festival
Spring fair Newsletter
27/05/11 17:47
Spring Country Side Fair 2011 – Cannon Hill News
40 Years of Spring Festivals in Cannon Hill Park 1971- 2011
Many local families still remember the Tulips and the Dutch Windmill created for the 1970s Festival, and the creation of Birmingham Nature Centre shortly after the Midlands Arts Centre opened in Cannon Hill Park. * You’ll find the Spring Fair this year by the Nature Centre and new Natural Adventure Play area, and with lots of activities going on in the City Park and Country Side areas along the River Rea down to Stirchley. Plus ‘Reel Archive’ film showings of us then – back in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
*Storytelling Tent * Arts and Nature Discovery zone
Record your own live weather forecast, take part in exciting weather experiments, observe a professional weather station, and make a small storm tornado.
The OPAL Weather Roadshow is your chance to explore the exciting science of climate and weather. There are lots of activities and demonstrations to suit all ages and you’ll also be able to talk with professional meteorologists and OPAL scientists.
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Spring over the Rea
03/05/09 19:00
Today we held our spring festival celebrating the start of another ‘Friends Event Year’ and another year of patch people and wildlife activity. We were happy to be joined by the Rangers (Arthur and Alan), local friend Penny Moore who organised the great duck race (from Balaams Wood another River Rea local patch), the RSPB in the shape of Hollie and Jess who will moving on to pastures new as their Severn-Trent funding has expired (they will be greatly missed), Adam, Laura and Jon (from OPAL West Midlands), Tom and Nicky from Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust (BBCWT) and famous ‘Bat Detector Van’.
Nicky (BBCWT), Tom (BBCWT), Jon (OPALWM) and Adam (OPALWM) with the OPAL WM Bee Hotels and literature, OPAL worm survey kits and Evolution MegaLab snail tank.
The Bat Detector.
There were bee hotels and bat boxes to be made (courtesy of BBCWT) and lots of information concerning British solitary bees and OPAL West Midlands’ ‘West Mildands Buzz’ bee project.
Badges to be drawn.
The day started with a walk around one of the patch nature walks led by the Friends and OPAL (see here for walk details) and concluded with the Great duck Race, started by Tony and refereed by Penny. In between we had lots of activity in the Queen Mother’s Woodland (or Rea Thicket) when Arthur and Alan ran a bug hunt, attended by a host of enthusiastic young naturalists and their parents.
Arthur organising the ‘bug hunt’.
45 minutes of rooting around looking on and around trees, under stones and logs, in brushwood piles, leaf litter turned up a vast array of different bugs including mites and spiders, woodlice, millipedes and centipedes, beetles, slugs, snails, flies, hymenopterans, adult caddisflies and the like.
Most were taken back to the stands for photographing and you can find these sitting on the ‘Bug Ball gallery’. Can you spot your bug? Wait for the pictures to cycle through!
The day culminated in the ‘Great Duck Race’. The ducks were released from the bridge at Second Avenue and the finish line was the ford down Rea Walk.
Penny allocated the ducks to their owners. Eventually 68 numbered ducks entered the race.
Ready, set go...........
And they are off........
The race is on downstream........
And the winner was......number 26! Thanks Penny (and Arthur and Alan for marshalling and collecting the late finishers).
It was a terrific way to spend a warm spring day. Thanks to all involved.
Tony (left) and Jon (right).
Nicky (BBCWT), Tom (BBCWT), Jon (OPALWM) and Adam (OPALWM) with the OPAL WM Bee Hotels and literature, OPAL worm survey kits and Evolution MegaLab snail tank.
The Bat Detector.
There were bee hotels and bat boxes to be made (courtesy of BBCWT) and lots of information concerning British solitary bees and OPAL West Midlands’ ‘West Mildands Buzz’ bee project.
Badges to be drawn.
The day started with a walk around one of the patch nature walks led by the Friends and OPAL (see here for walk details) and concluded with the Great duck Race, started by Tony and refereed by Penny. In between we had lots of activity in the Queen Mother’s Woodland (or Rea Thicket) when Arthur and Alan ran a bug hunt, attended by a host of enthusiastic young naturalists and their parents.
Arthur organising the ‘bug hunt’.
45 minutes of rooting around looking on and around trees, under stones and logs, in brushwood piles, leaf litter turned up a vast array of different bugs including mites and spiders, woodlice, millipedes and centipedes, beetles, slugs, snails, flies, hymenopterans, adult caddisflies and the like.
Most were taken back to the stands for photographing and you can find these sitting on the ‘Bug Ball gallery’. Can you spot your bug? Wait for the pictures to cycle through!
The day culminated in the ‘Great Duck Race’. The ducks were released from the bridge at Second Avenue and the finish line was the ford down Rea Walk.
Penny allocated the ducks to their owners. Eventually 68 numbered ducks entered the race.
Ready, set go...........
And they are off........
The race is on downstream........
And the winner was......number 26! Thanks Penny (and Arthur and Alan for marshalling and collecting the late finishers).
It was a terrific way to spend a warm spring day. Thanks to all involved.
Tony (left) and Jon (right).