Wednesday Wild Kids
The
number of family groups enjoying their visits to Noakes Grove has
increased a lot during lockdown but our organised children's events had to stop. Under the current rules, up to six people (related or not) can meet in the open air. We decided to try out a "Wild Child Club" with five children aged 6-9 and one adult making up the six.
When we sent out the news of the club (for children of Friends or Shareholders) one evening, it was over-subscribed in less than two hours.
The lucky first five have so far had two Wednesday afternoon sessions and seem to be really enjoying them.
We are working hard to find a way of running at least one more group on a different day. There are enough children on the waiting list for one new group but if you would like your youngster added to the list email david@organic-countryside.co.uk
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Each child took home a couple of tadpoles. A week later some had started to become frogs. photo: Hannah's Mum
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Lockdown for Sheep
Sheep can't catch the corona virus but some of ours got running noses and started coughing a bit. The vet diagnosed sheep flu, which is quite infectious to other sheep. Ours are getting some treatment and the lambs a vaccination.
Meanwhile, we can't move sheep from one of our reserves to another. The four old ladies in a very large pasture at Kings Field are coughing. The thirteen ewes and lambs at Noakes Grove have over-grazed their pastures but we can't move them to eat the plentiful grass at Kings Field.
Let's hope our sheep-lockdown ends sooner than is likely for us humans. |
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Marbled Whites
One of the prettiest butterflies at Noakes Grove (and there are quite of lot of them) is the Marbled White. It is only a few years since Marbled Whites recolonised the Saffron Walden area and they are now doing really well in any bit of open countryside that isn't intensively farmed.
The butterfly news is really quite encouraging: since 1997 (when The Butterflies of Essex was written) Purple Emperors, Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals came back after many decades absence. Only the Wall has been lost to our area in the last couple of decades.
There were lots of Peacock caterpillars on the Noakes Grove nettle patches and now they have been replaced by baby Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars and a few Red Admirals. There should be lots of these beautiful stinging nettle butterflies when the chrysalids hatch in a week or two.
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Photo Peter Savic |
Each week you could win £25,000 - we WILL win £26 a year
Buy a £1 ticket each week and, every week, you'll have a 1:500 chance of winning a money prize. It might be £25,000 but more likely, £2,000, £250 or £25.
And every week, half your £1 will help fund our work at Noakes Grove
Please visit our page on the Essex lottery web site to find out more and buy your tickets
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Become a country landowner
The whole of Noakes Grove belongs to the Organic Countryside Community Interest Company and its shareholders own the company.
So far our shareholders have bought over 22,300 £1 shares but there is still a long way to go before we have paid off the loan we needed to buy the whole nine acres of Noakes Grove
If you would like to buy shares, £100 will protect 25 sq metres for ever. The shares will never earn you any dividend but you will be a full member of Organic Countryside CIC and have votes in what the company does to protect Noakes Grove and the Walden Countryside.
You can keep your shares for as long as you wish, then give or leave them to your grandchildren. You'll own a part of the company and the company owns the land - it will never be built over or farmed intensively.
Buy a piece of Noakes Grove now: minimum investment £100
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