30-8pm

Meet at Museum on the Move, St Mary’s Free, but donations welcome A chance to look behind the scenes and hear the story of the Museum on the Move with Curator Kate Hale, volunteers and trustees. Plus, discuss exciting plans for the new Museum and Cultural Centre.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Sustainability on Scilly, Panel Q&A

Chair Dr Rob Lambert, University of Nottingham 7pm onwards

Meet at The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s Free, no need to book ‘Archipelago Ambitions’. Sustainability is at the top of global, regional and local political, economic and social agendas. Come and listen to a ‘Question Time-style’ panel discuss sustainability on these islands, past, present and future, and feel free to ask a question of the experts.

19th

Meet the Moths

Mick & Will Scott

9-10.30am

Meet at Longstone Cottage, St Mary’s

Free, tea and coffee provided.

See the species from the overnight moth trap. This is weather dependent and may move to another day.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Make your own Nature Journal

Vickie Heaney and Erica Swain

9.15am-12.15pm

Cost: £35, includes materials

Meet at the Church Pavilion, St Mary’s

Have a go at simple bookbinding to make your own journal to record all your nature notes and musings.

Places limited. To book, contact Vickie direct on vickieheaney@yahoo.com.

Wildlife in the Park

10am-1pm

Meet at the Park, Hugh Town, St Mary’s Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust will be offering fun family activities, and will be joined by ReMEDIES Project Ocean Seagrass: make wildflower seedbombs to deploy in your own gardens and hedgerows. You can also discover stalls from the local Farmers and Growers Market with a range of local produce and meet the donkeys! Scilly’s latest arrivals will be in park, and apples and carrots will be available! This activity is weather dependent, no need to book.

Meet the Rangers

Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust Ranger Team

1.30-3.30pm (or until 5pm with café)

Free, refreshments not included

Meet at Holgate’s Green

Join a guided walk to Lower Moors to visit the rangers and see their habitat management work. Afterwards, you can carry on to Longstone Café for tea and cake and continue chatting with the team about conservation on Scilly.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

continued... Wednesday 19th.

Barrel of Laughs, Bees, Honey and Rum

Jilly Halliday & Andrew Walder 11am-1pm

A guided walk along Pool Lane to the shed and barrel (NB no facilities). Hear the story of SC Dogs Rum from Andrew Walder, and taste their very special Bruce Christopher Rum. Jilly Halliday will tell all about Scilly’s bees and give you an exclusive chance to experience Tresco honey.

To book, call Tresco Estate Office on 01720 422849.

Gemma Pearce Open Art Studio

Rocky Hill Studio, St Mary’s 9.30am-12.30pm Daily, Monday 17th-Wednesday 19th

Gemma Pearce is a nature-inspired artist, creating intricate pen and ink drawings through the technique of Stippling, a form of pointillism. Meet the artist and see current work in progress.

In the evening...

Sea Cry Saga

Scary Little Girls

7.30-8.30pm

Meet at The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s Cost: £10

A spell-binding evening of story-telling. Enjoy a magical feeling of being whisked away into hundreds, maybe even thousands of years of stories from here and elsewhere.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s, call 01720 620600 or available on the door.

Open Mic Night

Variety of local performers

9pm-late

Meet at Jack’s Bar Free, donations to IoSWT

Listen to local performers as they share their favourite songs. No need to book.

Thursday 20th

Make your own Nature Journal

Vickie Heaney and Erica Swain

9.15am-12.15pm

Cost: £35, includes materials

Meet at the Church Pavilion, St Mary’s See p19 for activity information.

Places limited. To book, contact Vickie direct vickieheaney@yahoo.com.

Traceless Coaster-making Workshop

Maisie Humphries

10.30am-12.30pm Cost: £25

Meet at Phoenix Craft Studios, St Mary’s

Create a pair of coasters repurposing beach finds in eco-resin.

Places limited. To book, contact Maisie direct maisiekate@traceless.org.uk.

Meet the Stitchers

Karrie Scaife and the Lyonesse Quilters

2-4pm

Free

Meet at the Church Pavilion, St Mary’s

The Lyonesse Quilters are a small welcoming mixed age group who meet weekly to enjoy needlework in all its forms, but particularly patchwork and quilting.

Visitors are always made very welcome. No need to book.

Sea Slate Painting

Liz Askins

2-5pm

Cost: £35, includes materials

Meet at Phoenix Craft Studios, St Mary’s

Washed up on Scilly beaches, sea formed slate shapes lend themselves to organic subjects. Design and paint small nature-themed pictures in acrylic inks. Some painting experience desirable.

Places limited. To book, contact Liz direct scillyscarves@gmail.com or 07746 684973.

Thursday 20th.

Let’s Talk Nature

Lydia Bunn & Rebecca Williams

1-3pm

Meet at St Mary’s Library, St Mary’s Free, drop-in session

Join the Council of the Isles of Scilly and Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust for a workshop on improving our open spaces for nature, then stay for some fun wildlife activities.

Meet the Author

Wyl Menmuir

4-5pm Free

Meet at St Mary’s Library

Wyl Menmuir’s new book The Draw of the Sea explores communities whose lives revolve around the coasts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

In the evening...

Bat Walk

Darren Hart, Isles of Scilly Bat Group

7pm-late

Meet on Holgate’s Green, St Mary’s Cost: £5

A night walk in search of bats and anything else nocturnal. Slow circular walk.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Sea Cry Saga

Scary Little Girls

7.30-8.30pm

Meet at The Slip Inn Bar, the Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s Cost: £10

See p22 for event information.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s, call 01720 620600 or available on the door.

Wildlife Felting

Verity Branscombe

9.30am-12.30pm

Cost: £40, includes materials & takeaway starter kit

Meet at the Church Pavilion

Felting workshop to create art inspired by the wildlife of Scilly. This is your chance to try both wet and needle felting. No previous experience needed.

Places limited. To book, contact Verity direct fossilbeach@live.co.uk or 07566 249886.

Traceless Coaster-making Workshop

Maisie Humphries

10.30am-12.30pm

Meet at Phoenix Craft Studios, St Mary’s

Cost: £25

See p23 for activity information.

Places limited. To book, contact Maisie direct maisiekate@traceless.org.uk.

Showcasing

Sustainability

at Five Islands Academy 2-3pm

All welcome, free to attend

Join students from Five Islands Academy who will share their learning from a Project Week which has been inspired by the Festival of Nature. Students will be responding to a range of cross-curricular topics and reflecting on their work with partners including the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust and Council of the Isles of Scilly.

Family members and visitors are welcome to attend a celebration at the school. Please let the school reception know if you will be attending on 01720 424850.

continued... Friday 21st.

Fabric Wall Hanging Workshop

Oriel Hicks

1.30-4.30pm

Meet at the Church Pavilion, St Mary’s Cost: £25

Heat transfer printing onto polyester using natural materials.

Places limited. To book, contact Oriel direct oriel@taterdu.plus.com.

Wildlife and Archaeology

Julian Branscombe & Dr Katharine Sawyer

3.15-5.15pm

Meet at Five Islands Academy car park, St Mary’s

Donation to IoSWT

A walk around Peninnis Head back to Hugh Town with local archaeologist Dr Katharine Sawyer and naturalist and IoSWT Chief Executive Julian Branscombe. No need to book.

In the evening...

Literature Evening

Wyl Menmuir

7.30pm onwards

Meet at The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s Cost: £5

Join Wyl Menmuir whose recent book The Draw of the Sea features Scilly, along with Ulrike Duran whose work is featured in Cornwall Secret and Hidden, a new anthology of short stories. You are welcome to share your own work or a chosen piece of writing which you feel captures the spirit of the Festival of Nature.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s, call 01720 620600 or available on the door.

Saturday 22nd

Local Craft Market

10am-4pm

Meet at Methodist Church, Hugh Town, St Mary’s Stalls selling local arts, crafts, produce, plants and refreshments.

Traceless Macrame Workshop

Maisie Humphries 2-4pm Cost: £25

Meet at Phoenix Craft Studios, St Mary’s Macrame workshop using ghost nets to create a plant hanger from found materials.

Places limited. To book, contact Maisie direct on maisiekate@traceless.org.uk.

In the evening...

Live Music

Barry Payne and special guest

8-10pm

Meet at The Slip Inn Bar, The Mermaid Inn, St Mary’s Free, donations to IoSWT

Listen to local performer Barry Payne (and a special guest) as they share their favourite songs, with instruments including the guitar and harmonica. No need to book.

Sunday 23rd

Timeless Tresco.

Internal Garden: the sound of plants

Justin Wiggan

11am-1pm

Meet at Tresco Abbey Gardens, Tresco Cost: £8/adult, £6/child

Have you ever wondered what plants sound and feel like? Sound artist Justin Wiggan will run a bizarre and wonderful workshop enabling participants to experience impulses and soundwaves from trees and plants in Tresco Abbey Gardens using state of the art wearable technology.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

Tresco Abbey Gardens, Guided Walk

Andrew Lawson

11am-1.30pm

Meet at Tresco Abbey Gardens, Tresco Cost: £12

Join Head Gardener Andrew Lawson on a special tour of the gardens. Meet at the Garden entrance.

Places limited. To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

What’s

Eateries

The New Inn (live music playing from 2pm)

The Ruin Beach Café

The Garden Café

Galleries & local producers

Tresco Makers’ Market, see overleaf

continued...

23rd.

Tresco Makers’ Market

Local producers and crafts

1-4pm

Meet at New Grimsby Seawall, Tresco Free to enter

Join a host of talented islanders for the regular Tresco Makers’ Markets - a community event supporting makers, showcasing local creative talent and raising money for the local community centre. The monthly Makers’ Markets feature everything from children’s clothing to wall art; jewellery to woodwork. The market is usually outdoors, but may move inside to the Flying Boat Club in inclement weather.

Live Music

2-4pm

Meet at the New Inn, Tresco

Free, refreshments not included

Seth is an English folk singer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist. Much of his inspiration comes from the sea and his sets are not to be missed! No need to book.

Seth Lakeman

Staying on St Mary’s?

Scilly Rockpool Safari

Scott, Samaya, Orkney, Orli & Dusky Reid

9.30-11am

Location TBC on booking, St Mary’s

Cost: £12/adult, £8/child (4+), under 3s free

Join Scilly Rockpool Safaris as they explore the shore at low tide and discover all the amazing marine inhabitants that live along our coastline.

Places limited. To book, go direct to Scilly Rockpool Safaris online at scillyrockpoolsafaris.co.uk.

Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust Tea Dance with music from the Sunset Syncopators

3-5.30pm

Cost: £12.50, includes tea and cake Meet at Tregarthen’s Hotel

Join the Sunset Syncopators for afternoon tea and live music.

To book, visit the Tourist Information Centre, Porthcressa, St Mary’s or call 01720 620600.

The Isles of Scilly Festival of Nature has been made possible by...

All details are accurate at time of going to print. For additional events and updates please refer to scillywildlife.org.

Isles of Scilly Wildife Trust

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust looks after around half of our beautiful islands, managing habitats for wonderful wildlife, allowing people to explore by keeping paths clear and finding creative ways to connect people with local nature. There are lots of ways to support the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, including becoming a Friend of Scilly Wildlife or by making a donation. support.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk

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