Taunton Deane area group of Somerset Wildlife Trust opens its winter season with three meetings at Taunton Library, each starting at 7.30pm. In her talk, Discovering the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, on Tuesday, October 9, Viv Phillips will evaluate this idyllic waterway as a leisure and environmental resource.
The adventures of eco-volunteer' Ethne Conlin will be followed on November 13. She has visited a private nature reserve in Brazil, searching for the elusive red-breasted toucan and photographing the flora and fauna.
On December 11 Dr David Allen, under the title Gone West, will describe the plants of Scilly, Lizard and Lundy.
A fascinating programme of events has been arranged by the Trust at Fyne Court, Broomfield, where visitors on Sunday, September 16, at 2.30pm, will be able to hear the story of the house and its owner, Andrew Crosse, the pioneering electrical scientist.
A family event on Sunday, September 23, from 10.30am to 12.30pm will celebrate Hedgerow Harvest - how to make the most of the autumnal larder; while another family event on Saturday, September 29, from 6-8pm will focus on bats.
There are many stories and beliefs attached to trees and on Sunday, September 30, folklore historian Brian Wright will relate some of them on a walk starting at 2.30pm.
Traditional stories about dragons in Somerset date back in some cases over 1,000 years. On a walk and talk;' on Sunday, October 14, at 2.30pm Bright Wright will consider whether dragons really did exist.
More than 1,500 members joined the Wildlife Trust during the year, bringing the total up to nearly 20,000. Over £1.4 million was spent on conservation work, amounting to 78% of expenditure.
The Trust developed a landscape-scale project to increase floodplain woodland beside the River Tone west of Taunton. It also carried out research to develop a landscape-scale project on the Somerset Levels and Moors. An appeal for restoration work in this area has so far raised £12,000. An earlier appeal - to secure a valuable piece of fen wetland at Catcott - produced £20,000.
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