Feeling festive!

On Sunday I began cutting some of the willow we have growing on the reserve to weave into wreaths. Usually at this time of year we would be offering willow wreath making sessions for individuals and families, harvesting the willow, weaving the wreath and decorating it with items gathered on the reserve. This year, we are offering it as a self-led activity, where visitors can make a donation for a pre-made wreath then follow the mile long ‘Wild Walk’ circular loop in search of natural items to decorate the wreath with. I may be wreath making on and off for the next week or so! 

Pre-made willow wreaths

Pre-made willow wreaths

Our pre-made wreaths can be found on the plant sales table by the Welcome Hut, for a suggested donation of £3 to £5. Payment can be made by card using the contactless donations point by the door to the Welcome Hut, or by cash in the green box on the fence.

Bundles of wool for tying items on to the wreath and for hanging it up afterwards can be found hanging on the tree to the left of the table. If you want to tie items on all the way round, instead of leaving some of the willow showing, you will need more than one bundle – we are happy to take back anything you don’t use for another time. You could also try tucking items in between the pieces of willow to secure them.

There are also a couple of buckets on the ground containing additional items which can be added in if you wish. 

Wreath making station and plant sales

I walked the ‘Wild Walk’ loop to make an example wreath, and found a nice mix of natural items including bracken (I snapped top of a couple of individual leaves off), a mixture of leaves from the ground, some moss, some dried seed heads, grasses and a small twig that still had closed catkins on it. When you do go gathering, please remember to collect responsibly and not take too much of one particular item. 

Finished wreath

Some items will last longer than others, but those that begin to wilt could be replaced with something else you find next time you go for a walk, or items from the garden… and on that note you are of course than more welcome to make a donation for a wreath and take it away with you to decorate at home. Either way, have fun wreath making! 

Once you have finished with your wreath, the items you have added will break down if put back outside and the wool could be reused again another time for something else. Your wreath will dry and change colour, but it will last and if stored somewhere dry it could be used again next year and the year after…

Finally, we do still have some plants on the plant sales table available for a donation, along with other items made by volunteer Geoff that would either make a great addition to a wildlife friendly garden or make a great gift: the bug homes are £5 each and the bird and bat boxes are £10 each. Again donations can be made by cash or card.

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Festive Opening

Just a reminder, Christmas Day is the one day of the year we do not open, so the car parks, Education Centre and bird hides will remain closed tomorrow. The reserve will be back open as usual on Boxing Day and in addition New Years Day will once again see the return of the Pop-up Café, so you will be able to fuel up with a hot drink and homemade cakes and savouries in the Education Centre as you begin a new bird list for 2020.

The Pop-up Café will also be in the Centre on Sundays 5th and 19th January from 10am until 3.30pm.

Merry Christmas!

Blashford Robin

Feeling Festive!

It’s the time of year for festive wreath making and we have been busy with a number of different groups, weaving a willow hoop then decorating it with greenery found on the reserve.

First up was our Dine and Discover event at the end of November,  where we enjoyed a short walk gathering holly, ivy, pine, larch, ferns, seed heads and anything else that caught our eye before harvesting some willow from our main osier bed and having a go at making a wreath. After a very scrummy lunch cooked over the campfire of broccoli and stilton soup, brie and cranberry wraps and a festive spiced apple juice (thanks to Jim and volunteer David for keeping the fire going and doing most, if not all, of the cooking!), we decorated the wreaths with the greenery collected and they all looked amazing:

Our Dine and Discover events are monthly sessions (usually on the last Friday) for adults excited by wildlife, nature and the outdoors. They are themed with the changing seasons and include preparing and cooking a simple meal together around the campfire alongside the main activity. We are having a break in December and January so our next Dine and Discover will be on Friday 28th February where we will be going on a walk to discover the wonderful wetland wildlife Blashford has to offer. Further details can be found on the website.

Next up was Wildlife Tots where we made leaf wreaths by threading different leaves onto some wire, collected all the pom pom baubles to decorate our tiny Chrismas tree and had a go at making a simple willow wreath, tying different natural treasures on with wool to decorate:

January’s Wildlife Tots session on Monday 6th has a ‘Stickman’ theme and we will be enjoying a short walk around the reserve with some fun activities along the way. The morning session books up fast but there are usually spaces available in the afternoon from 1pm until 2.30pm and again details can be found on the website.

Finally last week we were joined by the local Home Educated group who visit us a number of times a year to take part in wildlife themes activities. As it was December we were again wreath making and after a walk gathering materials they had a go at weaving and then decorating their willow wreaths:

I think we’ve made about 50 wreaths in total, so hopefully they’re all hanging pride of place on a door somewhere!