Sustainable Earth 2021
Join us for a two-day online forum across 24 and 25 June, as we bring together researchers, businesses, NGOs, the public sector, community groups and individuals to tackle global and local challenges around the climate emergency.
Hear from inspirational speakers, network, participate, spark ideas and find opportunities to collaborate.
The event is free, but registration is required to attend any part of the two-day programme, be it one session, half a day, day 1 or 2 only, or the full two days!
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/institutes/sustainable-earth/se21
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlymEarth (3k)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ISSRPlymUni
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Eggesford Forest - Flashdown Plantation
Flashdown Plantation is home to the very first trees planted by the Forestry Commission. In 1919, Charles Trefusis, the 21st Baron Clinton was appointed one of the founding members of the Forestry Commission, formed as part of the Forestry Act to replant Britain’s woodlands which had been depleted during the First World War.
Immediately after the first meeting in London, Lord Clinton and fellow member Lord Lovat from Scotland challenged one another to a race home to plant the Commission’s first trees. Records show that Lord Clinton had assembled a small team of foresters, ready to plant trees as soon as he disembarked his train at Eggesford Station. Meanwhile as Lord Lovat arrived at Elgin Station he was handed a telegram from Lord Clinton announcing that the first trees had already been planted in Flashdown Wood in Devon. Today, some of the same Douglas firs, larch and beech trees stand at around 40 meters tall.
Source: Crediton Courier
Directions
By train from Exeter (Tarka Line) stop at Eggesford Station. From the platform exit, turn right and cross Eggesford Bridge then turn right at Cott Cross.
By bus (5C Exeter - Chulmleigh) or train from Barnstaple (Tarka Line) stop at Eggesford Station. From Eggesford Station cross the level crossing from the A377 to Wembworthy/Winkleigh then turn right at Cott Cross.
Follow the road up the hill and take the unmarked left turn into Flashdown Plantation (1/3 mile, 1/2 km from Cotts Cross).
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Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo)
Devon Wildlife Trust The Beautiful demoiselle is a large damselfly that lives on small, fast-flowing rivers, mainly in the west of the country. It is one of only two UK damselflies with obviously coloured wings; the similar-looking Banded demoiselle, however, has distinctive dark patches on its wings. The Beautiful demoiselle is typically on the wing from May to August. It displays a flitting, fluttering flight, which the male uses to attract a female.
How to identify
Male Beautiful demoiselles have dark-coloured wings and metallic blue-green bodies; females have brown wings and green bodies. The Beautiful demoiselle is similar to the Banded Demoiselle, but the males of the latter species have distinctive dark patches in the middle of their wings.
https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/damselflies/beautiful-demoiselle
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Eggesford Forest
Discover the great historic importance of Eggesford Forest today
Eggesford Forest is home to the very first trees planted by the newly created Forestry Commission in 1919 within Flashdown Wood.
Since then, the forest has continued to gather mementos of the past with several commemorative tree avenues, and a granite stone unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1956 to mark the millionth acre of Forestry Commission planting.
https://www.forestryengland.uk/eggesford-forest
Eggesford Forest Eggesford EX18 7LD
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forestry.england.uk/ (129k)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eggesford%20Forest/2003186323043888/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ForestryEngland (40k)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forestryengland/ (54k)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCspfY4rpODprWA_9zeZ_9EQ (2.1k)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forestry-england/ (13k)
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An Ecologist's I Ching: Population and Individual
Last year, I could not ride a bike. This year I am riding 5 miles in memory of Paul who died of bowel cancer in January 2021. Even though he is no longer with us, Paul has helped me to get closer to the person who I want to be.
Ecology sees our world as an ever-changing web of energy and matter. Patterns appear and disappear. Life grows and dies. We look at our world through lenses, each lens illuminates an aspect of the whole. These notes, inspired by the I Ching, look at a selection of contrasting ideas which can help us to act mindfully in our world.
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Read more: An Ecologist's I Ching: Population and Individual
Devon Doughnut
Welcome! We are a collective of ‘Devon Doughnut Makers’ on a mission to co-create a first iteration of a Devon Doughnut. We are asking, “Could a dashboard help to provide a picture of how Devon is faring ecologically and economically? Would this be useful to people living and working here? If so, how, and to do what?”
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Exeter Ship Canal
Exeter City Council The historic Exeter Ship Canal first opened to shipping in 1566 and was the first canal to be built in Britain since Roman times. The Canal runs through an area of outstanding and protected natural beauty and is a fantastic site to tie-up for a few days.
You can visit the Exeter canal and base your boat there for a few days, or all year round.
The canal basin and quay are an historic gateway to the city and provides ample parking with easy access to sports, recreation and shops.
This area is a mix of old and new building and provides moorings for a wide range of vessels.
A walk or cycle along the tow path brings you to the Double Locks pub, or the Turf Hotel at the furthest reach of the canal.
River and Canal office, Exeter City Council, Haven Road, Exeter. EX2 8DU
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExeterPortAuthority (980)
Tiwtter: https://twitter.com/ExPortAuthority (684)
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DWT - River Exe Wild Walk
This walk includes Devon Wildlife Trust's headquarters at Cricklepit Mill with its riverside garden. a walk through the outskirts of Exeter from the lively Quay area along the canal to the quiet of the Old Sludge Beds nature reserve.
The walk follows tracks and pathways and is around six miles in length so will provide a good afternoon's stroll.
The route offers tranquil stop-off points in the heart of the city, good views of the river as it winds its way to the sea and some great opportunities to spot the many wild birds and wetland creatures that make the River Exe their home.
Starts: Exeter Quay
Length: 6 miles
Highlights:
- Water birds on the River Exe and Exeter Ship Canal
- Open spaces of Riverside Valley Park
- Dragonflies and warblers at DWT Old Sludge Beds nature reserve
https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/sites/default/files/2018-02/River%20Exe%20Wild%20Walk.pdf
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Reducing our Carbon Footprint
We work from home
We lived on Lundy for over ten years without owning a car. When we went on holiday we used public transport - the highlight being a three week holiday in Italy. We took the Eurostar to Paris, a sleeper train from Paris to Munich, and then through the Brenner Pass to Verona. We travelled Italy by train staying in Verona, Assisi, Orvieto and Florence.
Since returning to mainland Devon, we are trying to live without a car. We chose to live in Chulmleigh because of the local shops and its public transport links. We buy most of our food from Chulmleigh Bakery, the Old Dairy and the Central in Chulmleigh and get our veg and organic milk delivered by Local Farm Box. There are hourly buses to Exeter and we are close to Eggesford Railway Station for services to Barnstaple or Exeter and beyond.
Working from home gives us more time together as a family. It gives us the flexibility to plan our weeks around the seasons, to grow some food in our garden, to go for walks when the weather is good. These things make us happier and more productive in our work.
On my 52nd birthday, my step-daughter challenged me to learn to ride a bicycle..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtb4eWx-j4I
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