Newsletter 2015 Welcome to a brief look over 2015 and some of our events run by the Friends of Buchan Country Park. See Inside: Pages 2-3
Fun Dog Show
Pages 4-5
All About Apples Event
Pages 6-7 Wildlife Sightings 2015 Tom Burns, Countryside Ranger Page 8 Christmas Carols New Wildlife Garden Entrance
Art In The Park
Sunday 14th June 2015
A Bit About Us Friends of Buchan Country Park are a group of people who very much enjoy Buchan Country Park and who feel that we would like to promote its use as a beautiful public space. As an independent self-funding body, we aim to promote and support the Environment and Education Service based at Buchan Park in addition to the management of the Park. This is done through annual activities including Art in the Park, Easter Egg hunt, Fun Dog Show, All About Apples and Christmas Carols which all raise funds for the park.
Why not become a member? Membership is only £2 per year and the committee is always looking for new members to join, donate a few hours help at events and contribute to our meetings.
www.fobcp.org.uk Check out our new website which has more photos and news.
As is predictable with Friends of Buchan Country Park events we ran the gauntlet with the weather and just about escaped the rain. We were again supported by Crawley Art Society and a few of their members kindly came along and gave instruction in watercolour and drawing skills to the children who always seem very keen on demonstrating their artistic talents. Various other arty crafty things to do were available for the youngsters to try their hands at ranging from colouring in sheets to card making, leaf art, play dough and making a noughts and crosses game. It was very encouraging to see the children using their imagination and enjoying the creative activities on offer. Outside the pavement chalk art was, as always, extremely popular with plenty of imaginative efforts on display. There is something about chalking on the pavement that I find irresistible, takes me back to my childhood I suppose! Another popular activity was the one were the children were invited to do a picture of ‘MY MUM’ with a number of the drawings not exactly of the flattering kind! All in all a good day, thanks to all who helped and those who came along to take part. Page 1 Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
Fun Dog Show
Sunday 23rd August Our annual Fun Dog Show took place despite the very poor weather. We commenced at 12 noon at which point it was raining though not sufficiently heavy for us to call the event off. The first class was the ever popular Best Puppy and initially it seemed we wouldn’t have many entrants but people seemed to appear from nowhere (I think they had been sheltering from the rain under the trees) with their puppies and I was surprised at the number of contestants we finished up with given the poor weather. The rain
All different dogs attended and the waterproofs, wellies, umbrellas were at hand. Above, a winning entry! Page 2 Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
Far Left, the overall winner. Middle, many braved the rain. Below, best fancy dress.
eased off around 1pm and we got through the rest of the day without getting soaked. Most of the classes were fairly well represented, I particularly enjoyed the fancy dress, all of the costumes were brilliant, well done to all who took part.
Understandably attendance numbers were down on last year because of the weather but a good day was had by all none the less and a great big thank you to everyone who helped put the 2015 Fun Dog Show on and I am keeping my fingers crossed for some good weather next year.
Many thanks to all those hardy souls who came along and competed and also to the additional support from Arundawn Dog Resue, Zoe Blake The Friendly Pet Nurse and Kate’s Cakes.
Lots of photos of this event can be found on our Events page at www.fobcp.org.uk
Above, a great family day out. Middle right, Zoe Blake, The Friendly Pet Nurse at her stall. Right, taking shelter from the summer rain and everyone had coats on! Page 3 Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
All about Apples Sunday 4th October
The ‘All about Apples’ event was organised by the Friends of Buchan Country Park in collaboration with the WSCC Rangers. It was a beautiful dry day, and many people came to take part and to enjoy learning and witnessing the various and diverse things that apples have to offer. Robin Edwards, Senior Ranger, provided enormous support, helping to collect apples from various orchards, lending his own masher and juice press to the event, and supervising and operating them with help from willing volunteers of all ages to produce fresh apple juice throughout the event for people to try or to take home with them.
Apple trees are a member of the Rose family. There are many different varieties and colours from Red to Green and Yellow. All activities took place in the Wild Garden which itself has benefited from a lot of improvement work by volunteers and Rangers during the year, and this great location contributed significantly to everybody’s enjoyment.
In addition to pressing apples for juice, there were stalls selling bottles and jars of locally produced apple products including chutneys, jams, and juices, as well as bags of local apples of various varieties such as Bramleys, Granny Smiths, Cox’s Orange Pippins, Red Pippins, and Worcester Reds. In the games section, we had several word games, plus ‘bite the hanging apple’, guess the number of apples in the bucket, identify eight varieties of apple, and scoop flour from the base of a flour mountain without causing the apple on top of it to fall.
There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples in the world. If you were to try and eat one species per day, it would take you over twenty years to be able to say you’ve tried them all. All the games had their moments, but the most popular with the children was the flour mountain, while the adults preferred trying to identify apple varieties. It was a relief at one point that the flour mountain game did not develop into a fully fledged flour slinging contest between two highly competitive young ladies!
Above: Some of our great Friends of Buchan Country Park volunteers helping peel and core apples, winding the press and the fresh apple juice made on the day. Page 4 Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
Save Our Orchards
Above: ‘bite the hanging apple’ game. Right: Ranger Robin Edwards fills the press.
In the guessing game, participants were assured that only apples were in the bucket, and they were allowed to count what they could see, but they were not allowed to touch the bucket or the apples. There were in fact 31 apples in the bucket, and only one person actually guessed the number correctly. A bit of skulduggery by insiders did occur, thereby causing some illegitimate correct answers to be given, but the offenders know who they were ... and so do the organisers!
Half of the apples grown are eaten fresh the rest are used for juices, cider and processing. Eat your apples with the skin on – almost half of the vitamin C is just under the skin. Overall it was a day of great fun, and many visitors to the park seemed to enjoy themselves enormously. As one of the organisers I can say that we not only very much enjoyed the event, but also that we were most pleasantly surprised at the favourable financial result arising in significant part from voluntary contributions most generously made to Friends Of Buchan Country Park funds by the generous public. Thanks to everybody who attended and contributed to the success of the day.
About two thirds of Britain’s orchards have been lost since 1960. Orchards are still being dug up and replanted with cereals or ousted by new development from roads to housing, while many orchards simply fade with neglect. Of the 2,000 culinary and dessert apples and hundreds more cider varieties which have been grown in this country, a lot of which are particular to different places and have assumed local names and uses, only a few handfuls are widely known and used today. Buchan Country Park has a few apple trees growing in it’s grounds and The Friends of Buchan Country Park hope to help the park grow some local variations. Not only for our heritage but for wildlife and future generations. Watch this space for more!
Apple pie recipe (from the Chairman) Pastry Recipe for pie, or use ready made pastry.
Preparation method
500g plain flour 350g butter or lard 3 tablespoons caster sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1 egg 125ml water
1. P reheat oven to 220 C / Gas mark 7. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, caster sugar and brown sugar, and bring to the boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
Preparation method Prep: 15 mins 1. I n a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter or lard, sugar and salt. Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly. 2. I n a small bowl, mix egg with water. Blend into flour mixture. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use. Short crust pastry for a 23cm pie 125g unsalted butter 3 tablespoons plain flour 4 tablespoons water 100g caster sugar 100g dark brown soft sugar 8 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and sliced
Prep: 30 mins | Cook: 1 hour
2. R oll out the pastry to line the bottom of a 23cm (9 in) pie dish. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with strips of pastry to form a lattice design. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the pastry. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. 3. B ake the apple pie 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Continue baking the pie for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft. Serve apple pie with ice cream or custard. Page 5
Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
Wildlife Sightings 2015
2. Grass Snake
Tom Burns Countryside Ranger
I’ve seen more grass snakes this year than any other year. Frequently I’ve seen two on an old log pile on the edge of the meadow in the park.
This year has been excellent for wildlife in the park, with a number of interesting creatures noted, here is my top five:
These snakes are our largest native British snake, reaching up to a metre in length and can live for a lengthy 25 years. This is long lived when compared to adders (also found at Buchan) which can live up to around 10 years.
1. Tawny Owl We’ve always had a good population of Tawny Owls but this year I’ve heard them calling in every area of the park. Tawny Owls make the classic ‘Too-wit Too-woo’ call that we associate with owls. But this is actually the male and the females call put together. It’s the female that emits the ‘Too-wit’ and the male that replies with the ‘Too-woo’. These birds of prey feed on the small rodents that reside in the woodlands of the park, particularly bank voles and mice. Tawny owls
Grass snakes are excellent swimmers, if you’re lucky you may see one swimming in Island Pond. They have to be able to swim as they mainly feed on toads, frogs and newts. They are constrictors, squeezing the life from their prey. Best places in Buchan to see them: Meadow, Island Pond & Boundary Pond.
3. Brilliant Emerald Dragonfly
are specialist woodland hunters with short, broad wings that allow them to be agile hunters amongst the trees. Best places in Buchan to see them: Often heard and not seen but winter is the best time to hear Tawny Owls, try Middle Covert or the Plantation early evening. Page 6 Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
You may know that the ponds, streams and wetland areas at Buchan Country Park are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for the rare dragonflies that reside here. SSSI’s are areas that are protected by law for their excellent wildlife value. One of the nationally rare species that can be found here at the park is the brilliant emerald. So named because of their brilliant colour, this dragonfly is a delight to see. Their metallic green sheen and apple green eyes make them (in my opinion) the most attractive of the dragonflies.
5. Brown Long-eared Bat A medium-sized bat with massive ears! The ears can be as long as their bodies and for good reason, echo location is their way of finding prey. Emitting high pitched calls and listening to the echoes in order to determine their whereabouts and locate any insects that they will hunt and eat. Best places in Buchan to see them: Brilliant Emeralds prefer slow flowing water and good tree cover with vegetation for their larvae to hide in. Island Pond offers the perfect habitat.
4. Grey Wagtail This year saw two successful broods of grey wagtail in the park. The chicks were seen being fed by the parents on the handrails at the spillway on Douster Pond back in the spring. These charismatic birds are always on the move, even bobbing their tails when perched. They are varied hunters too, catching small dragonflies on the wing, insects from the ground and even fishing for tadpoles in shallow water. Best places in Buchan to see them: Whilst not a rare bird the recent decline in this species has led to the RSPB giving it an amber status. Here at Buchan the grey wagtail is a common sight at Douster Pond, particularly the boat house and the spillway.
This year a brown longeared bat roost was found in my loft, whilst some people would find this a bit unsettling, I’ve enjoyed watching them hunting in the garden and keeping the insect population under control. Bats are not rodents; they do not chew on wood, wires or insulation, nor do they build nests so they aren’t bringing in any nesting material and making a mess. Even their droppings are clean; largely made up of insect wings the droppings are dry and crumble away to dust and there are no health risks associated with bat droppings. Alas, bats are seasonal visitors to buildings and they will look for a place to hibernate for the winter very soon. Perhaps they will return in the spring when the weather warms up and I can once again sit in the garden with a cuppa and watch as they take care of my pest control for me.
There is a map of the park just as you enter next to the Countryside Centre and leaflets are also available so you can easily find these areas to see Buchan Country Park wildlife! Page 7 Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
Our New Wildlife Garden Entrance – Ranger Tom As part of the Wild Garden improvements we are to install a new entrance gate and sign in the New Year. The gate was bought by the Friends of Buchan Country Park (FoBCP) and the wooden sign was funded by both the FoBCP and West Sussex County Council. The money spent on this wonderful piece of art was raised by running events in the park and through sales in the Countryside Centre. The Wild Garden is to be renamed ‘The Phil Haskell Wild Garden’ in memory of Phil Haskell who was for a long time the Education Ranger at Buchan Country Park. Sadly Phil passed away in 2014 and is greatly missed by all. Over the years Phil taught thousands of children about wildlife, told countless traditional stories and made all sorts of things including bird feeders out of recycled jam jars & margarine tubs with children.
Christmas Carols
Sunday 20th December 2015 Many hoped for snow, but the day started instead with rain at this years Christmas Carol singing event. Taking place outside the Countryside Centre and in the Wild Garden, we were joined throughout the day by singers both from several local groups as well as Friends of Buchan Country Park members themselves. As well as singing we also had refreshments for sale, including the obligatory Christmas mince pies. Once the rain cleared away, a fantastic day was had by all and we managed to collect a lot of donations from generous park users. All funds raised will be put towards future events and to the upkeep of the park.
The entrance sign has a number of elements to it that relate to Phil’s work; the green man telling a story and some of Phil’s favourite species including a shield bug, a dragonfly and a bat at the top that links to his numerous bat walks that he led in the park. I can’t wait to install the gate and sign and I hope that all who see it will enjoy it. Left, is the original sketched design by Janine Creaye, an artist that has created many other sculptures in the park.
Above, the completed piece. Page 8 Join us and help the park, find out more: fobcp.org.uk
Finally... A Big Thank you! Thank you to everyone who donated money or their time to the Friends of Buchan Country Park. It all goes back to the park and ‘the friends’ all hope you enjoy our events. If you would like to get involved or can spare an hour please get in touch: info@fobcp.org.uk