Newsletter; Edition 8 Autumn 2012

Inspiring local people to love their wild spaces

WelcomeAfter the wettest June since records began, summer was a long time coming this year. However, our events programme continued undeterred. Thanks to everyone who came out and took part, whatever the weather.

Our Big Butterfly Count events gave us great views of brightly coloured burnet moths along Middle Beck and we found more creepy crawlies with a bug hunt along Ormesby Beck. Alongside our other summer events, we also helped Ormesby Beck Friendship Group celebrate the Community Spaces scheme with STEM and Groundwork NE.

Our guided walks programme started again with a closer look at the communities of miners which drove the 19th century development of industrial Teesside. The walk was part of the Discover Middlesbrough Festival and the determination and bravery of the miners and their families fitted well with the Great Achievements theme.

Autumn will see us working with local artist Andy Broderick and children from St Pius Primary School on a Big Draw project taking inspiration from Ormesby Beck. We’re supporting Groundwork NE with the delivery of the John Muir Award scheme for a group of students from Unity City Academy as well as providing a programme of practical work for Oakfields Community College.

Keep track of the latest news on our facebook page and twitter feed @BoroBecksTeam.

Contact details; 01642 515618

Christine Corbett Community Outreach Officer

Barry Jobson Becks Ranger

Sammy BrownProject Co-ordinator

Minibeast Roadshow 2012

Elemental Explorers

Here is a selection of photos from our summer holiday activities to whet your appetite for next year!

Enjoying the butterfly trail

along Middle Beck

Storytelling with Tipi Arts

Making clay creatures

Let your imagination go wild

Find your

inner artist!

Ormesby Beck Marton West Beck

Spencer Beck Middle Beck

Boro Becks Round UpAutumn sees the start of more practical improvements along the becks and also marks the project’s second anniversary.Find out below what progress has been made and how you can get involved.

Contact details; Boro Becks Project, c/o Stewart Park, The Grove,

Marton, Middlesbrough, TS7 8AR

Minibeast hunts with years 1 and 2 from Berwick Hills Primary School unearthed an impressive array of creepy crawlies in the allotment site we share with G r o u n d w o r k NE. Alongside numerous slugs and snails, the children discovered huge house spiders and the impressive nursery web spider, the females of which carry their egg cocoons around until they hatch. They then spin a special nursery web to shelter the tiny spiderlings.

The new beck channel behind Kentmere Road has benefited from the steady rain with lots of plants covering the once bare earth. Water speedwell was noted from the channel during a plant ID training session led by Wildflower Ark for the volunteers, a first for the area. The resident water voles may already be investigating the new channel and plans to divert the beck along this route are being made.

The reception children of St Edward’s Primary School earned their bug hunting credentials on a nature walk in July. The dull weather did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm and stars of the show included young shield bugs, some beautiful moths and strange looking ladybird larvae. An earlier bug hunt with the Sutton Estate junior youth club revealed the cream-spotted ladybird, not recorded by our project before along this beck.

Installation of the metal bridge features and a bench along Newham Beck cycle path took place over the summer and the footbridges have been painted to complete the new look.

The Big Butterfly Count event in July went well, thank you to everyone who came along. We followed the butterfly trail in the morning and discovered a truly spectacular number of red and black burnet moths with plenty of orange small skipper butterflies in a beautiful flowery meadow on the Millennium Green. We were lucky enough to see the cocoons from which the moths had only recently emerged, complete with the black pupal cases.

Alongside the council’s beckside grass cuts for water voles, Barry and the volunteers will be starting to thin out the small copses along the beck this autumn, to improve sightlines and encourage wildflowers to flourish.

The Party in the Park event at Thorntree Park enjoyed a lovely sunny day, reflected in a great turnout of local people. Visitors to the Boro Becks marquee watched green woodworking demonstrations, took part in children’s crafts and saw how important the beck is for wildlife; thank you to everyone who popped in to see us.

The flower seeds sown by Barry and the volunteers last year in an effort to establish a new wildflower meadow in a forgotten corner of the beck valley put on a great show of colour over the summer. Yellow rattle, pink corncockle, sorrel and golden buttercups were spotted and a good number of cowslips have germinated too. These take a couple of years to settle in before they flower so keep an eye out next spring for what promises to be an impressive show.

Contact details; Boro Becks Project, c/o Stewart Park, The Grove, Marton, Middlesbrough, TS7 8AR

Flatts Lane Past and PresentSunday 21st October 10.30am-2.30pmFollow the Tees Link footpath up Spencer Beck to Flatts Lane and enjoy a circular walk around the country park to learn more about its industrial past and to see how nature has reclaimed it. Bring a packed lunch and drink.Please meet outside the Thorntree Park Pavillion at 10.30am. If travelling by car, please meet at Stewart Park car park at 10am for lift to start of walk. Minibus provided for return to Thorntree and Stewart Parks.Limited numbers, booking essential on 01642 515618 or borobecks@middlesbrough.gov.uk.

Community Bulb Planting and Autumn CraftsFriday 2nd November Charlbury Road Community CentreCome along and play your part in brightening up the becks with a morning community bulb planting session followed by children’s autumnal crafts, facepainting and the chance to plant up decorated pots to take home.Community bulb planting; meet at 10.30am outside the centre. Crafts and bulb planting 1.30-3.30pm in the centre.

Tree TrailWednesday 14th November Take a walk on the wild side to discover some of the hidden arboreal gems of Middlesbrough with ranger Barry Jobson and the Boro Becks volunteers. Learn about the research they are currently carrying out along the beckside routes in preparation for a new tree information pack.Meet at 10am at Nature’s World.

Boro Becks Green Christmas FairSaturday 1st December 11am-3pmCharlbury Road Community CentreGet in to the festive spirit with seasonal refreshments, facepainting, a Christmas trail around Middle Beck and the chance to make lovely eco-friendly cards and gifts.

Volunteer Practical Task DaysEvery Tuesday and Thursday meeting at 10amTasks vary from litter picking and footpath work to wildlife surveys and tree management. Come along and try your hand at making a real difference to the becks.Please contact Becks Ranger Barry Jobson direct for more information on 01642 515618 or email barry_jobson@middlesbrough.gov.uk

FREE Events and Activities

For our outdoor events please dress for the weather, with good footwear and warm, waterproof clothing. Bring a packed lunch and drinks for all day walks.All family events are validated by The Children’s University so bring learning passports along to record the time spent. In most cases, parking is extremely limited at the event venues and meeting points; please walk to the events or use public transport where possible. For more details or to book where needed, ring 01642 515618 or email borobecks@middlesbrough.gov.uk.

Please note; all children (16 years and under) must be accompanied by an adult.

As autumn gets in to its stride and winter approaches, wildlife is left with a number of options to survive the limited food supply and cold temperatures along the beck valleys. Some opt to stay and change their diet to make the most of what’s available, others fatten up to sleep out the winter, such as bats and hedgehogs and many migrate to find food elsewhere.

The wet and cool weather experienced for much of the summer will reduce the number of queen bumble bees and butterflies able to hibernate which may well have a knock on effect for numbers seen next year. However, the wet conditions have provided plenty of food for hedgehogs including berries, insects and worms in addition to brambles and other shrubs for cover. If they come in to your gardens during autumn, feed them cat or dog food to help them gain weight but avoid milk and bread as they can’t digest this. Also, always check any piles of leaves or branches before tidying up or burning as these provide ideal hibernation sites for sleepy hedgehogs.

Water voles don’t truly hibernate but will spend less time above ground when the bad weather closes in. They gather plant stems, leaves and berries during the autumn to help them survive the lean season. Birds such as jays also store food during the autumn glut and can be regularly seen searching for acorns to bury in the ground along Ormesby and Marton West Becks. They have good memories but the acorns they don’t find will germinate next spring and may become the large stately

oak trees of the future.

Summer visiting birds follow the ‘get out’ strategy and the last of the willow warblers and chiffchaffs will be on the move in October. Even common resident birds such as robins and blackbirds will undertake long journeys to find food; the birds you saw along the becks and in your gardens over the summer are unlikely to be the same birds you’ll spot later in the year as our birds move south and others come across from the continent to take their place.

If you spot a problem when out on the becks, use the numbers below to report it;

Important numbers

Pollution incidentsEnvironment Agency’s 24-hour pollution hotline 0800 807060

Rubbish in the becks or along the valleysMiddlesbrough Council Environment hotline 01642 726001

Contact details; borobecks@middlesbrough.gov.uk / www.middlesbrough.gov.uk

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Summer was a busy time for Barry and the volunteers with strimming, footpath improvements and regular litter picks at all sites. In addition, the management of the flower meadows along the becks began in September to build on the progress already made.

The volunteers have enjoyed several away days to Tees Valley Wildlife Trust reserves over the last few months to work alongside other volunteer teams, see examples of good management and make useful contacts. A Xmas social trip has been arranged for December to thank the

volunteers for all the hours they give so willingly to the project.

The group is keen to look at becoming more independent with a move towards setting up a friends group. Please contact Barry on (01642) 515618 for more information about how to get involved.

Volunteer Update