The Play in the Park
An audience of 150 people joined the Pickwick Club for the afternoon to watch the Rain or Shine Theatre Company perform The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. It was a performance containing plenty of hilarity and much enjoyed in the warm sunshine.
A portion of the profits from the Play in the Park performance are given each year to the Friends and it is our only fundraising event. We are grateful therefore to all those from the local community and beyond who support this event.
Big Butterfly Count
The Big Butterfly Count held on 23rd July in the Park and Arboretum was a great success. It was attended by 32 adults and 26 children and held in partnership with Butterfly Conservation. They laid on craft activities and a quiz trailfor the children, as well as being available to answer questions and supply lots of interesting information about butterflies and moths.
Those participating in the count spent 15 minutes looking for butterflies and identifying them with the aid of charts. This is a national citizen's science survey held annually and the results will be collated across the country to look for trends which indicate which species of butterfly are thriving and which are in decline.
The picture above is in fact a moth not a butterfly. The Jersey Tiger Moth is a splendid day flying moth which one group was lucky enough to spot and they provided photographic evidence to prove it!
Himalayan Balsam
No this isn't a tropical rainforest, it's actually the brook near the Cherston Court entrance to the Park and Arboretum. Ron and some volunteers are taking on the annual task of controlling the Himalayan Balsam which grows along the edges of the brook. The only way of controlling this invasive species with its exploding seed pods is to pull it out before the pink flowers set seed. Although an attractive plant, it would take over the whole brook if left to its own devices and choke out other plants.
Wildlife to look out for
Damselfly
The Park and Arboretum are currently teeming with insect life. Around the brook and the wildlife pond are lots of brightly coloured damselflies like the one above and many different species of butterfly can be seen all through the Park and Arboretum.
Dragonfly