Discover Magazine Spring 2021

SPRING 2021

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In this issue

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P4 VIEW POINT Charles Alluto, CEO

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IN THE NEWS

P10 HISTORIC BUILDINGS Beautiful Jersey from 1936 to 2021

P14 EVENTS ‘Waterworks Valley’ trail and a new walking festival for Springtime

P18 LANDSCAPES Wild Places 85 years on

P20 LANDSCAPES Orchards

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P24 LANDSCAPES A Carbon Neutral Farm

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P26 EDUCATION The Greta Generation

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P46 P32 IN THE SPOTLIGHT Our New Council Members

P36 EVENTS Activities to Try

P38 16 NEW STREET Georgian Festival

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GIVING NATURE A HOME Animal Abodes

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FUNDRAISING Meet our Corporate Partners

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ENJOY Wild Swimming with Simone

P47 MEMBERSHIP Calke Abbey

P49 EVENTS Dates for the Diary

DISCOVER | 3

D I S C O V E R | V I E W P O IN T

Sadly self-interest and “ exploitation appears to have

View Point CHA R L E S A L L U T O CEO NATIONAL TRUST FOR JERSEY

O

NE of the first lessons we seek to teach children is the value of sharing. Sometimes this is of necessity as there are simply not enough “Star Wars light sabers” or “Disney inspired Unicorn pens” to go around, but also it is an essential lesson in life which expounds upon the values of working in partnership, compromise, caring and avoiding selfish behaviour. However, it occurred to me recently that this most basic of lessons is all too easily forgotten in our adult daily lives, particularly in relation to the management of our environment. Sadly self-interest and exploitation appears to have won the day over mutual benefit and custodianship, resulting in antagonism, mistrust, and endless arguments. Undoubtedly relationships suffer but ultimately it is the environment, which sustains and supports our lives, that ends up being the true victim. Over a couple of weeks in January three incidents occurred where the value of sharing was all but forgotten and people strove voraciously for political gain, pleasure, and corporate profit, whilst failing to understand or appreciate that their actions would have a direct impact upon our shared environment in the longer term.

4 | DISCOVER

won the day over mutual benefit and custodianship, resulting in antagonism, mistrust, and endless arguments.

Undoubtedly relationships suffer but ultimately it is the environment, which sustains and supports our lives, that ends up being the true victim.

”

The first involved Mme Girardin, French Minister of Marine Affairs, speaking to Le Figaro in Granville and accusing Jersey men and women of being more Anglo than Norman, whilst calling for the Bay of Granville Agreement to be resurrected and for fishing to continue as it had done in the past.

Undoubtedly, Mme Girardin could be a tad better informed as to the nature of a Crown dependency and indeed our allegiance to the Duke of Normandy since 1204, but more importantly she appeared wholly unaware that her own President, Emmanuel Macron, was at that exact time hosting the One Planet Summit in Marseille and insisting that the world needed to follow France’s example of securing the proper protection of 30% of the marine environment by 2030. Known as the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, it seeks to deliver biodiversity and ecological protection both quickly and effectively, as it recognises that without such measures in place the very framework of life as we know it is at risk of collapse. As Mme Girardin passionately declared “It is in our interest to get ready for battle immediately. The fight has only just begun” it appeared to me that her battle cries of unsustainable exploitation, were wholly out-dated and indeed out of sync with her very own Government’s strategic goals.

As her enlightened President clearly recognised the forthcoming battle was not about who can catch the fish but rather whether we have the capacity and wherewithal to save our “AngloNorman” fish in the first place.

The second incident occurred whilst being interviewed by Sophie Bird from Channel TV on the Trust’s forthcoming walking festivals kindly supported by Jersey Water. Ostensibly about the increase in the numbers of people accessing and enjoying the countryside during the pandemic, Sophie also questioned whether this had resulted in increased wear and tear to the coastal footpath network. Whilst highlighting that the majority of people used the footpaths with respect and consideration, I noted that increased mountain bike usage was inevitably causing damage and erosion, particularly in respect of off-roading.

Constructive dialogue was urgently needed but literally as I spoke these words a mountain biker veered off the coastal path, tearing up a new path under trees and across short turf. Blind to those around him and driven by a desire for more thrills and spills, he had complete disregard to the longterm damage and disturbance he was causing, as he pursued his hobby in a wholly self-indulgent manner. Failing to recognise that he was indeed privileged and fortunate to have access to the north coast, which is largely in private as opposed to public ownership, his sense of personal entitlement and lack of care was plain for all to see.

Of course this may have been an isolated incident but the opening up of new tracks would suggest otherwise. Undoubtedly cycling has a huge part to play in both our future transport policy and the Island’s health and well-being, but equally cyclists need to treat our coastline as they would their own back garden with care, consideration and respect. Above all it needs to be recognised it is a shared asset for everyone to enjoy including our flora and fauna.

I fear that describing the third incident may literally tip my readers off the edge! However, indulge me a little further as I promise there is a happy ending in sight. The beginning of January also heralded some major housing developments including the Ann Street Brewery site which promised much needed homes for our Island community. Designed through their agents, Dandara, the scheme is set to deliver 189 one bed and 82 two bed residential units around a mini-forest and a heritage regeneration project which is being wholly funded by Autism Jersey. Whilst the Architectural Commission did not hold back in its criticism of the design, sustainability, density, loss of historic buildings and environmental credentials, it was the lack of community engagement that was most strikingly absent. At the heart of the development lies the former brewery building which is going to be retained, whilst the adjacent brewery office is to be demolished. Why the office is considered to

be of less importance/historic significance than the main building remains unclear and indeed rather ironic in the circumstances I will now describe. However, given that Andium is charged with delivering high quality homes and residential developments for the benefit of our Island community, one would hope that the brewery building could become a hub of enterprise, artistic endeavor, creativity, well-being, engagement and innovation. Working with government funded agencies such as the Art Centre, ArtHouse, Jersey Heritage, Jersey Sport, Jersey Youth Service, Digital Jersey, and Highlands “The Brewery” has enormous scope to serve the community in which it presides. From a digital hub for home working, to community cinema evenings, art/creativity studios, lecture rooms, historic interpretation, exhibitions, exercise rooms for yoga/pilates and above all just a place to have a chat with your fellow residents, The Brewery should be there to serve and enrich the community. Such an enterprise would have undoubtedly delighted one of the founders of the National Trust movement, the highly celebrated social reformer, Octavia Hill. Of course to succeed such a project has to be community driven, but has Andium sought to share and consult on its vision with its clients?

The raft of plans submitted appear bereft of such community engagement and sadly Andium is currently of the view that a commercial office space would far better serve their tenants and so that is what “The Brewery” is destined to become.

Regrettably I fear that this development is indeed outdated before it has been even been built. A rather novel view from an organisation so often accused of being stuck in the past!

In these three examples I have sought to highlight the need to think beyond the individual whether this be on a personal, corporate or political level.

Our government policies and practices need to reflect the times in which we find ourselves and seek to positively address a degraded environment and a community which quite rightly strives for engagement, well-being and quality of life. Equally on a personal level we need to take responsibility for our actions when we access the countryside, otherwise we risk seeing that access diminish as private landowners question the benefit of sharing their land with the public. Above all we should not lose hope that those crucial childhood lessons about sharing have been totally forgotten. In the same few weeks that I have described a small envelope arrived at the Trust office with a hand written note enclosing a cheque for a £1,000, to support the Trust’s endeavors to purchase a field in St Clement. From the letter it was clear to see that the generous donors were supporting the project not for personal gain, but solely to secure this green space for the benefit of generations to come. Soon after a further pledge of similar value and sentiments arrived. Both true demonstrations of the value of sharing.

DISCOVER | 5

In the

s w e N_

HEDGE FUND MEETS TARGET IN SECOND YEAR 2020 was a record breaking year for meteorological statistics and as a result we met the target of planting 20,000 whips before Christmas. Once again, The Jersey Royal Company offered planning support and supplied a team of 6 staff in order to keep up momentum where the planting left off in the spring.

The States’ Countryside Enhancement Scheme provided the main funding with a substantial sum of over £50,000 and we received continued support from The Roy Overland Charitable Trust. The Hedge Fund appears to have really captured the public’s imagination and as a result of the generosity of members and islanders an additional target has been set. This means that another 4,500 whips can be planted, spreading out eastwards to Fliquet from the initial planting area near Jersey Zoo. Wildlife corridors now stretch as far as the top of Grands Vaux, Boulivot and Queen’s Valley. Yellow topped wooden marker stakes are being prepared by Acorn Enterprises and these will be placed along the newly planted hedges at strategic points. The stakes are designed to warn flail and tractor drivers of the presence of the tree and hedging whips.

Jersey Royal staff will also be provided with detailed maps of where the planting has been carried out for reference when carrying out the roadside branchage.

A reserve of 6,500 of whips will be grown during the summer months to provide 6 | DISCOVER

plants that will be used in the autumn so we can ensure continuous planting next winter.

A wonderful group of volunteers has been involved in maintaining everything that has been planted so far and their assistance will be called upon again.

Volunteers will prepare and paint the marker stakes and assist with distribution.

When the surrounding vegetation begins to grow again, sickles require sharpening and clearance work carried out. The work is physical and demanding, especially in a hot summer but so rewarding when you realise what has been achieved.

If you would like to volunteer for the Hedge Fund project, please register your interest with Conrad Evans at: Conrad.Evans@nationaltrust.je or call the Trust office on 483193

IN THE NEWS

Introducing...

THE TRUST WELCOMES TWO NEW RANGERS TO THE TEAM As a new year starts so does a new era for the Lands team as we say farewell to Rangers, Richard Rive and Will Kirby and introduce Jamie Russ and Daniel Kean.

Will joined the Trust in 2004 and was involved with many projects such as the restoration of Plémont and the early development of the Trust’s ever growing education programme. Richard Rive worked for the Trust for 5 years and brought a lot of knowledge and skill from his Aboricultural background as a tree surgeon. Richard has joined the Natural Environment’s Ranger team, where we are sure he will quickly become a valuable asset. The Trust wishes them both the best of luck for their futures.

Jamie Russ

Daniel Kean

Jamie was formerly a Life Guard for the RNLI and previously worked with the Lands Team on a voluntary basis for a period in 2017. Since that time Jamie has achieved his MSC in Island Biodiversity and Conservation from JICAS and Exeter University and developed his practical skills as a Landscaper in Australia. Jamie is also a keen surfer and has an interest in restorative and sustainable agriculture which he hopes to learn more about and develop through working for the Trust.

Daniel originally came to the Trust as a participant on the ‘Back to Work’ Scheme, where his enthusiasm and interest were instantly recognised.

'Kean,' as he is known to everyone, was later selected for a temporary Ranger Position in 2016 and quickly became a popular member of the Trusts' Staff. Since that time, Kean has worked as a Landscaper at Ecoscape Ltd, where he helped supervise the ‘Back to Work’ team for the Trust and Natural Environment team and then at Brian Blandin Ltd, where he gained experience and qualifications using plant machinery and securing a HGV licence. Kean has now returned to the Trust, where he feels he’s discovered his passion and motivation to make a meaningful difference in conservation.

EVENTS: focussing on members The Trust stages over 140 events per annum. These include education activities for schools, events for families, site specific activity at the Georgian House Museum and Le Moulin de Quétivel together with art and craft activities, walks, talks, workshops and larger Trust events and festivals over the course of the year largely at weekends and evenings.

The Trust works with a wide variety of experts to deliver this extensive programme and many of the events book up very quickly, especially some of the seasonal activities such as those delivered in the lead up to Christmas. As a result, some members’ are unable to enjoy the events, so in 2021, with the exception of community events such as Heritage Open Day and Black Butter, or where a sponsor requests a wider audience, regular events will be delivered to members only commencing from January 2021.

DISCOVER | 7

IN THE NEWS

Habitat Condition Assessment

Purple Dewplant Disphyma crassifolium, a non-native species that has invaded the saltmarsh habitat of the coastal strip opposite La Mare au Seigneur at the expense of native flora.

The Trusts ongoing programme of nature reserve monitoring continued in 2020, with condition assessments of key habitats being undertaken at sites including La Mare au Seigneur (St Ouen’s Pond). The results provide evidence that our current habitat management efforts are proving effective in supporting biodiversity at the monitored sites, but also highlight a number of issues to be addressed by future site management, such as the presence of undesirable invasive plant species.

A New Wildlife Sculpture on The Horizon It seems like yesterday when the Trust unveiled the willow Toad in Waterworks Valley, as the focal point of the newly created Toad Trail. Since then, hundreds if not thousands of people have enjoyed this educational walk through the valley, dotted with smaller sculptures and facts depicting the life cycle of the toad and its place in Jersey’s natural community.

give the Toad a memorable farewell, one fit for such a magnificent creature.

Seeing the joy and engagement that the Toad has brought to so many Islanders, the Trust is hoping to build a new willow sculpture featuring another iconic species of Jersey. Subject to obtaining planning permission, the sculpture will be placed in Plémont, by the restored land that was reclaimed from the old holiday camp.

As for the species chosen, it will be another charismatic member of Jersey’s wildlife, one which is found not far from Plémont itself. If you would like to take a guess, we can give you three clues: 1. Small but mighty, it can walk, fly, swim and dive down to 200 feet!

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the life of the sculpture has come to an end, as the elements have slowly eroded the willow, to the point where it is no longer safe for public enjoyment. The Trust is planning to

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2. It breeds underground, digging a burrow where it makes its nest.

3. It’s black and white, except for its very colourful beak, which can fit up to 62

sand eels at once, and which also glows in the dark under UV-lighting!

You probably have guessed what animal it is, but in any case we will only say, for now, that the sculpture will mark the starting point of the Seabird Trail, an educational route between the bays of Plémont and Grève de Lecq, and which will highlight the beauty and importance of the north coast and its wild inhabitants.

The sculpture will also serve as the focal point of a wider awareness plan by the Trust and the Birds On The Edge partnership, which aims to safeguard the future of many endangered seabirds in Jersey, and to provide them with a safe and suitable habitat where they can thrive.

Watch this space – we hope that it won’t be long until this most iconic character lands at its new home in Plémont.

Channel Island Flora This colourful book with excellent photographs created by the late environmentalist Pete Double will enable you to identify most of the wildflowers that spring up each year, and add interest to your walks.

Divided into sections according to habitat - Wetland, Woodland, Hedgerow and Farmland and Coastal areas, you will soon become familiar with the common names of our native flora and share your knowledge with family and friends.

Children will delight in learning the quirky names which roll off the tongue like poetry and take pride in knowing the difference between a celandine and a buttercup, such knowledge will last a lifetime.

A serious botanist will undoubtedly have a good field guide, but this is aimed at the beginner, or casual walker with enough curiosity to want to get closer to nature.

‘Pretty enough to keep on your coffee table, handy to keep in the car, the book is priced at £10 to include local P&P. A donation will be made for every book sold to the maintenance and management of the orchid fields at Le Noir Pré. For more information please call 483193.

DISCOVER | 9

D I S C O V E R | B E A U T I F UL J E RS EY

Beautiful Jersey from 1936 to 2021

W

hen those seven men met in The Deanery on 3rd August 1936, I wonder how they saw the Trust 85 years on?

The island was experiencing considerable development in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Spurred on by the railway links to Gorey in the East and to St Brelade and Corbière in the West, development was spreading outside the boundaries of Town. The attractive coastal strips of St Aubin’s Bay, St Clement and along to Gorey were snapped up for housing and ribbons of new development rolled out from Town in all directions and into the agricultural fields of St Helier’s surrounding parishes. Although the population of the island was about 51,000 people, there was a significant trend, at this time, of British immigration, with wealthy people attracted to Jersey, often to escape the hardships of The Great Depression of 1929-1932 as well as enjoying Jersey’s tax advantages. In addition, it was noted that “the motor car has made all parts of the Island readily accessible, thus removing one of the few advantages of living in town”. A report by the Trust in 1947 described how the Island was beginning to alter, “The results of this change were not generally foreseen and led to a piecemeal development quite uncontrolled and dependent on the whim of the individual, who in far too many cases considered nothing except his own immediate gain”. The conclusion was that “in a comparatively short time, the Island would be no more than an ill-planned suburb equally unattractive to both resident and visitor alike”.

A number of islanders began to be concerned about this uncontrolled development and so it was that the Dean of Jersey, the Very Reverend Samuel 10 | D I S C O V E R

Falle, chaired a meeting in the Deanery on 3rd August 1936 to discuss how best to protect the island and curb the growth in development. The weather that day had started off dull, but by the afternoon, there was some sunshine and the temperature was 18C (64F) – warm enough for a typical summer afternoon, boding well for the inauguration of the Trust.

That first meeting was attended by Mr. Carlyle Le Gallais, Dr. Graeme Bentlif, Deputy J M Belford, Mr. J A Perrée, Mr. A Harrison and Mr. E C Boeille. Unanimously, they decided to “form a Trust for the Preservation of the Natural Beauties of the Island of Jersey and to purchase and hold property for this purpose”. Shortly afterwards, the new society was named “The National Trust for Jersey”.

One spark that fanned the flame was the imminent development for speculative housing of an area of côtils woodland in Vallée des Vaux. The first Annual Report of the Trust noted that, in its first year of existence, Mr. Carlyle Le Gallais and Mrs. Le Gallais had purchased this same area of woodland in Vallée des Vaux for the Trust.

This was closely followed by a triangular plot of land known as Le Jardin de la Croix de la Bataille on Grouville Hill, donated by Capt. Renouf. The Vallée des Vaux gift was very generous – the sum paid was £650, at a time when you could purchase a Morris Minor or Austin 7 Tourer for about £100. Today, on a sunny Spring Sunday, walking up the peaceful Green Lane that is Vallée des Vaux today, there is the odd car going by, outnumbered by a handful of walkers, joggers and dogs, with the sound of the stream rushing down the valley the loudest sound you will hear…..

When the Trust published its annual report in 1947, despite the hiatus caused by the

BY ROBIN KELLY PROPERTIES MANAGER

Occupation, the list of land and buildings owned by the Trust had grown to include iconic places such as Le Rât, Morel Farm, Le Col de la Rocque, Le Saut Geoffroy and parts of Fern Valley and Queen’s Valley.

These acquisitions had come to the Trust via the generosity of private individuals or by purchase, a tradition which continues to this day.

From those small beginnings, the Trust has grown to encompass over 1,750 vergées of land, from fields to woodland and 30 properties, ranging from historic watermills to farmhouses.

However, the first property in the portfolio was Le Rât, acquired in October 1937, together with its adjoining land, for £200 (the equivalent of about £14,000 today). At that time, the Trust could only raise £100 of the purchase price and had to take out a mortgage for the balance. Over the years, Le Rât had passed through various tenancies and ownerships and by 1936, it was somewhat ruinous and derelict and was being used for keeping pigs! Repairs were carried out to make the house habitable and, in September 1940, Joe and Florence Allenet moved in, living there for over 50 years, whilst bringing up their family of three children. After the Allenets left, a major restoration was done in 1999 including structural repairs, such as dealing with damp ingress and timber decay, to make Le Rât ready for a new family. The refurbishment project deservedly won a Jersey Design Award in that year, a Civic Trust Award in 2001 and, subsequently, featured on the blue 2010 £5 note. Le Rât, in its quiet valley setting, is a true example of the Trust’s maxim in 1936, “for the acquisition and preservation of beauty-spots of Jersey”, remaining a jewel-box of a house 400 years after it was first built.

Taking our cue from the words of Philip Falle, who wrote in 1694, ‘Hereby a man being perfectly master of what he possesses builds substantially, and does many things for a lasting improvement, which one who holds only for a time has not encouragement to do’, over the years, the Trust has continued to secure a sustainable future for the buildings in its care. A small team of skilled craftsmen is responsible for the upkeep and repair of our properties and we seek to make the buildings not only wind and watertight, but also upgrade them so that they are energy and water efficient, using sheep’s wool insulation, rainwater harvesting, air source heat pumps and solar panels. The Trust’s work in this regard was recognised when Les Côtils Farm won the JEC Sustainability Award in 2016, the project being described by the judges as “an excellent example of how to bring the past successfully into the 21st Century”.

Le Rât on the £5 note in 2010

However, despite having been built to last, historic buildings cannot remain frozen in time, something the Trust is acutely aware of. Repairing and reusing existing buildings generally uses energy and material resources more efficiently and reduces waste. But the challenge of rescuing these buildings is not only physical but financial, with the Trust having a current repairs backlog of over £4m. So how best to blend the past with the future? The Trust is looking at ways to preserve through innovation – new uses for old buildings - but still ensuring that the important role these buildings have in creating a sense of place is not lost. Jersey’s historic buildings have a deep and engaging history – they are a bridge to the past and a path to the future, offering islanders the perfect opportunity to engage with their heritage and a cause that the Trust has had at its heart since 1936.

However, looking back to those early days of 1936, the Evening Post flagged up a problem which has not been resolved to this day – the recruitment of members. In 1937 the article mentioned the lack of support for the Trust’s causes, pointing out that out of fifty thousand Islanders, only two hundred and fifty had become members in the year after the Trust’s inauguration. Encouragingly, that percentage has increased from 1% to 3% over the last 85 years although we would be delighted to see an even higher percentage of Islanders supporting our cause. To quote from the Evening Post of 1937, “All lovers of Jersey who can afford the subscription ought to be members.”

In the Trust’s booklet, published in 1947, it was written, “Remember this is your Island, by inheritance or adoption, and man can mar beauty more quickly than nature can make it.

It’s up to you to do what you can.” This is as true now as it was then. We look forward to you joining us to continue to preserve “Man bieau p'tit Jèrri, la reine des îles”.

Vallée des Vaux 2021

Vallée des Vaux – commemorative stone

From The National Trust for Jersey Booklet 1947

Morel Farm

D I S C O V E R | 11

D I S C O V E R | B E A U T I F UL J E RS EY

Properties Timeline 1978

Gift of Le Don SparkeDavies, on the Trinity/St Helier border

1978 1965 - LA VALETTE

Gift of La Cotte Battery, St Brelade by Mrs Hope Dixon, subject to a life interest

1969

1980

La Vallette, St John. A 17th Century farmhouse bequeathed by Mr Philip Le Masurier

1937 - LE RÂT

Purchase of Le Rât, St Lawrence, for the sum of £200 from Mr Morley who was using the ground floor rooms as a pigsty

1930

Gift of Le Colombier du Manoir de Longueville by the Right Honourable Gerald Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey

1950

Purchase of Victoria Tower, St Martin

1970

1980

1975

1986

1975

1987

Bequest of The Elms, St Mary

by Mr Nicolle Perrée

Gift of La Caumine à Marie Best, also known as Le Don Hilton (The White House), St Peter by Mrs Marie Hilton

Bequest of Le Rivage, St Mary by Patricia Hoare, subject to life interests

Purchase of Hamptonne, St Lawrence, with match funding from the States of Jersey

1939 - MOREL FARM

Gift of Morel Farm, St Lawrence, by Mr Arthur Morel.

Surrounding land bequeathed by his daughter in 2004

1972

Purchase of Grève de Lecq Barracks in St Mary. Restored with funds from the bequest of Miss Amy Filleul

1973

Acquisition of a 99-year lease for La Moulin de Quétivel from Jersey Water 12 | D I S C O V E R

1987 - LA RONCE

Purchase of La Ronce, St Ouen, with assistance from Mrs Cynthia Rumboll

DISCOVER | THE ELMS

2012

2013

Bequest of Bellozanne Abbey and Courteenhall by Miss Adeline Mundy

Bequest of La Fevrerie, St Saviour, by Mrs Yvonne Genée

2015

Gift of 4, 5 and 6 Pitt Street (The Foot Buildings), St Helier from the Channel Islands Cooperative Society

1996 - LE MOULIN DE TESSON

Purchase of Le Moulin de Tesson using funds from the bequest of Miss Izette Croad

1988 - LOUVAIN AND SUMMERLEIGH

Bequest of two cottages, Louvain and Summerleigh, St Clement by Miss Claride Journeaux

1990

2003 - LES COTILS FARM

Bequest of Les Côtils Farm, St Helier, by Mr Donald Le Brun

2000

2010

2020

2000 - BROOK FARM

Bequest of Brook Farm, St Martin by Mr Edward Le Geyt

2000

2017 - LES FRÈRES CHAPELS

Purchase of Les Frères Chapels, St John, with the assistance of a loan from The Roy Overland Charitable Trust

Bequest of Maupertuis Farm, St Clement, by Mr John Perchard, subject to life interests and the farm continuing to be a working dairy farm

2003

Gift of 16 New Street, St Helier, by the Merchant Retail Group.

Restored with funds from the bequest of Mrs Molly Houston

2004 - SOUS LES BOIS

Gift of Sous Les Bois, Trinity, by Mr Philip Larbalastier

D I S C O V E R | 13

Discover the world of

‘WATERWORKS’ VALLEY

K

nown colloquially as Waterworks Valley, this rural verdant landscape and watery meadows and woodland slopes is in fact St. Lawrence Valley. The stream emerges at Millbrook dividing St Lawrence from St Helier where it crosses the road, eventually running onto the beach.

The first reservoir was constructed at Millbrook in 1896 followed by the dam at Dannemarche in 1909 and finally Handois (pumping station) in 1932 to meet the growing needs of the urban population.

It is a surprise to find the white building of the pumping station is such a hidden location, on the site of the old china clay quarries All along the stream the old watermills are still remembered - the Sugar Mill at Ruelle St Clair; the ruined remains of Vicart; the mill at Dannemarche - once known as the Moulin des Ecoliers, or Scholars’ Mill, which provided funds for boys to be educated has disappeared. Further up the valley was Le Moulin de la Haye (used as a paper mill), and at Mont Gavey stands the ‘King’s Mill’ also known as Quetivel, the name of a miller, from times past.

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Many of these date from medieval times and traces can be seen of the sluices that once controlled the water running from pond to pond, driving one mill after another.

Jersey Water has opened up public areas, and The National Trust for Jersey has created a woodland path below Hamptonne, following the old mill leat.

Alongside the meadow you can see the roadside wall built by local men during the Occupation, work that enabled them to avoid having to work for the Germans.

It is over 20 years since a team of Parish volunteers created the Millennium Footpath, improving the old millers’ paths and building bridges across the stream. The path is in several sections and weaves from side to side of the valley and crosses the road alongside low-lying meadows, and climbs to the heights overlooking the tree-tops. It is easily discovered, but may be muddy in places after a spell of wet weather!

In terms of woodland The Jersey Tree Council and Trees for Life (Jersey) have added native species to those naturally occurring. The woodland habitat provides a home to red squirrels and a variety of birds, as well as smaller creatures, mostly nocturnal. High up in the trees you may see owl and bat boxes, offering a refuge. Ground flora includes snowdrops early in the year which give way to primroses and wild narcissus; foxgloves and figwort grow tall and lush vegetation fills the meadows. Numerous insects and butterflies including dragonflies enjoy basking in warm sun on the sweet vegetation including by the waterside. Children will be enchanted by it all - after all no one can resist the delight of running water!

The valley paths offer ideal walking sheltered when it is windy, and shady on hot summer days, with many opportunities for circular walks.

There is limited parking in the valley floor but if you are feeling brave you can park near St Lawrence Church and, with care, descend Mont Misère opposite the Parish Hall.

NEW SPRING WALKING FESTIVAL

Walking Through Springtime The Trust has joined forces with Jersey Water in 2021 and is staging a new walking festival celebrating the wonders of springtime from Wednesday 14 to Sunday 18 April.

The Trust is also creating a series of regular guided walks throughout the year which started with a Valentine’s Day walk looking at the myth, magic and folklore of flowers especially those associated with love and romance with local Botanist, Tina Hull.

Water said: “We are delighted to be able to support the Natural Trust’s Walking Programme as our two organisations’ values are very much aligned. We share a purpose to look after the Island and protect the landscapes we all love. Water is at the heart of island life; our reservoirs are not only critical for supplying water but have been much needed beautiful open spaces for people to enjoy throughout the pandemic. We have introduced a one-way system around each reservoir to ensure visitors can enjoy them safely.

Generously sponsored by Jersey Water, the spring and autumn festivals and the guided walks offer perfect opportunities to enjoy the very best of the Island on foot.

Jersey Water are proud to partner with the National Trust, having a positive impact on the environment and the Island community we serve.”

Helier Smith, Chief Executive at Jersey

The pandemic underlined the value of the

natural environment and its importance to people’s sense of health and wellbeing.

A series of one hour and longer selfguided trails were created on the Trust’s online Activity Hub as part of the initial lockdown and over 3,000 islanders seized the opportunity to access these trails and get out and about and explore the island.

The Trust is fortunate to care for many beautiful natural spaces and what sets it’s walking apart from the sheer diversity and beauty of the lands and sites it manages is also the opportunity to access places not normally available to the public during these seasonal walking festivals.

D I S C O V E R | 15

D I S C O V E R | M E M B E R S HIP

Membership Campaign T

he Trust is currently conducting an on-line membership campaign with the aim of doubling its membership to 6,000 and, in an ideal world, growing numbers far higher than that.

The Trust needs to increase membership for many reasons. One reason, like all other self-funding organisations, is to grow our income but more important is the fact that the more members we have, the ‘louder’ our voice. As a campaigning organisation it is all about critical mass.

The more people who support us, the greater credibility and ‘people power’ we have when trying to influence change.

Over the past few years, the Trust has been able to save Plémont from development, been pivotal in gaining greater protection of our coastline through actions such as the ‘Line in the Sand’ event and prevented the ‘Foot’ buildings in Pitt Street from being

16 | D I S C O V E R

demolished all with the help and support of islanders, both young and old. But there is so much more that we can and need to do - from halting the extraction of sand from duneland, the continuing demolition of historical buildings and the protection of much needed and increasingly threatened open space.

What has inspired the Membership campaign is that although people enjoy our sites, footpaths and events, such as the well-attended Sunset Concerts, we struggle to convert that interest and enjoyment into new memberships.

What would walkers, cyclists and nature lovers enjoy without the Trust and all the wonderful and beautiful natural spaces that we look after?

We are absolutely aware of the value that people place on the local environment, especially during the last year and confirmed from data collected in a recent survey. We know that over 3,000

people downloaded walking trails from our website at the beginning of 2020.

However, what is overlooked is the crucial link between habitat protection and safeguarding our wildlife. Without increased members, the Trust will struggle to continue to plant trees and hedges, maintain our woodlands, heathlands and other habitats all of which provide a home for our wonderful wildlife.

What can you do to help? Please help us to spread the word about what we do.

Recruit a member or buy someone you care for a gift membership. Your support will be truly appreciated, The adverts used in the campaign look at nature and wildlife, our coastline and countryside and our built environment.

Each advert illustrates problems but also highlights the solutions – we want to make a difference. We care – do you?

Please join us now.

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D I S C O V E R | 17

D I S C O V E R | L A N D A CQU IS IT ION

Land Guardians OVER THE PAST 85 YEARS

BY JON PARKES LANDS MANAGER

“If you do not own a beauty spot which you can give to the Trust, see if you can buy one; if you do own a beauty spot and do not wish to part with it immediately reserve a life interest…if you know of anyone who owns cliff land get them interested in the Trust.” Annual Report 1946 Unfortunately the need to protect Jersey's landscape seems even more prevalent today than it even did just after the Second World War, in light of climate change and scale of biodiversity loss the world now faces. The good news though, is that the Trust’s vision of permanently protecting areas of outstanding natural beauty and ecological importance has never waned and indeed has gained momentum. From its first gift of land in Vallée des Vaux, the National Trust for Jersey’s landholdings have steadily grown due to the generosity and support of Islanders.

still allowing areas for wildlife to thrive, will always present challenges The island’s recent experience under Covid-19 lockdown reminded us all of the true value of our unique and varied countryside and coast. Many of us were reminded of the ability to find solace in nature and perhaps even find wonder in things and places that were just in front of us, but we hadn’t noticed before, as we rushed around within the bubble of our ‘normal’ lives.

Looking to the future, and the pressures and challenges that face a small island with an ever-growing population, the Trust is determined to continue the work started by its founders by further consolidating existing holdings as well as safeguarding more of Jersey’s remaining unspoilt coastline. The Island’s landscape and natural beauty is its greatest asset and the Trust has a duty to try and ensure that this generation does not exploit it to the detriment of those who will follow.

Some of the areas of land gifted to the Trust over the last 85 years: 1937: Le Don Le Gallais, a wooded côtil gifted by Mr and Mrs Carlyle Le Gallais

2012 Le Don Hodges at Le Mourier

The Trust now permanently safeguards more than 178 areas of natural beauty, amounting to approximately 2.5% of the Island’s land mass. These sites include a vast array of important habitats, ranging from meadows and wetland; to woodlands, orchards, heath, dune grassland, farmland and coastline.

So often our landscape is subject to conflicting demands but wherever possible the Trust seeks to strike a balance which is both sustainable and practical - such as the grazing project at Le Don Paton on the north coast. But maintaining a balance that allows safe public access into so many much loved places, while

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1938: Le Grand Côtil de la Côte Pallot.

An area of dense and mature woodland above Le Scez Harbour which is covered with blankets of daffodil and bluebells in spring. It was acquired for £300 through an appeal in the Evening Post for public subscription.

1938: Geoffrey’s Leap was acquired for the sum of £300, again through an appeal in the Evening Post.

Badin Powis.

1966: La Grande Thiebault and La Petite Thiebault donated by Miss Margaret Le Cornu in memory of her uncle.

1975: La Mare au Seigneur (St Ouen’s Pond). Purchased with funds donated by the Benjamin Meaker Charities Trust.

1975 - St Ouens Pond

1979: Four areas of land in St Saviour bequeathed to the Trust by Miss Sybil Perrée 1979: Les Maltieres wetlands, Grouville.

Purchased with funds donated by the Benjamin Meaker Charities Trust 1980: Le Mont St Nicholas, St Martin.

Donated by Dr Roger Pilkington 1995: Le Don Paton, St John. Situated on Jersey’s spectacular north coast this area was donated by Sir Angus Paton, and is now managed with the assistance of the flock of Manx Loaghtan sheep.

1998: White Rock, Rozel. Bequeathed by Miss Dora Foot.

2004: Land at La Coupe gifted by Mrs Syliva Biggar.

1946: Le Col de la Rocque. Donated

by Oliver Mourant in memory of his wife, this extensive tract of coastal and agricultural land includes L’Ile Agois, which was home to a hermitage in the 8th and 9th centuries.

2006: Creux du Vis headland, Devil’s Hole.

This generous donation by the Clarke family marked the start of the Trust’s Coastline Campaign to safeguard the Island’s coastline for future generations.

1956: Côtil de Tesson. Donated by Muriel Powis in memory of her husband, Harry

2011: Le Don Sinkins. Thirty vergées of land adjacent to the Trust property,

2014 - Plémont

Hamptonne Country Life Museum.

Purchased from Jersey Water in memory of the late Richard Sinkins by his wife, Gladys, and daughter, Veronica. This land further consolidated the Trust’s holdings in Waterworks Valley and presented an exciting opportunity to create a woodland trail which later featured the popular willow “Crapaud”.

2014: Plémont. After years of campaigning the Trust, with generous assistance of benefactors and the States of Jersey, finally acquire Plémont Headland, preventing a housing estate from being constructed on the scenic part of the coast.

1966 - La Grande Thiebault

2018: Pine Walk at St Catherine’s.

The Trust purchase 11.22 vergèes of coastal agricultural land bordered by landmark pine trees with assistance of a private benefactor.

2019: Le Don Crookston – Grouville Marsh. The Trust secures a further 26 vergées within Grouville Marsh thanks to the generous support of a number of benefactors, including The Andrew Crookston Settlement Fund, who the site will be named after. This latest acquisition increases the Trust’s holdings to 38 vergées and also encompasses valuable grazed wet grassland and agricultural fields.

1998 - White Rock

2020: Le Don Bazire. Mrs Margaret Bazire gifts two strips of coastal land in St Ouen’s Bay amounting to just over 4.3 vergées. At the same time the Trust was approached by a private land owner, who wished to dispose of a small strip of coastal dune land amounting to around a vergée and located adjacent to “Barge Aground”.

1995 - Le Don Paton

2011 - Le Don Sinkins

D I S C O V E R | 19

D I S C O V E R | P U F F I NS

Orchards...

P

RODUCING bumper crops of fruit and wildlife, orchards provide an example of how agriculture and nature need not be in conflict.

WHAT IS AN ORCHARD? An orchard is an area of trees planted to provide a crop, typically fruit such as apples. The trees, which are long-lived and actively managed, grow amongst grassland containing wildflowers, while a perimeter consisting of raised earth banks and hedgerows provide the trees much needed protection from the prevailing winds.

HISTORY Grown throughout the world’s temperate regions, the history of the domesticated apple Malus domestica is deeply intertwined with that of humanity.

Recent genetic studies established that the apple varieties grown in orchards today are in fact hybrids of several wild apple species, with early Silk Road traders thought to be responsible for bringing the original ancestral trees together, thereby facilitating their hybridisation. Such

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hybrids often produce larger fruits, a trait that humans subsequently endeavoured to fix in place through grafting and planting cuttings of the larger fruiting trees. Upon reaching the Mediterranean, these hybrid varieties were enthusiastically grown by the Greeks and Romans, the latter subsequently introducing them to France and Britain.

By the mid-16th century cider apple orchards began to replace corn as Jersey’s major cultivated crop, a change that had a dramatic effect on Jersey’s landscape and economy. The huge potential for profit encouraged the establishment of a vast number of new cider apple orchards, and by the late 17th century orchards occupied a quarter of all arable land in the Island. Cider production escalated rapidly, with annual exports during the late 18th and early 19th centuries averaging between 65,000 to 150,000 gallons which, at the time, constituted Jersey’s biggest export. While that might sound like a lot, it is estimated that exports represented just one-tenth of the actual amount of cider produced on the Island’s farms, highlighting ciders local popularity at the time.

BY JON RAULT

CONSERVATION OFFICER

(Above) Harvesting apples for cider making.

Photo credit: Société Jersiaise

From the 1850’s onwards the Island’s cider industry began to decline and many orchards were felled so that the land could be used for growing potatoes.

“

I do not think there is a country in the World that, in the same extent of ground, produces so much cider as Jersey does… Nor is there better, larger and more generous fruit than what grows in this Island.

”

Philip Falle, 1692

D I S C O V E R | O R CHAR D S

WILDLIFE IN ORCHARDS While orchards are primarily planted in order to provide a crop, the mosaic of trees, grassland, raised earth banks and hedgerows means that apple orchards also provide habitat and resources for a diverse range of wildlife. It is therefore appropriate to consider orchards as ecosystems as much as farms.

Because fruit trees age relatively quickly, before too long the lichen covered trees begin to provide veteran features, such as rot holes, split bark and hollow trunks.

Such features provide the deadwood habitats needed by many species of fungi, invertebrates and birds.

During the spring fruit trees such as apples burst in to blossom, providing pollinating insects with a much loved source of pollen and nectar. This ready supply of insect food is further supplemented over the spring and summer months by the wildflowers growing in the grassland and the trees and shrubs growing in the hedgerows around the perimeter. The pollinators in turn provide the pollination service the apple trees require in order to produce a large yield of fruit.

The banquet of invertebrates and, later in the year, fallen fruit, attracts a diverse range of birds. These include familiar species such as Blue Tit, Great Tit and Robin, all of which can be seen foraging for insects to feed to their young during the spring and summer months.

Other birds that can be encountered at various times of the year include Swallow, Bullfinch, Redstart, and several species of thrush such as Song Thrush, Starling, Redwing and Fieldfare. Orchard habitats are also much loved by mammals such as the Jersey Bank Vole, Hedgehog and several species of Bat.

CONSERVATION The main threat to orchards across the world are shifting economic forces driving the grubbing up of orchards to enable other more lucrative crops to be grown on the land. This occurred in Jersey from the 1850’s onwards, when many orchards were felled to make way for growing potatoes. The great storm of 1987 destroyed many of the surviving orchard trees, while those that remain today continue to be threatened by neglect and disease.

As potatoes superseded the cider apple as Jersey’s main crop, many ancient varieties of Jersey cider apple were pushed to the brink of extinction. In response, during the 1970’s work began to conserve those varieties that remained, culminating in the formation of the Jersey Cider Orchard Trust. As a result of this valuable work, Jersey’s remaining cider apple varieties are now safeguarded and cared for by the National Trust for Jersey’s Lands team in orchards at The Elms, Trinity Orchard, Les Côtils Farm, and the recently planted orchard at Bellozanne Abbey. Every October the apples from these orchards are harvested

The mosaic of fruit trees, grassland, raised earth banks and hedgerows provided by orchards supports a diverse range of wildlife. to produce cider and black butter using traditional methods.

Sensitive orchard management undertaken by the Trust’s Lands team includes careful pruning, allowing existing trees to age naturally, planting replacement trees to ensure continuity, removal and disposal of wood infected with an identified disease, as well as hedgerow and grassland management.

By protecting and properly managing our remaining orchards, and planting more of them, we can ensure that this hugely successful sharing arrangement between people and wildlife has a continued presence in Jersey’s countryside.

Orchards simultaneously produce bumper crops of fruit and wildlife.

D I S C O V E R | 21

D I S C O V E R | B L O S S O M WAT CH

Blossom Watch FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART

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T

REES are vital because as the largest plants on earth they give us oxygen, store carbon and provide shelter and food for the Island’s wildlife. But when you are out and about, have you ever wondered why some trees in your park or garden are covered with blossom and others are covered with nothing at all?

As nature awakens, most of us love the eruption in spring when splashes of colour liven up the view from our windows. Blossom is a lifesaver for bees and insects just coming out of hibernation. But why do trees produce blossom?

Trees produce showy flowers to attract pollinators (mostly insects) so that seeds and fruit can be produced. Some trees such as oak and ash are pollinated by the wind, so they do not need such large showy flowers as their pollen is spread on the wind. Others such as cherry are pollinated by insects – mainly honeybees, but also bumblebees and solitary bees – so they need extra special flowers to attract and guide the bees to their tempting nectar.

If you live in the countryside, you might be lucky enough to walk or cycle along the green lanes and discover blossom in the hedgerows.

One of the earliest plants to blossom in Jersey is the blackthorn tree, which has billowing clouds of snow-white flowers in early spring that form into rich, inky, dark fruits called sloes.

An eagerly expected sight at the National Trust’s headquarters in St Mary is the blossoming of the cider apple orchard, which bursts into bloom at the beginning of May. 300 years ago, a quarter of all arable land in Jersey was occupied by cider orchards. Imagine how much blossom there must have been back then.

This spring, see how many blossom trees you can spot in your neighbourhood. Why not capture a photo of your favourite tree and create a finger-printed blossom card?

HOW TO MAKE A FINGER-PRINTED BLOSSOM CARD

This image of a blue tit resting on a twig of cherry blossom was taken by John Ovenden, the Trust’s Joiner, in the Walled Garden at The Elms in St Mary.

1

Paint the background of your card and leave it to dry.

2

Paint the trunk of your tree, giving it lots of tentacle-like branches and leave it to dry.

3

Dab the tip of your finger into some white or pink paint and create lots of individual blossoms on your card. Use two or three different shades for a really special effect.

4

Leave the card to dry and then write your message inside. For ideas and inspiration, search for ‘finger-printed cherry blossom card’ on the internet.

D I S C O V E R | 23

EN LA I NREB ON C AMNPEAIG N D I SJCOOYV|E CRO |A SATC U T RAL FARM

Jersey Hemp A Carbon Neutral Farm

Dave Ryan, CEO of Jersey Hemp, talks to 'Discover' about his ambition for a carbon neutral farm.

environmental impact from having a building better than carbon neutral this also excited us).

Jersey Hemp was founded by three local firefighters when they came across a building material called ‘Hempcrete’.

Jersey Hemp has been growing hemp in Jersey under license now for four years and has been based at Warwick Farm since 2018.

This new and environmental building material has many wonderful benefits when used in the construction industry.

The two benefits that stood out were:

Jersey Hemp is the first and only fully vertical hemp & CBD company in the UK, growing and producing our own products.

1.

We have 11 full time staff, from growers to scientists.

WHO ARE YOU?

2.

The fact that walls and surfaces made from hempcrete are fireproof and will not contribute to the spread of toxic smoke or flame (this obviously sparked our interest!).

When hemp is growing in the fields, it is great at sequestrating Co2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the storks and biomass of the plant.

When you use the stork material in hempcrete and mix it with lime and water, this process locks in the Co2 within the structure of the walls.

Over time, the walls get stronger and continue to sequester Co2 in this process (with the positive

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Farming is under soil association organic certification but we are developing and practising regenerative farming (beyond organic).

WHAT IS CBD? Cannabidiol is a popular natural remedy used for many common ailments.

Better known as CBD, it is one of over 100 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids found in the cannabis or marijuana plant, Cannabis sativa.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in

cannabis, and causes the sensation of getting “high” that’s often associated with marijuana. However, unlike THC, CBD is not psychoactive.

This quality makes CBD an appealing option for those who are looking for relief from pain and other symptoms without the mind-altering effects of marijuana or certain pharmaceutical drugs.

CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.

It’s gaining momentum in the health and wellness world, with some scientific studies confirming it may ease symptoms of ailments like chronic pain and anxiety.

WHY HAS HEMP COME BACK ONTO THE SCENE? Hemp could be a potential solution to so many of the world's and Island's problems that we are facing in today's climate. The ambition in Jersey is to be carbon neutral by 2030! Hemp can help across all sectors of industry from the moment hemp is planted in the ground to the multitude of end products it can be made into.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HEMP ONCE IT IS HARVESTED? Seeds: Jersey Hemp grow, harvest and process large amounts of hemp seed for the oil. The oil acts as the carrier for our CBD. The two elements combine to produce our Premium Jersey Hemp CBD oil. When we filter the raw hemp seed oil, we collect the sediment from the oil which is called mud. This mud is used in the cosmetics industry. Jersey Hemp is developing a range of branded topical products which we hope will be available soon. From the process of cold pressing the hemp seed we get the ‘meat’ of the seed, called cake, which is finely milled to produce a hemp protein powder. We also collect the roughage from this process which can be used for high protein cattle and animal feeds

Fibre: Fibre production and using the storks for the many different applications they can be used for, was what first interested the founders of Jersey Hemp.

However, we quickly realised that the infrastructure and demand in Jersey at the time was not there. An additional problem was the sheer volume of hemp

that needs to be grown to have a vibrant fibre industry. We decided that growing hemp for fibre was not a feasible business at that point in time!

Flower: Jersey Hemp began to grow, harvest and process large amounts of hemp flower. The flower is where most of the cannabinoids are found and where we get our CBD from. The CBD and other related cannabinoids are extracted from the flower by our team of scientists at our laboratory at Warwick Farm.

Waste: The great thing about hemp is that you can use every part of the plant and there is very little waste. As mentioned earlier, the by-product that is produced by one process can be used for another application. Thereafter, any residual waste will find its way back into the production process by being mixed into the biologically complete compost we produce at Warwick Farm. The compost being utilised in our fields, poly tunnels and greenhouses.

WHY ORGANIC? It is good for the environment and customers demand the best

WHAT’S A CARBON FARM? A carbon farm employs regenerative agricultural methods that results in atmospheric carbon dioxide (Co2) being captured and sequestered into the soil – where it is an agricultural asset.

The main principles of regenerative agriculture, as endorsed by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, are: ● Minimise soil disruption – i.e. ploughing ● Keep soil covered with plants/cover crops ● Plant diverse crops ● Keep a living root in the soil ● Adopt planned grazing of herbivores The above should be conducted with minimal or, ideally, no use of synthetic chemicals.

D I S C O V E R | 25

D I S C O V E R | G E NE R A T ION G RE T A

n o i t a r e n e g

a t e r g

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C

OINED by the Guardian newspaper in 2019, ‘Generation Greta’ refers to a rising number of young climate activists voicing their concerns about Climate Change and urging governments to do more to prevent it and protect their futures.

Inspired by the 2018 school strike by the then 15 year-old Greta Thunberg, large numbers of children have since been walking out of class and demanding action, and the world is starting to take notice.With nearly half of the world’s population aged less than 25 years-old, these youth movements are increasing exponentially, as more media attention draws additional young people to the cause. Climate change has become highly politicised in the adult forums, however children are able to cut through this noise.

Holding the moral high ground, millions of children have come of age watching ice sheets melt and many have personally been affected by the effects of climate change.

Fridays for Future, a movement created

by Greta, coordinates regular strikes and protests. The largest of which, in September 2019, was attended by 3.7m participants across 2,200 cities in 153 countries. A 2019 study by sociologist Dana Fisher found that a quarter of those that participated were less than 17 yearsold and a further quarter aged 17-18.

Moreover, their message is not just about saving polar bears, it is about the vulnerable people on Earth. For example, in a landmark case, six Portuguese children, the youngest being eight yearsold, are currently suing 33 countries through the European Court of Human Rights, due to their lack of action to tackle climate change. This crowd-funded campaign was started three years ago, in response to the death of 120 people in Portuguese forest fires and the hottest summer in 90 years. The 33 countries had until February 2021 to respond with meaningful changes. Like many others their age, the six claimants wish that they could focus on their hobbies and schoolwork, but are scared by the impact of climate change. They don’t understand why ‘the people that are supposed to be protecting us are letting this happen’.

The increasing urgency of these protests reflects the narrow window that remains.

By the time most of today’s children are in their 80’s, they will see the realisation of the 2100 climate change scenarios projected by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). By this point, the world could be 4˚ C hotter than preindustrial times if we do not make drastic

changes to global emissions within the next 10 years.

Fortunately, Governments are starting to listen. In 2018, the UN’s report on the rights of children and the environment to the Human Rights Council recommended that States should (among other things) ensure that educational programmes increase children’s understanding and strengthen their capacity, and that children’s participation in environmental decision-making is facilitated.

Which is where YUNGA (Youth and United Nations Global Alliance) comes in. Formed as a partnership between UN agencies and other entities that work with children and young people, YUNGA acts as a gateway for children and youth to participate in UN activities and initiatives.

One such initiative is the Challenge Badge programme, which we at the National Trust are proud to introduce to Jersey.

The programme has been developed to raise awareness, educate and motivate young people to change their behaviour and become active agents of change in their local communities; it has been successfully completed by thousands of groups in over 100 countries all over the world.

“

Environmental and social education and awareness has never been so high but often this is not converted into action. The YUNGA programme is intended to give the tools and know-how to young people to take action in their contexts. Research shows that instilling environmental and social awareness at a young age is the best way to protect the environment.

One such Challenge Badge is the Biodiversity challenge badge, a beautifully designed cloth badge that children will receive upon completion of a variety of activities. These include exploring the biodiversity in their local areas, the creation of displays to inform other children, construction of homes for animals and looking at how they can change theirs and encourage their families to change their behaviour to protect biodiversity.

We are honoured to be receiving support from the FAO in launching and running this programme, and excited to be able to empower local children and young people to make a difference and join their peers on the global stage.

More information on how to get involved will be featured on our website and in the media ahead of the Easter ‘Power Rangers’ launch.

Tuesday 6th April

POWER RANGERS

This exciting initiative will provide our young members (aged 6-16) the opportunity to be the first group in the Channel Islands to join their peers in this official global environmental programme offered by YUNGA (Young United Nations Global Alliance). Facilitated by our Education Officers and other members of the National Trust team they will learn about environmental issues, undertake exciting challenges, and earn internationally recognised badges and certificates.

The first meeting of the Power Rangers will be held during the Easter Holidays, where participants will receive further information, have the opportunity to meet their new team and find out about the first of the badges they will be working towards.

”

REUBEN SESSA, YUNGA COORDINATOR Young people have a unique perspective and are natural communicators, therefore YUNGA believes they only require empowerment. This is also a belief which underpins the "We Have the Power" programme co-created by The National Trust for Jersey and Jersey Electricity. Under this programme, we are launching the ‘Power Rangers’ during the Easter holidays. This exciting young environmentalists club for 6 to 16 year-olds will meet regularly to discuss members’ concerns about Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss and work towards their YUNGA Challenge Badges.

If you are aged between 6 and 16 yearsold and would like to join other local young people in the global fight to help save our planet, then why not come along to Quétivel Mill and find out about the Power Rangers.

Meeting Point: Main ‘base’ – the Climate Hub at Le Moulin de Quétivel Time: 10.00 – 12:00 noon Price: Free for Members D I S C O V E R | 27

D I S C O V E R | W E H A V E T HE P OWE R

! r e w o P e h We have t The team from Jersey Electricity with Trust staff

I

N 2020, Jersey Electricity and The National Trust for Jersey joined forces to launch a three-year education programme under the banner ‘We Have the Power’. This focuses on developing an awareness of the causes and impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, whilst inspiring children and their families to make a positive impact on the environment.

As part of the new programme, the National Trust for Jersey has been working with Jersey Electricity to create a 'Climate Hub' at Le Moulin de Quétivel.

The ‘Climate Hub’ is an exhibition and learning centre from which the ‘We Have the Power' programme will serve as a venue for staging school and holiday educational activities.

The new exhibition features two floors of informative displays on climate change, and on two iconic local species;

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bats and red squirrels, that reside in the nearby woodlands. Most importantly, the exhibitions provide simple take-away actions that visitors can do in order to help curb climate change and conserve our wonderful local wildlife.

Jersey Electricity has further enhanced the display by installing a 1,000 watt generator which converts the energy created by the waterwheel into electricity.

This powers a state-of-the-art interactive video and lighting display. The main video is presented by Jersey Electricity’s summer intern Ryan Bianchi, who led the innovative generator project. In it, he explains how large-scale hydro power already generates one-third of Jersey’s low-carbon electricity supply and how the Mill’s own generator harnesses the power of the waterwheel. The video display also features footage from our ‘Squirrel Cam’ that was installed in the nearby woods as well as bat calls and a video on local bat species, kindly provided by the Jersey Bat Group.

This new exhibition means that, not only does Quétivel Mill house Jersey’s only working watermill, it is also now the home of the first local hydro generator.

Moreover, by refreshing the existing living mill museum exhibition, the Trust has fused the history and future of this fantastic renewable energy source.

Families will have the opportunity to explore the ‘Climate Hub’ whilst participating in a number of exciting events to be staged there this year; and schools can take advantage of this new learning centre and activities offered by the Trust by contacting our Senior Education Officer, Erin Cowham.

D I S C O V E R | 29

Spotlight on

s r e b m e M l i c n u o New C Alec Le Sueur I grew up in St Ouen in the 1960s and 70’s when much of St Ouen’s Bay was considered a ‘wasteland’ by the politicians of the time, with rubbish dumps stretching along disused sandpits from the foothills of the bay to the five mile road. With a family background of pioneering conservationists (my late mother was the botanist Frances Le Sueur, and late father, architect Dick Le Sueur, a former President of The National Trust for Jersey) it was inevitable that both my brother and I would grow up with a keen interest in the natural environment.

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I was a joint winner of the first Roderick Dobson Award for ‘original field research in the Channel Islands’ in 1981 and soon after left Jersey for a degree course in hotel management at what is now Bournemouth University. I used these studies to travel, and worked in hotels in London, Paris, St Tropez, and China and most notably in Tibet where I spent five years before returning to Jersey.

While living in Tibet, I undertook the International Wildfowl Research Bureau counts of ducks overwintering on Lake Yamdrok and became a co-author of a paper on the birds of Lhasa published in the Journal of Asian Ornithology. I have subsequently written two best-selling travel books, on Tibet and Belgium, and I am a member of the Society of Authors.

Returning to Jersey in 1993, I joined Jersey Tourism, promoting the Island to European markets, before making a career change in 2000 to work in management and strategy positions in the field of law. I now have an MBA in Legal Practice Management from Nottingham Law School and hold the IoD certificate and diploma in Company Direction.

I am looking forward to bringing my professional experience to the council, together with my passion for Jersey’s natural environment.

S P O T L I G H T O N | NEW COUNC IL MEMB ER S

Jonathan Renouf For the last 20 years, I’ve been a television producer making science documentaries for the BBC, including series such as “Wonders of the Universe”, “How Earth made us” and “The Sky at Night”. I also made many programmes about climate change, including “Climate Wars”, “Climate Change by Numbers” and “The Truth about Climate Change”. Before my move into Science film making I was a producer on “Newsnight”. However, in 2019 I left the BBC, travelled around the world with my family, and then moved back to Jersey.

One of my ambitions on returning to the island was to become involved in

I have been interested in nature conservation and human rights issues since I was a small boy. After travelling widely and working in a variety of jobs, I returned to the UK to take a Degree in Botany, before coming back to Jersey, where I have been working for the Government of Jersey for over 20 years.

protecting the environment. So it feels like a great privilege to join the council of The National Trust for Jersey, particularly at such a pivotal moment. Rising population and the insatiable demand for housing (along with associated development) mean that the island’s environment and heritage are under threat as never before.

I hope that over the next few years the Trust can become a significantly more powerful campaigning voice to champion the environment and our Jersey heritage.

The climate emergency, Covid and XR (Extinction Rebellion) have all helped raise awareness of the urgent need to protect the natural environment upon which we all ultimately depend. There is an opportunity for the Trust to capitalise

on these social trends and show real leadership on environmental issues.

Two specific areas in which I’d like to see progress are a greater diversity in the Trust’s membership, so that it more accurately reflects the island’s population, and a more consistent, visible and attention grabbing presence on social media.

I grew up in Jersey, and spent much of my youth on the beach, climbing cliffs and exploring caves. It feels like now more than ever we need The National Trust for Jersey to ensure that succeeding generations have the same opportunities I had as a youngster.

John Pinel

Starting as Countryside Manager, I built up a land management programme in which over 5% of the island was conserved as wildlife reserves. My last 10 years were spent in the role of Principal Ecologist in the Environment Department, working on a variety of projects from conserving rare species to implementing the island's responsibilities to our international conservation commitments.

I am now self-employed and currently focussed on the dual issues of climate change and the catastrophic biodiversity crisis which are affecting all of our lives so deeply.I am happiest outdoors enjoying the beauty of our island home and working to ensure that those of us alive today leave a planet that future generations can enjoy as much as we do.

D I S C O V E R | 31

E N J O Y | I N T H E S P O T LIG HT

Fiona BOLDER Cassels-Brown

I was very keen to serve on the Council of The National Trust, and was delighted to be elected at the end of last year at the Annual General Meeting.

I have over 25 years’ experience in education, with experience in change projects with responsibility for increased social impact, overseeing diversity and inclusion. In particular, I enjoy making education accessible to all, and weaving an awe for our world into my teaching, sowing the seeds of a curiosity to explore and to participate in our community. A love for history, nature, and a desire to preserve it, form part of my DNA. I am an active member of the local community and a keen scuba-diver. I care deeply for our historic and outdoor environment and was brought up in 32 | D I S C O V E R

a household that was involved in the National Trust in the UK, and the Cayman Islands.

I support cultural and historic events and I am a keen advocate of sustainability and accessibility of the natural environment of Jersey. I was an early member of SCOOP, our sustainable cooperative.

I volunteer with Conservation Volunteers, Pollinator Patch, Jersey Alzheimer's Association, Every Child Our Future and the newly set up Move More Accessible Cycling Centre.

Over the course of the pandemic, it's become clear just how much we need fresh air, open space and the natural environment. In Jersey, we are blessed with these and I deeply want to be part

of creating a sustainable future for the Trust, and our island.

I agree with Stewart Newton's quest for the Trust to take a causal direction and purpose. I believe the objectives of the Trust can gain inspiration from global causes including the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, to name two that I am passionate about. The former has a fabulous Young Ambassador programme which is so inspiring. In a similar way, I would like to make the Trust more appealing and relevant to real time, relevant causes. Children, young people & adults are keen to be involved, to be proactive and be responsible, active global citizens, and the Trust can become a channel for these aspirations.

E N J O Y | AGM

A VERY DIFFERENT

The Annual General Meeting took place on 25th September 2020 having been postponed as a result of the pandemic from its usual ‘slot’ in April. The meeting normally precedes the annual dinner which is followed by a talk by an invited guest speaker and attended by anywhere up to 150 people.

As a result of Covid-19, we had to limit the number of people who could attend the meeting to 35 including staff and everyone had to sit at least two metres apart from each other facing a top table where the President, Stewart Newton, Treasurer, Michaela Michel and Chief Executive, Charles Alluto were also socially distanced.

A very strange environment compared to previous meetings where friends have huddled together and partners have sat side by side!

AGM

After the Annual General Meeting, attendees enjoyed wine and sandwiches and then reconvened to hear the wonderfully energetic and inspiring Rob Stoneman from Re-Wilding Europe on ’Restoring Nature Across Europe’. If you were unable to attend, the evening was filmed including Rob’s talk and can be accessed on our website. https://www.nationaltrust.je/ the-national-trust-for-jerseyannual-general-meeting/

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY This year, our Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday 23rd April at 6pm at La Mare Vineyards followed by light refreshments. The annual dinner will be staged separately and will take place in September. For Tickets for the AGM please go to www. nationaltrust.je/events

D I S C O V E R | 33

E N J O Y | JÈRRIAISE

La Grand’-Tèrre (The Mainland)

Tch'est qu'ou comprannez par l’expression ‘La Grand’-Tèrre?’

En Jèrriais, la pathôle, Grand’-Tèrre, veurt dithe, La Nouormandie, mais en Angliais, quand j'faîthons sèrvi la pathôle, 'Mainland', ch’na veurt dithe, L'Angliétèrre et si j'voulons pâler d'la France ch'est 'The Continent.'

Bein seu, j'faîthons tous partie du continnent d'Ȗrope, mais tch'est qu’chenna veurt dithe 'Mainland?'

Ch’est-i la tèrre la pus proche?

La terre d'eyou qu’nouot’héthitage tchultuthel veint?

Ou ch’est-i la tèrre auve tch'i qu’j'avons eune alliance politique?

Eh bein, Jèrri et Dgèrnésy, eyou qu'i’sont? En Angliais j'sommes 'Les Îles dé la Manche, ‘The Channel Islands,’ mais je'n'sommes pon dans La Manche, j'sommes au sud dé la Manche dans la Baie d’St Malo. Les Français l’savent bein et nos appellent, Les Îles Anglos-Nouormandes.

Les rotchièrs de Jèrri font partie d’la région géologique Armorique, ch’na veurt dithe la Brétangne et lé Vouêt d'la Nouormandie - Lé Cotentin.

Duthant l'âge dé gliaiche, Jèrri faîthait partie du continnent et les preumié pèrsonnes vîntent 34 | D I S C O V E R

du Sud, en siêthant l’s éléphants

laineurs.

I’y’a douze mille ans, la mé haûchit et les liains phŷsiques fûtent copés, mais pon les cheins humains.

D'abord ch’fut les pèrsonnes Néolithiques tch’apportîtent l'agritchultuthe et tchi bâtiîtent les dolmens. Pu tard vîntent les tribus d’l'âge dé bronze et d’l’âge dé fé. Les pièches dé sou trouvées à ches drein dans ‘l’Anichette du Câtillon' nos montrent les liains tch’existaient auve des endraits en Nouormandie et en Brétangne - les Coriosolîtes d’la région de Courseul, les Baiocasses d’la région de Bayeux et les Redones d’la région de Redon.

Mais ch'est les Nouormands tchi nos donnîtent not’ chultuthe pèrpétuelle.

Au dgiezième siècl’ye, Rollo griyit La Nouormandie alentou d’Rouën, rallouongnie preumiéthement à Bayeux et en neu chent trentetrais, au Cotentîn et à nos Îles.

Rollo et san fis Dgillaume Longue Êpée apportîtent lus système dé justice auve les justicièrs, les louais et les cours tchi continnuent en partie jusqu'aujourdaniet.

Sans doute ch'fut nouot’s’pathâtion politique d'La Nouormandie en douze chent quatre, tchi donnit à Jèrri nouot’gouvèrnément îndépendant

BY JEAN TRELEVEN

A JERSEY BORN BLUE-BADGE GUIDE WITH FAMILY ORIGINS EXTENDING BACK TO THE NORMAN PERIOD.

et griyit des forts liains auve lé Duc d'la Nouormandie Jean, tchi t'ait achteu rouai d'Angliétèrre étout.

D'abord I’n’y eut pon d’grands changements, j’restêmes Nouormands, mais êventuellement, l'Angliais c’menchit à rempliaichi l’Jèrriais et l'Français dans l’s êcoles, l’s Êtats et l’s églyises. Les livres et les cantiques, et même les bâtisses et lé mangi d'vîntent pus Angliais.

Aniet l’s înfluences tchultuthelles né sont pon raîque Nouormandes, Angliaîches et Françaises mais Italiennes, Portûndgaises, Polonnaises, Roumaines étout.

Jèrri est véthitabliément un endrait multitchultuthel.

I y'avait d's années quand les liains politiques auve L'Ȗrope renforchîtent, quand L'Rouoyaume Unni faîthait partie d'la commeunauté Ȗropéenne mais pon pouor pus longtemps !

La Nouormandie reste la tèrre la pus proche dé Jèrri et l'origine d'nouot’identité tchultuthel. Aniet les liains de gouvèrnément, sont pus auve lé Rouoyaune Unni, mais La Nouormandie s’sa tréjous ‘La Grand’-Tèrre.’

What do you understand Londres by the expression

‘The Mainland?’

Poole

Portsmouth

Jersey

Cherbourg Rouen

Carteret Granville

Caen

Normandy In Jèrriais, the term ‘La Grand’Terre’ means Mainland and refers to Normandy, whereas in English, when we use the term ‘Mainland,’ it means England and if we want to refer to France we use the term ‘The Continent.’

Of course we are all part of the continent of Europe, but what is the meaning of ‘Mainland.’

Is it the land that is the closest?

Is it the land from where our cultural heritage come?

Or is it the land with which we have political ties?

So, where are Jersey and Guernsey? In English we are called the Channel Islands but we are not in the Channel, we are South of the Channel in the Bay of St Malo. The French understand this and call us ‘The Anglo-Norman Islands.’

Jersey’s rocks form part of the geological region of Armorica which includes Brittany

and Western Normandy - The Cotentin.

During the Ice Age, Jersey was joined to the continent and the first people came here from the South, following the woolly mammoth.

Twelve thousand years ago, the sea level rose, cutting the physical ties with the continent but not the human links. Firstly the Neolithic people came, bringing agriculture and building dolmens. Then came the Bronze and Iron Age tribes. The coins found recently in the Le Catillon hoard, clearly show the links with places in Normandy and Brittany – The Coriosolites from Courseul, The Baiocasses from Bayeux and The Redones from Redon.

But it was the Normans who gave us the culture that was to last. In the tenth century, Rollo created Normandy around Rouen, extending first to Bayeux then in 933 to the Cotentin and our Islands. Rollo and William Longsword brought us our system of Justice with Jurats, Laws and Courts which have remained in part, right up to today.

Without doubt it was our political separation from Normandy in 1204 which gave Jersey

Paris

our independent government and created strong links with our Duke of Normandy, John, who was now also King of England.

At first, not much changed and we remained Norman, but eventually English began to replace Jèrriais and French in the schools, the States, the Churches, Books and Hymns and even buildings and food became more English.

Today our cultural influences are no longer just Norman, English and French but also Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Romanian.

Jersey is truly a multicultural island.

For some years now, the political ties with Europe have strengthened, while the United Kingdom was part of the European Community, but not for much longer.

Normandy remains the land the closest to Jersey and the origin of our cultural identity. Today we have more government links with the United Kingdom but Normandy will always be ‘The Mainland,’ ‘La Grand’-Terre.’

D I S C O V E R | 35

E N J O Y | A C T I V I T I E S T O T RY

Gardening Enthusiasts Activities to try

Saturday 6 March

Saturday 22 May

Did you know that every full sized apple tree is made from two different trees?

Enjoy a morning of practical information and hands-on learning about the art and science of grafting and pruning apple trees with Vincent Obbard at Samares Manor. There will be coffee served in the front hall on arrival at 9.30.

Everyone will have the little tree they have grafted to take away with them.

The morning includes a short walk to look at how Samares’ trees are pruned, so warm clothes are essential as is a sharp penknife!

Join James Dyson Rural Crafts Artist and Environmentalist and ‘Little Green Man’ Alcindo Pinto in the orchard at The Elms and learn how to make wattle hurdles (fencing panels and garden edging panels) out of natural materials such as hazel or willow. Wattle fencing is made from woven coppiced willow meaning it is cut from new growth, giving it superb flexibility and providing uniform thickness across each fence panel. Enjoy a cup of tea and homemade cake in the Pressoir.

Participants will take home a garden edging panel (4'x2') and the skill and know how to make large fencing panels!

PRUNING AND GRAFTING APPLE TREES WITH VINCENT OBBARD

● Meeting Point: Front door of Samarés Manor ● Time: 9.30am – 1pm ● Price: £15 Members ● Parking; Main car park by the shop ● You will receive a rootstock and a scion to graft and take home for planting (max 10 people)

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WATTLE HURDLE GARDEN EDGING/FENCE MAKING

Saturday 10 April

HOMEGROWN HARVESTS Come along to La Haies de Grosnez, St Ouen, the home of Graeme Le Marquand, Gold winner at Chelsea and President of the Jersey Branch of the National Vegetable Society and learn the art of growing your own vegetables, herbs, salads and fruit. Graeme will show you around his vegetable plot and show you how to create a raised bed, sow seeds, when to plant crops and how to grow produce in containers for those that don’t have a garden. Attendees will take home a container with Jersey Royal seed potatoes. ● Meeting Point: La Haies de Grosnez ● St Ouen (Please park on Grosnez Common and follow the sign to the house) ● Time: 10am – 12 Noon ● Price: £25 for Members to include refreshments (max 15)

● Meeting Point: The Elms ● Time: 10.00 am – 1pm ● Price: £40 for Members to include refreshments

E N J O Y | A C TIVI TIES TO TR Y

Art and Craft Lovers Activities to try

Tuesday 11 May

CRAFT WORKSHOP WITH BEVERLEY SPECK Come along to The Elms and spend a creative evening making a beautiful cloth bag for your clothes pegs. Be more sustainable and embrace your washing line and ditch that tumble dryer! You will need a sewing machine to bring along, please contact us if you do not have access to one.

● Meeting Point: The Elms ● Time: 6pm – 9pm ● Price: £20 for Members to include refreshments (max 18)

Sunday 13 June

SPRING FLORISTRY WORKSHOP Join local florist Claire Evans from Eden

by Claire to explore the language of flowers. You will then learn how to make a beautiful flower display using locally grown peonies, ranunculi’s and other spring flowers. This workshop aims to be as environmentally friendly as possible so no oasis foam! Bring along a favourite container to create a stunning display. ● Meeting Point: The Elms, La Chève Rue, St Mary ● Time: 2pm – 4pm ● Price: £50 for Members to include refreshments

Saturday 26 June

Tuesday 10th August

Try your hand at the gentle art of lino cutting on this one day workshop with artist Kerry-Jane Warner. The day will begin with a demonstration of basic lino cutting techniques.

Come along to the White House in St Ouen’s Bay and create a textile journal using scraps of fabric and other bits and bobs on a nature theme. Beverley will show you how to sew it together & use stitch to record any inspiration from nature?

LINO CUTTING WORKSHOP WITH KERRY-JANE WARNER

You will be given a practice block to try out the tools before you set to work on your finished piece. We will spend some time drawing inspiration in the walled garden or from images provided. Then you will be shown how to transfer your image to the block. Later in the day you will be shown how to ink up your block and how to burnish prints by hand and apply colour using the chine collé method.

Along with your finished piece, you will take home clear instructions, information and the tools to continue your printmaking adventure.

TEXTILE ART WITH BEVERLEY SPECK

Meeting Point: The White House (Le Don Hilton) Time: 6pm – 9pm Price: £15 Members to include refreshments.

For lots more ideas on activities to try please go to the Activity Hub www. nationaltrust.je/activity-hub/ To book on any of these activities please go to www.nationaltrust.je/ events

The workshop is suitable for complete beginners as well as those with some experience.

● Meeting Point: The Elms, La Chève Rue, St Mary ● Time: 10am – 3pm ● Price: £45 for Members. Tea and coffee will be provided but please bring a packed lunch (max 16)

D I S C O V E R | 37

Celebrating the Georgian era AT 16 NEW STREET

38 | D I S C O V E R

E N J O Y | 1 6 NEW S TR EET

2

021 marks the tenth anniversary since 16 New Street Georgian House first opened its doors to the public and to celebrate the Trust is holding a Georgian Festival with new interpretation in the museum, together with a programme of special events and activities timetabled throughout the year. But how much do we know about the Georgian era, a period that is not widely studied in Jersey’s schools?

The Georgian era (1714-1830) was a period of great contrasts: poverty and wealth, triumphs and tribulations, elegance and unchecked bad behaviour. As well as great achievements on the battleground such as the Battles of Jersey, Trafalgar and Waterloo, the era gave birth to literary greats William Wordsworth and Jane Austen, England’s foremost landscape painter, John Constable, Scotland’s foremost neoclassical architect, Robert Adam – and the stirring anthem, ‘Rule Britannia!’ celebrating the British Empire.

(1697– 1764) was depicting shocking scenes of squalor and despair in poor communities raised on gin.

the arbiter of fashion, ushered in the fulllength pantaloon or trouser. A new era was dawning.

The reign of George III (r. 1760-1820) was a turning point in the growth of the slave trade when Britain lost the colonies and in 1792 his Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, addressed the House of Commons, urging the abolition of slave trading. While there was some support for the bill at the time, it wasn’t until 1807 that the trade in slaves was fully abolished by Parliament. Towards the end of his reign, George III became mentally ill and was deemed unfit to rule the nation and in 1811 his son, also called George, became regent, ascending to the throne on the death of his father in 1820.

With trade around the world booming, the Georgian period was certainly a comfortable era for those wealthy enough to live in a fine detached house such as 16 New Street in St Helier. As well as being able to afford fine furniture made of mahogany, imported by Jersey merchants from the British colonies, wealthy families would have had access to delicacies such as tea and coffee, chocolate, sugar, spices and tobacco. But for the poorer inhabitants of St Helier, town must have been a crowded and insanitary place to live. Alongside the streams that criss-crossed the town – Le Grand Douet and Le Faux Bie – open sewers ran through the streets, carrying away human waste and the heaps of horse manure that were deposited there by passing carts. With no running water or plumbing in people's homes, it was customary for all of the waste to be thrown out onto the street.

Elegance and pleasure during the Georgian era owed much to the British slave trade. Luxury goods and consumerism flourished as never before – and yet few people considered the human cost. Commodities like tobacco, a labour intensive crop, relied heavily on enslaved Africans; snuff, another addiction, was a by-product of the tobacco industry; and sugar, probably the most important export of all from the Americas, was as important to the colonies then as oil is today. And as demand for sugar increased, to sweeten tea, syllabubs and all manner of desserts, the slave trade flourished.

The Georgian era begins with the reign of George I (r. 1714-1727), which saw Britain establish itself as an international power at the centre of an expanding empire: slavery was now widespread in the British colonies – fuelled by the upper classes’ hunger for exotic ingredients – and Britain was beginning to transport convicts to penal colonies overseas.

The reign of George II (r. 1727-1760) saw Britain’s dominance overseas grow even further – with successful victories in India, placing Bengal and Madras under British control, and the capture of Quebec, transferring Canada from French to British rule. Life in Georgian London during the mid-18th century was a tale of two cities: while Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723– 1792) captured extravagant scenes of the upper classes taking tea, his contemporary William Hogarth

‘Gluttonous George’ (r. 1820-1830) had little appetite for politics. Unpopular with his subjects, his reign was tarnished by scandal and financial extravagances – for expensive art and architecture, food and clothes. However, around him surged a society defined by brilliant characters and momentous events: the battle against Napoleon was won, with victory at Trafalgar and Waterloo – ending a bloody war with France that had lasted more than a decade. The turn of the 19th century signalled a break from the past and the ushering in of a new era: a Duty on Hair Powder Act (1795) led to the gradual disappearance of wigs in favour of natural hair; the fashion for neoclassicism in architecture and design brought about the emergence of soft, flowing Empire-line gowns, epitomised in the novels of Jane Austen, in place of the stiff, heavily embroidered dresses of the 18th century – and Beau Brummell,

A time of unprecedented social, political and economic change, the Georgian era witnessed a rapid expansion of St Helier with the first library constructed in 1737, the first omnibus introduced in 1788 and a new elegant market in 1803. As the town expanded, so did the population – boosted by the arrival of around 3,000 French refugees (or émigrés), who fled from France during the period of the 1789 Revolution, and a similar number of British troops brought in to strengthen the Island’s defences during the prolonged period of tension with France. Following the Napoleonic Wars, many British soldiers settled in Jersey, taking advantage of the warm climate, low taxes and proximity to England. As St Helier expanded, in 1822 the Governor took the decision to move to a purpose-built mansion on St Saviour’s Hill… well away from the town centre.

And in June 1823 the first steam ship, SS Medina, arrived – greatly improving the Island’s communication links with the British mainland. As a new era dawned, new streets were given English names; the English language started to replace French and Jerriais; and Jersey families began sending their children away to study in English schools and universities.

By 1830 St Helier had become a bustling town with Jersey families living in all corners of the globe.

For further details on the Trust’s Georgian Festival – Celebrating 10 years of 16 New Street Georgian House – see pages 40 - 41.

D I S C O V E R | 39

E N J O Y | 1 6 NE W S T R E ET

16 NEW STREET GEORGIAN FESTIVAL Celebrating 10 years of 16 New Street step back in time and explore the Georgian era in all its glorious and gruesome glory!

Kindly supported by Ogier This year’s festival is divided into four distinct themes: Georgian food and drink with the ‘Gourmet Georgians’ in May and June; Georgian fine art, fashion and entertainment with the ‘Gorgeous Georgians’ in July and August; Georgian justice and medicine with the ‘Gruesome Georgians’ in September and October; and the Georgian house at Christmas with the 'Festive Georgians', scheduled for November and December.

MAY

JUNE

Gourmet Georgian Installation – Thursdays & Fridays in June See May Meet the Gourmet Georgians (children’s event) - Friday 4 June Join us this half-term for a fun-filled culinary tour of The Georgian House with the Gourmet Georgians. Visit Louisa in the working kitchen to find out about delicacies such as salmagundi, mock turtle soup and eel pie. Feast your eyes on the display of traditional Georgian dishes in the dining room and discover why Mrs Journeaux keeps her tea under lock and key! This immersive event is aimed at our younger members, aged 6 – 10 years.

The Gourmet Georgians (historical talk and tasting session) - Tuesday 29 June Settle down for a Gourmet Georgian talk and tasting session with historian Peter Le Rossignol and Living History cook Lindsey Noble. Learn about food, drink and place settings in the Georgian era, how to identify Georgian porcelain and silver from Peter’s collection - and get your tastebuds tingling with some tasty Georgian food and drink.

Gourmet Georgian Installation – Thursdays & Fridays in May Learn about Georgian food, etiquette and manners at our Gourmet Georgian festival. Discover how imported goods such as tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar and tobacco grew in popularity as trade routes developed, enjoy a cookery demonstration in the Georgian kitchen (with food to taste), take home a Georgian recipe card to practise your cookery skills at home – and get your children involved with our brand new Gourmet Georgian activity sheet.

Gourmet Georgian Historical Walk – Thursday 6 May Explore the back streets of St Helier to find out where families used to do their shopping in the Georgian era. Discover the location of the old market, the abattoir and the wine vaults – and conclude your tour with a visit to 16 New Street to see our spring installation, The Gourmet Georgians.

Gourmet Georgian Candlelit Tour – Tuesday 25 May Celebrate the culinary arts of the Georgian period with an atmospheric candlelit tour of 16 New Street. Visitors will be greeted by the Housekeeper with some typical Georgian refreshments before exploring the three floors of The Georgian House, which will be illuminated with characters from the past.

40 | D I S C O V E R

Gorgeous Georgian Historical Walk – Thursday 1 July Join us on an architectural walking tour of St Helier, finishing with refreshments at 16 New Street and an opportunity to view our summer installation, the Gorgeous Georgians. By the end of this short walking tour you'll be able to point out key architectural features as well as learn some architectural terms.

Gorgeous Georgian Tea – Tuesday 20 July Join historian Peter Le Rossignol for a journey across continents, and back in time, to find out where your favourite brew comes from and conclude the afternoon with a cream tea around the magnificent table in the club room, served

by Louisa, our Living History cook.

AUGUST

Gorgeous Georgian Installation Thursdays and Fridays in August See July Gorgeous Georgian Candlelit Tour Tuesday 3 August Join the Journeaux family and their servants for an atmospheric theatrical tour of 16 New Street by candlelight to find out about fine arts, fashion and entertainment in the Georgian era. With refreshments served on arrival and live music on the first floor.

Meet the Gorgeous Georgians (children’s event) - Friday 27 August Bring the family along to 16 New Street for a memorable tour of The Georgian House with the Gorgeous Georgians. Come dressed in a homemade bonnet or cap and find out about fine arts, fashion and entertainment in the Georgian era. This event is aimed at our younger members, aged 6 – 10 years.

SEPTEMBER

JULY

Gorgeous Georgian Installation Thursdays and Fridays in July Learn about Georgian fine arts, fashion and entertainment at our Gorgeous Georgian festival. From sack-back gowns to the polonaise, polished silver tea pots to exquisite fans – is there a more opulent period of history than the 18th century? With lots of activities for children, including dressing up clothes and a brand new Gorgeous Georgian activity sheet.

Gruesome Georgian Installation at 16 New Street - Thursdays and Fridays in September Help us celebrate our tenth anniversary by coming along to our Gruesome Georgian festival. Learn about the gruesome Georgian justice system, when it was customary to cut off your ear if you were caught forging promissory notes, view some foul food in the dining room and find out about gruesome Georgian medicine and the dark world of body snatchers. With plenty of Horrid History facts for children and a Gruesome Georgian activity sheet.

Gruesome Georgian Town Walk - Thursday 2 September Join us this autumn on a Gruesome walking tour of St Helier to learn about graves, murders and injustices during the Georgian era. This tour will finish with refreshments at 16 New Street, offering visitors an opportunity to view our autumn installation, The Gruesome Georgians.

Gruesome Georgian Gin Tasting – Tuesday 21 September Join historian Peter Le Rossignol for a vibrant cultural history of Britain’s most iconic drink, beginning in the underbelly of Georgian England, detouring through the Empire (with a G&T in hand) and finishing in the modern day. During the course of the evening, gin lovers will find out how ‘mother’s ruin’ evolved into the superior drink it is today and also taste several different styles of gin.

OCTOBER

Gruesome Georgian Installation at 16 New Street Saturdays in October See September Gruesome Candlelit Tour of 16 New Street - Tuesday 26 October Join the Journeaux family and their servants for an atmospheric candlelit tour of 16 New Street to find out about foul food, gory medicine and gruesome punishments in the Georgian era. With ghastly food served on arrival.

Meet the Gruesome Georgians - Friday 29 October Join us this half-term for a memorable tour of The Georgian House with the Gruesome Georgians. Come dressed as your favourite spooky character and find out about gruesome food, ghastly medicine, ghoulish make-up and much more with the Gruesome Georgians of 16 New Street! This event is aimed at our younger members, aged 6 – 10 years.

For further details, including how to book, see pages 50-54.

Some Gruesome Georgians!

D I S C O V E R | 41

E N J O Y | T H I N G S T O MAKE

4

Things to Make

Toad Abode YOU WILL NEED

1

You will want to make sure there are still lots of gaps for your toads to squeeze into, and have all your building materials close enough so that they don’t collapse. Keep building like this until it is higher than ground level.

5

1. Cut twigs & branches 2. Short logs (all less than 30cm) 3. Old bricks and stones, 4. A spade/ trowel 5. Some gravel

This year our Education team are presenting a range of activities to encourage you to give nature a home, namely ‘Animal Abodes’. Building a toad abode is a fun, creative way to help out our amphibious friends and a lovely addition to any garden.

If you have been out at dusk or nighttime this spring, you may have started to spot the Jersey Crapauds on the move to their breeding ponds or hunting for tasty insects. Crapaud is the French word for toad, so has become the name for the only toad species that we have on the island.

It is also known as the spiny toad, and its Latin name is Bufo spinosus. This species is very special as it is found nowhere else in the Channel Islands nor even the UK, and, unlike its other Jersey relative, the agile frog, is happiest living in people’s gardens. Great news for gardeners, as one of their favourite foods are slugs!

During night-time and in winter toads need safe, damp places to hide, particularly if you have a garden pond, as the little toadlets will start to come out of the water in June as soon as they have grown their front legs.

So you can really give them a helping hand by building this home for them, plus word might get out with the nearby toads and more will come to help out with garden pest-duty!

Pick a shady area. If you have a pond then a spot nearby is ideal, but you will still have toads living in your garden most of the year even if you don’t have a pond.

2

Sprinkle some of the gravel into the abode and top off with some soil. Make sure you don’t close up all the corridors, and that you leave plenty of entrances round the sides and at the front.

6

Dig a flat round hole, which is about 30cm wide by 15cm deep.

3

Create a camouflage roof on top using your branches and twigs. You can also decorate or disguise it with natural materials, and make a sign to welcome in your new toad tenants!

7

Starting with the stones at the bottom, fill the hole carefully with your logs, branches and stones (save some branches for decorating your abode at the end). Try to make lots of thin corridors, like a maze leading towards the middle.

Your abode should last a few years, after which point you can carefully dismantle it and make a newly remodelled one.

Credit: Ideas and methods by the RSPB 42 | D I S C O V E R

Things to Make

Bug Bug-alow YOU WILL NEED

1

1. A clean tin can (with label removed)

3

2. A selection of sticks 3. Dry leaves and pinecones (optional) 4. Gloves Take a clean tin can, with the label removed, and fill it with lots of sticks and branches of different thickness.

These ‘Bug-alow’s are a great and easy way to reuse your old tin cans and entice insect diversity into your garden.

Bug homes can help lots of different minibeasts that are really good for your garden, such as ladybirds, bees, spiders and woodlice. These insects will then thank you by eating pest insects, making soil and pollinating your plants.

Plus they will encourage all sorts of bigger creatures into your garden, like toads, hedgehogs and birds.

Having a whole range of insects is really important for the health of your garden and natural areas, so by building somewhere they can lay their eggs in and shelter from predators is a really good way to help nature.

You can also use dry pinecones and leaves. Wear gloves for this part, as the edge of the can can be sharp!

Decorate and lie on its side in a shady corner.

2

4

Make sure that some of the sticks are longer than the can, so they are sticking out.

If you want to extend your Bug-alow upwards and make it into a multistorey Insect Inn, for flying insects like bees and ladybirds, then just repeat and stack them on top of each other!

Keep pushing new ones into the gaps, so they are tight enough so as not to fall out.

D I S C O V E R | 43

E N J O Y | MEMBERSHIP

Corporate Sponsorship T

HE value of being supported by local businesses has never been more vital to the work of the Trust. We are therefore delighted to welcome our newest corporate partners:JT Global, The Summit, JP Mauger and Fairway Group.

All our corporate partners play a vital part in generating much needed income for the Trust through their membership fees, but they also play a very important role in promoting the work of the Trust and our cause with a wider audience within their workplace and with their customers.

To be a partner of The National Trust for Jersey is to demonstrate a level of commitment and understanding of the importance of our wildlife, marine life, beautiful natural spaces and the heritage of Jersey for everyone to enjoy now and for future generations. This is of real interest to individuals seeking to work for a business which gives priority to the environment.

At the end of last year we staged a few CSR (corporate and social responsibility) tasks which were undertaken by JT Global and Santander. The benefits for 44 | D I S C O V E R

the individual team members taking part were clear to see. Lots of laughter and smiles were in abundance from the beginning when everyone got together with the Trust’s Rangers and were still evident at the end of the task. New skills and perhaps a deeper knowledge of the Island and the specific environment where the tasks took place were gained along the way.

In addition there was the opportunity to forge relationships with previous unknown colleagues within the business.

In conclusion through such events both our natural and working environments benefit. That is what we call a 'win win' situation.

If you would like your company or the company you work for to consider becoming a corporate partner, please email simone@nationaltrust.je or call me on 07929 156477 I would be delighted to hear from you.

YOUR DOSE OF VITAMIN

SEA

A

LTHOUGH it may be rather chilly out there to be thinking of the month-long ‘30 Bays in 30 Days’ challenge which raises essential funds for The National Trust for Jersey and Jersey Hospice Care and which takes place in July - the sound of flip-flops on the granite slips and steps, the flapping of towels in the breeze and shrieks of shock and delight being heard across the Island are all being made by the growing number of winter sea swimmers and ‘dippers’.

Back in September a friend of mine said to me – “do you like swimming in the sea”?

“Yes”, was my immediate reply (she asked me on a glorious September evening when we were floating in the sunshine in the sea at Grève de Lecq). She suggested I may like to join a sea swimming group called ‘The Jersey Bluetits’. Two weeks later I found myself approaching a small, lively group of hardy women at Havres Des Pas and that as they say, was that!

Since that first swim I have connected with the sea, its surroundings and the group in a way I could not have predicted.

Swimming at sunrise, sunset, under the stars, in the rain and since mid-October I have managed to swim every single day.

E N J O Y | 30 BA Y S IN 30 D AY S

BY SIMONE SPRINGETT FUNDRAISING OFFICER

water bottle and flask for a tube of factor 50 and an ice cold drink, to get a team together and rediscover all the other glorious ’30 Bays in 30 Days’ and all at a somewhat more comfortable temperature of around 19 degrees!

The benefits of the ‘30 Bays’ wild swimming event are many and varied.

So while you help to save our beautiful coastline, you will also help yourself – both in terms of your physical and mental health and the health of those you bring along with you. Not forgetting that it is a great way of socially-distanced time spent with friends and family while offering an opportunity to make new friends too.

So whether your motivation is for a reason, a season or a lifetime please jump in this July and who knows, you may also be joining us for the 12 swims of Christmas!........

Breathing in the beauty of the surrounding coastal scenery, seeing the sea birds fly overhead and dive for their catch while being immersed in the silky, salty water is sublime. During these winter months I have chased the wind and the tides and have rotated between five different bays. While I have been swimming, the sea temperature has taken a dip from 12 degrees to a very cool 8.5 degrees. I cannot wait to swap my hot

D I S C O V E R | 45

E N J O Y | MEMBERSHIP

INTO Places

Where will your membership take you?

I

NTO – the International National Trusts Organisation, has been hard at work with National Trusts and heritage organisations across the world to make your membership go further.

As part of their core remit of ‘promoting the conservation and enhancement of the heritage of all nations for the benefit of the people of the world and future generations’ they have developed a new reciprocal membership scheme known as INTO Places.

Organisations such as ourselves extend complimentary admission to the members

46 | D I S C O V E R

of other participating organisations – and in return we are able to offer our own members free visits to an extraordinary range of properties around the world as illustrated in the map below. These include the whole of the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to name just a few. Also last but by no means least are our friends in Guernsey who have some amazing sites to visit.

Hopefully we will be able to start planning visits overseas in the not too distant future, so please remember to pack your National Trust membership card together with your passport so that you can take

the opportunity to explore and support heritage organisations across the world.

Whilst entry is free please do consider making a donation or undertaking some retail therapy as this helps strengthen the reciprocal arrangement in the longer term. Also it is always worth checking in advance directly with the Trust at your destination as each participating organisation is responsible for managing its own access and as result there may be local variation in arrangements.

For more information about INTO and places to visit please go to: www.into.org/places

E N J O Y | C AL K E AB B EY

AA VERYVISIT TO CALKE ABBEY UN-STATELY HOME AND COUNTRY ESTATE By becoming a member of The National Trust for Jersey it provides the additional benefit of being able to visit a wide range of National Trust properties in other countries for free.

Unfortunately, we have all been restricted from all but essential travel over the last year, but hopefully travel will become a little easier and we will be able to visit family and friends and look forward to booking a short break or holiday.

I am originally from the Midlands, and one of my closest and most regularly visited Trust properties was Calke Abbey, in Ticknall, Derbyshire.

Calke Abbey is a baroque mansion, built in 1701-4 by an unknown architect for Sir John Harpur and incorporates parts of an Elizabethan house and is located on the site of an earlier medieval priory.

What makes Calke Abbey special is its survival after an era of decline and the National Trust’s response to this, presenting the house and its collections as they were found in the early 1980’s.

Its collections are very diverse and somewhat eccentric; room after room is filled with cases of butterflies and birds, shells and eggs, toy soldiers and minerals which gives a fascinating insight into

the people who lived and worked there.

The Trusts ethos has been to ‘repair not restore’.

There is a caricature room, a Neo-classical dining room and a magnificent 18thcentury staircase. There are over 8,000 books divided between two separate libraries. The main collection is the ancestral library of the Harpur-Crewes.

The family were avid collectors but they tended not to throw anything away!

The Calke Estate expands over 600 acres of historic parkland, a third of which holds important status of a National Nature Reserve, including the 67 acre deer park, which is home to Calke’s herd of red and fallow deer.

The gardens for me are one of the most fascinating areas on the Calke Estate.

Whilst the gardens are maintained to a high horticultural standard, you also find signs of dilapidation and decay.

As you wander through the walled gardens and around the flower boarders you come across the faded grandeur of the orangery, and rusting tools in the gardener’s bothy. There is a physic garden, glass houses and old potting sheds to explore.

BY SARAH HILL

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Another highlight in the flower garden is the auricular theatre, it was designed to show off prize specimens in tiers, and to preserve the blooms as long as possible.

When I visited there was a mixture of auriculars and pelargoniums on display.

There is really something for every taste at Calke Abbey; a visit to the house to admire the architecture, collections and conservation activities; great walks in the deer park or on the dedicated Tramway Trail, a small church on the estate, a children’s play area, a selection of holiday cottages to rent for a longer stay and of course the mandatory National Trust shop and cafe!.

So, if you get the opportunity Calke Abbey is well worth a visit.

For more information visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey

D I S C O V E R | 47

Le Câtel Fort

Why not hire one of our unique properties…

Whether you are organising a wedding or a barbecue, our iconic buildings offer a picturesque backdrop to your event.

Le Don Hilton

Le Câtel Fort

Situated overlooking Greve de Lecq, this former battery and guardhouse (1789) occupies a peaceful spot on the North Coast.

Encircled by a loop-holed wall, the Fort garden is ideal for small private functions.

Le Don Hilton

For a truly unique experience, why not escape to Le Don Hilton?

Enjoy a delicious BBQ whilst admiring the breath-taking and natural beauty of the landscape, take a long walk along the beautiful golden sands or take a dip in St Ouen’s bay, famous for its impressive waves. When all this activity has tired you out, just sit and chill as the sun sets.

Members: £270 Non-members: £300 £180 refundable security deposit required Hire: Monday 12 noon to Friday 10.am Friday 12 noon to Monday 10.am You can get married at both properties and the price is £400 for a wedding plus £180 refundable deposit (includes cost of NTJ

representative’s mandatory attendance at wedding ceremony).

Council Room at The Elms

Are you a business or corporate member looking for an out of town meeting location? Our newly refurbished meeting room at The Elms can seat up to 20 and offers all the necessary equipment for meetings or presentations. Tea and coffee can be provided as well as break out areas in the Pressoir or walled garden. £200 for a full day £100 for half a day hire. – concessions for Charities.

All funds generated through our property hire support the Trust’s work to conserve Jersey’s land and safeguard the buildings in its care.

48 | D I S C O V E R

Telephone 01534 483193 | email: enquiries@nationaltrust.je | www.nationaltrust.je | Twitter: @NatTrustJersey

Events

We would like to encourage our members to book events online.

This helps us not only to monitor ticket sales more effectively, but also helps to manage our limited resource within our small office team.

Of course if you would prefer not to book online you can telephone 483193 or call into the office between the hours of 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Log onto: www.nationaltrust.je/events D I S C O V E R | 49

JOIN & GET INVOLVED

march

Tuesday 2 March

EXPLORE PLÉMONT BEACH – A GUIDED WALK

This is a beach walk involving rock pools and exploration of some of the caves in the bay to discover the history of the granite rocks and many intrusions and fault lines which cut through the bay. It is a walk through the tectonic history of the island and also a route followed by many Victorian and Edwardian tourists who came to the bay to be impressed by the savagery and wildness of the nature to be found there. The beach is always changing and sometimes there are deep pools to get into the caves so wellies, sandals (not flip flops), neoprene shoes or trainers which can get wet are essential.

This walk is two hours.

Meet at the. 2.00pm Meeting Point: Top car park by the bus stop Time: 2pm Price: Free Kindly Supported by Jersey Water

50 | D I S C O V E R

Saturday 6 March

Saturday 27 March

For more information, please see P. 36.

Come along to Le Moulin de Quétivel and learn the art of making ‘Jersey Wonders’ with Jenny Le Maistre. Jersey housewives traditionally cooked their wonders as the tide went out. If they cooked them on an incoming tide, the fat in which the wonders were cooked would invariably overflow the pan! Why not walk or cycle on the new valley path?

PRUNING AND GRAFTING APPLE TREES WITH VINCENT OBBARD Sunday 14 March

OUAISNE COMMONWILDFLOWER BOTANY AND FOLKLORE WALK

Treat your mother to something a bit different for Mother’s Day with a visit to Mother Nature. Come and look for the first signs of spring with botanist Tina Hull on Ouaisne Common. Ouaisne is one of Jersey’s most important sites with regards to biodiversity and boasts a number of rare and uncommon species. The walk will be a mix of sight identification, environmental interpretation, local history and plant folklore. The terrain is uneven and wet in places; you might want to wear wellies for this walk.

LEARN HOW TO MAKE ‘JERSEY WONDERS’ LES MÈRVELLES DÉ JÈRRI

Meeting Point: Le Moulin de Quétivel Time: 2 – 4pm Price: £15 for Members to include refreshments (max 18)

Meeting Point: Ouaisne Common Car Park Time: 10am – 11.30/12 Noon Price: Free Kindly Supported by Jersey Water

Book tickets online for all our events by visiting www.nationaltrust.je/events

april Saturday 3 April+

SPRING INTO ACTION – SHARK EGG MONITORING

An Easter egg hunt with a difference! Join members of the Marine Biology section of the Societe Jersiaise to search the high-tide line for shark and ray egg cases which will be identified, counted and added to the marine conservation survey.

Meeting Point: Various Time: 10.30am – 12 Noon Price: Free of charge. Booking essential

Wednesday 7 April

SPRING INTO ACTION – PURPLE DEW PLANT REMOVAL

Purple Dew Plant is a non-native invasive plant that spreads quickly and suffocates many other small, delicate native plants. Although it looks pretty, it grows like a blanket across large areas, stopping native plants from growing and preventing some animals, such as solitary bees, from accessing their nesting sites.

Come along to help our rangers remove the plants and find out more about the work they do to protect this important habitat.

Meeting Point: Car park opposite the Wetland Centre, St Ouen Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm Price: Free of charge. Booking essential.

Suitable for children aged 4-16.

Thursday 8, Tuesday 13 and Thursday 15th April

NEWTS AND NYMPHS – POND-DIPPING Thursday 8 and Friday 9 April

Join our Education Officer for an exploration of the diverse wildlife that resides under the surface of some of our local ponds.

Enjoy a visit to The Georgian House with added Easter fun. Learn about traditional Easter foods, find out about Jersey Easter customs, enjoy an egg trail around the house and showcase your artistic skills with our Easter crafts. Younger members are encouraged to dress up for the occasion in a homemade Easter Bonnet – and there’s a prize for the winning creation!

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 10am – 4pm Price: £6 Adults; £3 Children; Under 6s and Trust Members FREE

Meeting Point: Car park opposite Kempt

EASTER EXTRAVAGANZA AT 16 NEW STREET GEORGIAN HOUSE

Tower, St Ouen Time: 10am – 11:30am Price: £5. Suitable for children aged 5-11.

Saturday 10 April

HOMEGROWN HARVESTS Please see P. 36.

Wednesday 14 to Sunday 18 April

SPRING WALKING WEEK

Enjoy a series of guided walks and selfguided walks around the Island walking to and nearby National Trust sites and properties. Enjoy themed walks such as wildflower walks, nature and bird tours and heritage and town trails. Visitors can enjoy ‘behind the scenes’ opportunities such as afternoon tea in a walled garden and visits to historic properties en route.

Kindly supported by Jersey Water Meeting Point: Various Price: Free for Members, £10 NonMembers per walk

Friday 23 April

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The National Trust stages it Annual General Meeting for its members. The meeting will be followed by a glass of wine and light refreshments.

Please see P. 33

Tuesday 6th April

POWER RANGERS Please see P. 27

D I S C O V E R | 51

JOIN & GET INVOLVED

may Thursdays and Fridays in May

GOURMET GEORGIAN INSTALLATION AT 16 NEW STREET

Help us celebrate our tenth anniversary at 16 New Street by coming along to our Gourmet Georgian Festival. Discover how imported goods such as tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar and tobacco grew in popularity as trade routes developed, enjoy a cookery demonstration in the Georgian kitchen (with food to taste), take home a Georgian recipe card to practise your cookery skills at home – and get your children involved with our brand new Gourmet Georgian activity sheet.

springs into action and meet our very own miller, who will be milling the Trust’s unique stoneground flour, and the miller’s wife in the historic kitchen. Tearoom open all day, serving hot drinks and Jersey Wonders – and freshly milled flour on sale from 11am onwards.

Meeting Point: Le Moulin de Quétivel Time: 10am – 4pm Admission: £4 Adults; £2 Children; Under 6s and Trust Members Free Please walk or cycle to the site – limited parking at the Mill Pond.

Thursday 6 May

GOURMET GEORGIAN HISTORICAL WALK

For further details, see pages 40-41.

Meeting Point: The Royal Square Time: 6pm – 7.30pm Admission: £5 Members; £10 NonMembers to include refreshments

Tuesday 11 May

CRAFT WORKSHOP WITH BEVERLEY SPECK Please see P. 37

Saturday 22 May

WATTLE HURDLE GARDEN EDGING/FENCE MAKING

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 10am – 4pm Admission: £6 Adults; £3 Children; Under 6s and Trust Members FREE Kindly supported by Ogier

Please see P. 36

Tuesday 25 May

GOURMET GEORGIAN CANDLELIT TOUR OF 16 NEW STREET

Saturday 1 May

OPEN MILLING

For further details, see pages 40-41.

Visit the only remaining working watermill on the Island and experience the whole milling process from start to finish. Join the Trust’s rangers as they release the water from the mill pond, admire the ancient waterwheel as it

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 6pm onwards Price: £10 Adults; £5 Children including refreshments

june Thursdays & Fridays in June

GOURMET GEORGIAN INSTALLATION AT 16 NEW STREET For further details, see pages 40-41.

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 10am – 4pm Admission: £6 Adults; £3 Children; Under 6s and Trust Members FREE Kindly supported by Ogier

52 | D I S C O V E R

Monday 31 May– Sunday 6 June

#LOVENATURE FESTIVAL

The National Trust for Jersey is staging its annual environment festival #LoveNature over the May half term. Set in and around St Ouen’s Bay in Jersey’s National Park and at other Sites of Special Interest owned by the Trust, the event coincides with and showcases the open afternoon at Le Noir Pré to see the wild orchids in all their glory. Participants are invited to enjoy a week of all things ‘green’ such as scenic walks, bird tours, dawn chorus and sunset activities, bug safaris, pollinator picnics and a host of other wildlife activities. Kindly supported by Jersey Electricity

Meeting Point: Various Full programme to be produced in due course

Friday 4 June

MEET THE GOURMET GEORGIANS - CHILDREN’S EVENT For further details, see pages 40-41.

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 10am – 4pm Admission: £5 Adults; £3 Children; Under 6s Free (Members only)

Saturday 5 June

ANNUAL LECTURE - TALK

BY JONATHAN RENOUF

The States of Jersey has declared a climate emergency, and plans are underway to make Jersey carbon neutral by 2030 - twenty years earlier than the UK. It will mean huge changes, involve a lot of money, and touch on almost every aspect of island life. But how did we get here? Over the last 20 years, Jonathan has had a ring side seat on the climate change debate. As a TV producer in the BBC Science Unit, he was involved in almost every major BBC documentary about climate change, including 2019's "Climate Change: The Facts". He's met leading climate change sceptics, visited scientists studying climate change all over the world, and filmed climate change in action. In this talk, illustrated with clips from many different television programmes, he explains why climate change is such a difficult subject to film, identifies the key turning points in our understanding of the changing climate, and discusses how best to tackle climate change scepticism.

Meeting Point: RJA&HS Meeting Room Time: 8pm Price: £5

Wednesday 9 June

JUDITH QUERÉE’S GARDEN

Enjoy a visit to Judith Querée’s stunning award winning garden nestled in the depths of rural St. Ouen. An RHS partner, the garden is small, but jam packed with over 2000 mainly herbaceous perennials from all over the world; all nurtured in accordance with organic principles.

There is a large and beautiful bog garden, woodland plants and a Clematis in flower trailing somewhere in the garden every day of the year. Judith and her husband Nigel have created the garden from scratch over the years and around every corner of the garden and in the meadows you will find sculptures which they collect. The tour of the garden will end with homemade cake and tea on the patio.

Meeting Point: St Ouen’s Parish hall with a short stroll to the garden.

Time: 2pm – 4pm Price: £20 for Members to include tea and cake

Sunday 13 June

SPRING FLORISTRY WORKSHOP

Saturday 26 June

LINO CUTTING WORKSHOP WITH KERRY-JANE WARNER Pease see P. 37

Tuesday 29 June

THE GOURMET GEORGIANS – HISTORICAL TALK AND TASTING SESSION For further details, see pages 40-41.

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 6.30pm – 8pm Admission: £10 for Members; £15 for Non-Members including refreshments

Please See P. 37

Book tickets online for all our events by visiting www.nationaltrust.je/events

JOIN & GET INVOLVED

july Wednesday 1 to Friday 31 July

30 BAYS IN 30 DAYS

Jump in this July and swim in a variety of bays throughout the month. A fun way of making the most of our beautiful island and the feeling of having achieved something in the summer rather than it just flying by. Sea swimming has proven benefits for health and wellbeing and participants can visit new places or those bays they haven’t visited for years. Sea swimming makes you feel alive and loving life! Join the group swim at the start of the month then decide where and when to swim, joining the final group swim at the end of the month Meeting Point: There will be three group swims, a launch event and celebratory swim in St Brelade’s Bay at the beginning and end of the event and a mid-month swim at la Rocque. All details to be advertised nearer the time.

Thursdays and Fridays in July

GORGEOUS GEORGIAN INSTALLATION AT 16 NEW STREET

at 16 New Street by coming along to our Gorgeous Georgian Festival. From sackback gowns to the polonaise, polished silver tea pots to exquisite fans – is there a more opulent period of history than the 18th century? With lots of activities for children, including dressing up clothes and a brand new Gorgeous Georgian activity sheet.

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 10am – 4pm Admission: £6 Adults; £3 Children; Under 6s and Trust Members FREE Kindly supported by Ogier

Thursday 1 July

GORGEOUS GEORGIAN HISTORICAL WALK

For further details, see pages 40-41 Meeting Point: The Royal Square Time: 6pm – 7.30pm Admission: £5 Members; £10 NonMembers including refreshments

For further details, see pages 40-41

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 10am – 4pm Admission: £6 Adults; £3 Children; Under 6s and Trust Members FREE

Tuesday 3 August

GORGEOUS GEORGIAN CANDLELIT TOUR OF 16 NEW STREET

For further details, see pages 40-41.

For further details, see pages 40 - 41.

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Georgian House Time: 4.30pm – 5.45pm Admission: £15 including afternoon tea (Members only)

Summer holidays The school summer holidays see the return of the popular Rockpool Rambles, Precious Pollinator – bug hunts, and Waste-Free-Wednesdays at the Whitehouse.

In addition to these, families will have the opportunity to explore our exciting new ‘Energy Hub at Le Moulin de Quétivel, and take part in workshops, such as building solar ovens or their own windmills, and woodland activities.

september

august GORGEOUS GEORGIAN INSTALLATION AT 16 NEW STREET

GORGEOUS GEORGIAN TEA – HISTORICAL TALK AND AFTERNOON TEA

Look out for updates via email to members and on our Facebook page for more details in the coming months.

Help us celebrate our tenth anniversary

Thursdays and Fridays in August

Tuesday 20 July

Admission: £10 Adults; £5 Children including refreshments

Tuesday 10 August

TEXTILE ART WITH BEVERLEY SPECK Please see P. 37

Friday 27 August

MEET THE GORGEOUS GEORGIANS - CHILDREN’S EVENT For further details, see pages 40-41

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Time: 10am – 4pm Admission: £5 Adults; £3 Children; Under 6s Free (Members only)

Wednesday 1 to Sunday 5 September

WALKING THROUGH AUTUMN FESTIVAL

Enjoy a series of guided walks and selfguided walks around the Island walking to and nearby National Trust sites and properties. Enjoy themed walks such as wildflower walks, nature and bird tours and heritage and town trails. Visitors can enjoy ‘behind the scenes’ opportunities such as afternoon tea in a walled garden and visits to historic properties en route.

Kindly supported by Jersey Water Meeting Point: Various Admission: Free for Members, £10 NonMembers per walk

Meeting Point: 16 New Street Time: 6pm onwards 54 | D I S C O V E R

Book tickets online for all our events by visiting www.nationaltrust.je/events

Who cares if this is the only way to hear a Cuckoo in Jersey?

We Do -

JOIN US NOW

Jersey’s birdlife remains under threat. Declines in common garden birds, wading birds and farmlands birds with 33 on the ‘red list’ and 50 on the amber list. Yellowhammer and Cuckoo are now locally extinct with the Turtledove, Puffin and Skylark at risk.

This illustrates the challenges we are facing. The National Trust for Jersey is working hard to maintain and create new habitats as well as undertaking research and management work through Birds on the Edge to protect our seabirds. This is why we urgently need your support, so please join us now!

www.nationaltrust.je/membersip

D I S C O V E R | 55

CONTACT DISCOVER

Get in touch. We would love to hear your questions, comments and ideas.

The National Trust for Jersey The Elms La Chève Rue St Mary Jersey JE3 3EN Telephone 01534 483193 enquiries@nationaltrust.je

MAKING IT HAPPEN DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM The Idea Works Limited Regency House Regent Road St Helier Jersey JE2 4UZ Telephone 01534 755400 info@theideaworks.com

EDITORIAL TEAM Donna Le Marrec and Charles Alluto.

Contributors: Conrad Evans, Jon

Rault, Cris Sellares, Sue Hardy, Robin Kelly, Jon Parkes, Jersey Hemp, Erin Cowham, Alec Le Sueur, Jonathan Renouf, John Pinel, Fiona CasselsBrown, Jean Treleven, Catherine Ward, Simone Springett, Sarah Hill, PHOTOGRAPHS

Credits to: Societe Jersiaise, John Lord,

John Ovenden, Visit Jersey.

Front Cover: Le Don Hilton, the White

House.

©2021 – Discover Magazine is published by The National Trust for Jersey.

The publisher, editor and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any errors, omissions, misstatements, mistakes or references.

Correct at the time of print February 2021

Discover is printed using only paper from FSC/ PEFC suppliers from well managed forests.

This magazine can be recycled and we encourage you to do so at your recycling point. Passing the magazine onto a friend counts as recycling too.