Environment

Supporting bus services

DITCHEATresidents gathered at their bus stop in Alhampton Road to highlight Somerset’s Catch the Bus Campaign.

The chair of Ditcheat Parish Council, Charles Evans, said: “The maintenance of a local bus service through Ditcheat is vital for many people both young and old.

“In these days of rising costs, using the bus is a very economical and stress-free way of getting about, and for older people who use a bus pass, it is even better. However, to keep buses available, they need to be used.”

He said public transport is also a vital link to the nearby railway station at Castle Cary from where many depart for longer distance commuting.

Sustainable travel

CHEWStoke Church School has been working with Modeshift Stars, a national scheme, which promotes safe, active and sustainable travel, including cycling, scooting and walking. The school has now achieved the highest Pictured (l to r) Ben, Olivia, Evie and Rio with their awards accreditation, The Outstanding Travel Plan (Platinum) Accreditation. They won STARS Local Authority Primary School of the Year and STARS South West Primary School of the Region.

As a result, they were entered into the STARS National School Travel Awards held in London. Only five other primary schools nationally qualified.

Deputy head, Vicki Hennessy, who coordinates the scheme in the school, said: “Chew Stoke Church School was not the overall winner, but the children had an amazing day seeing the sights of London, sharing and celebrating the hard work of all the schools who have taken part in the scheme.”

Increasing Somerset’s tree cover

SINCE2014 Reimagining the Levels has been planting trees and hedgerows throughout the Somerset Levels and surrounding hills. The results have been incredible, surpassing their most optimistic estimates. With the help of over 80 volunteers, they have enabled over 60,000 trees and shrubs to be planted increasing woodland and hedgerows, worked with over 110 private landowners to plant suitable schemes and helped over 20 community organisations, schools, village halls, recreation grounds etc. to plant up their land.

It says climate change means we need more woodland and hedgerow to address prolonged flooding, provide wildlife habitat, sequester carbon and increase biodiversity.

They are reaching out to landowners and community groups to find suitable land to plant. They provide practical support, subsidised trees, stakes and guards, along with expert guidance on where, what and how to plant.

Their partners, the Woodland Trust, Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West are helping to provide trees, stakes and grants again this year. Mendip District Council helped them plant 4,500 trees and shrubs.

For plantings that address flood risk there is an extra grant available. Other plantings may be eligible for subsidised trees and advice. They may be able to advise with planting fruit and nut orchards.

A spokesman said: “Tree planting will provide a wide range of benefits for both people and the natural world and improve the wellbeing of all involved. Spread the word! Help us find new land to plant.”

Details: www.reimaginingthelevels.org.uk katetowers.rtl@gmail.com or Kate on 07872 664543

Fossil donation is a boost for geology centre

AN “exceptional” collection of fossils and minerals – many found more than 100 years ago – has been donated to the Somerset Earth Science Centre at Stoke St Michael.

The Kingswood Collection originated at Kingswood School in Bath and was used as a GCSE and A Level geology teaching aid for many years until the National Curriculum was introduced in the late 1980s. Interest in teaching the subject declined and the items were stored in a basement.

David Brown, a former teacher at Kingswood, rescued the collection and gave it to Fran Britten, who ran Shute Farm Studio – an art studio – at Downhead, where he taught letter cutting.

Just before the pandemic, Fran contacted the SESC who agreed to take on the collection and began to sort, clean and label the fossils and minerals to put some of the more important and interesting items on public display. The SESC says there is still much more work to do.

Simon Carpenter, a palaentologist who has been working with the SESC, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to examine an important historic collection, containing some exceptional fossils and minerals, many found over a century ago, many of which are of museum quality, and cannot be collected today. It has been immensely satisfying to see this old collection rescued and restored and a real delight to handle so many fascinating fossils.”

Part of the collection went on show during an open day at the centre – next to Wainwright’s Quarry – as part of the Mendip Rocks! Festival.

Meanwhile, the centre has gained funding from the Mendip Hills Fund and Somerset Community Foundation towards a project to create a geological time trail around the site and to install a “Mendip Rocks Column” containing stone from Mendip quarries illustrating the rock sequence from Silurian to Jurassic, topped with grass as the land is today.

Dr Peter Hardy (author of The Geology of Somerset, and retired lecturer from Bristol University) who helped research the collection Fran Britten (left) with Adel Avery, from the SESC, with part of the Kingswood Collection

Simon Carpenter chats to visitors who brought along their Dorset beach finds to be identified during the open day

Mendip fish rescue

BACKin August, Tony Dawson was alerted by a fellow member of the Priddy Toad Patrol group that ponds were drying out at Charterhouse and Priddy, putting fish in danger.

After work, he collected equipment from his home in Locking and went to investigate and found only a tiny pool of stagnant, stinking water with thousands of desperate fish.

He said: “Hundreds had already died and the smell of death was filling the air all around. This was a pond I had visited for over 40 years. It holds a special place in my heart as I used to enjoy picnics there with my family.”

He managed to collect 565 Rudd using a bucket and put

Tony found thousands of dead and dying fish Returning the fish

them in a disused paddling pool, loaned by a friend. Returning the next day, he found only three fish left alive.

He said: “I waited and waited, watching for any signs of life, but there was none.”

But he managed to keep all 568 Rudd alive in the paddling pool, at considerable expense, before releasing them back in the pond at Charterhouse on November 4th.

He said: “It was quite an emotional moment as I remembered all of those thousands of fish that had perished a few months earlier.

“The really lucky ones had found their way into my net.”

Tony travels from Locking to Yeovil every weekday to repair old military helicopters and build new ones at Leonardo Helicopters.

A national champion –North Somerset style!

HEDGE layer Colin Clutterbuck, from Stanton Drew, took top honours at the rural craft’s national championships in Oxfordshire.

Colin was crowned overall champion for the length of hedge he laid in the North Somerset style. Earlier he had won the open section, with other Mendip area hedge layers, Alex Bown second, Chris Chivers third and Paul Gulliford fourth.

The competition was held at Clacks Farm at Wallingford, by kind permission of Crowmarsh Battle Farms.

Philip Chamberlain, the owner of Clacks Farm (left), with Colin during the presentation ceremony