Going Wild in BC
We are a three year project of Lightfoot Enterprises, created as part of our town’s Climate Action Plan. Our main focus is to build up the town’s biodiversity for the benefit of people and wildlife.
Our remit includes running:
- Volunteer conservation groups
- Community Wildlife Groups (including Hedgehogs, Swifts and Moths)
- Our Going Wild Kids Club for young people aged 9-14 every month
- Winter talks
Who we are and what we do!
Welcome to our project page! We’re Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle or ‘Going Wild’ for short. We invite you to embrace our slightly alarming name and indeed everything else about us as we endeavour to create ‘wildlife corridors’, essentially habitat highways criss-crossing the Parish and town of Bishop’s castle, to help our pollinators, hedgehogs and amphibians navigate about. This will help us to spread nature from our more fruitful pockets to elsewhere, as well as providing a helpful insurance policy in the event of climate change and seasonal stresses.
We achieve this through the tireless work of our volunteers, trustees and supporters, who all help us to work together with land-owners and local communities to create and manage meadows, woodlands and hedgerows. We also record the fantastic wildlife on our doorstep through our local Moth Group and Swift Group, who meet monthly and seasonally (owing to the Swift’s sensible habit of disappearing over Winter). Our Going Wild Kid’s club helps us nurture younger people into discovering the natural world through play and discovery, as well as some light habitat work! If it’s nurturing you’re into, you may also be interested in our budding Wildlife Gardening group, growing plants for wildlife.
Whatever your interest, this project is for EVERYONE! In addition to everyone already mentioned, we also work with contractors and ecologists to create habitat management plans and carry out any major works that go beyond the capabilities of hand tools and will-power. All of this is fed into a ‘toolkit’ which will be made available to other local parishes and councils at the end of the project, so that our model can be replicated.
All of this simply would not be possible without the tireless work of our volunteers as well as funding provided by players of the People’s Postcode lottery and Bishop’s Castle Town Council, as well as some generous donations from private individuals.
Inclusivity and Accessibility Statement
Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle would like to make it clear that we are proud to be an inclusive organisation.
Membership, volunteering and activities are, and always will be, open to all. We welcome feedback and suggestions that can make us as accessible to everyone that we can be.
We are proactive in standing against all forms of discrimination, both in the world of wildlife conservation and in all sectors of our society. We endeavour to make all activities as accessible as possible and strive to remove barriers to ensure that, everyone that wants to, can, participate in Going Wild in BC. This includes any physical, sensory, psychological, learning and any other barriers that may restrict participation.
We want people from all aspects of society, all backgrounds and abilities to enjoy our activities and not to be made to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable by any element of our activities or our community.
Going Wild Activities
Going Wild carries out a number of activities and the diary below shows what we are doing, where we will be and when! Please get in contact if you want to join in or just turn up on the day.
We run a number of winter talks which are also listed below and are held at Bishop’s Castle Town hall, starting at 7.30pm.
Schedule
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21st May – Swift Watchers Start Up Meeting All Swift Watchers and potential Swift Watchers are invited to a start up meeting at Enterprise House at 10-11am. 24th May – Spanish Bluebell Control Help us work on keeping the bluebell population healthy from 10am to 2pm at Enterprise House. 26th May – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at the Wintles. 2nd June – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at Edgton. 2nd June – Biochar Training Workshop We’ll be showcasing a few different models that you can try from biscuit tines to specially made burners. Meeting at the Wintles allotment from 2-3pm. 5th June – Swift Group We will be at the top of Castle Street at 8pm! You don’t need to have any experience, just a good pair of eyes. Between June and July, we’ll be counting swifts as they fly, finding out where they nest and new places for nest-boxes, which we’re giving away free! We just need to make sure your site is suitable first. We’ll be meeting every Wednesday evening (unless it rains) from next week until August. 12th June – Swift Group Weekly meeting of the Swift Group at Corporation St at 9pm. 15th June – Plant Walk Walk with like minded people from St Johns from 10:30am to midday. 18th June – Wildlife Gardening Group We’ll be on Woodbatch Road all day offering advice and help with wildlife, including offering wild-flower seed and wildlife habitat work-shops from 11am to 2pm. Look out for our green signs…your street could be next! 19th June – Fruit Tree Pruning Help with pruning at the Playing Fields from 10am to 2pm. 19th June – Swift Group Weekly meeting of the Swift Group at Corporation St at 9pm. 23rd June – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at Pete Carties’. 26th June – Meadow cut Join in with cutting the Playing Fields from 10am to 2pm. 26th June – Swift Group Weekly meeting of the Swift Group at Corporation St at 9pm. 1st July – Collect Meadow seed Now is the time to collect seed for sowing. 3rd July – Swift Group Weekly meeting of the Swift Group at Corporation St at 9pm. 5th July – Carnival!! Come and see us in the park after the parade. 10th July- Seed Collecting Help with collecting seeds from 10am to midday. 10th July – Swift Group Weekly meeting of the Swift Group at Corporation St at 9pm. 14th July – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at Churchyard and Vicarage. 17th July- Seed Collecting Help with collecting seeds from 10am to midday. 17th July – Swift Group Weekly meeting of the Swift Group at Corporation St at 9pm. 21st July – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at Welsh Street. 24th July – Scything Join in with the scything at St Johns Church from 10am to 2pm 24th July – Swift Group Weekly meeting of the Swift Group at Corporation St at 9pm. 28th July – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at Seven Wells. 31st July – Scything Join in with the scything at the Tennis Club from 10am to 2pm. 7th August – Scything Join in with the scything at the Crossroads from 10am to 2pm. 9th August – Scything Join in with the scything at Enterprise House from 10am to 2pm. 14th August – Scything Join in with the scything at the Old Castle Land from 10am to 2pm. 21st August – Scything Join in with the scything at the Pam’s Meadow from 10am to 2pm. 18th September – Meadow seeding Come plant with us at Pam’s Meadow from 10am to 2pm. 22nd September – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at The Wintles. 25th September – Meadow seeding Another chance to plant seeds at the Crossroads from 10am to 2pm. 2nd October – Meadow seeding Come plant with us at the Playing Fields from 10am to 2pm. 9th October – Meadow seeding Seeding at Enterprise House from 10am to 2pm. 16th October – Seeding Come plant with us at St John’s from 10am to 2pm. 20th October – Moth Morning Join us from 9-midday at Copall Paddock. 23rd October – Seeding More planting, this time at the Tennis courts from 10am to 2pm.
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‘GOING WILD In Bishop’s Castle’
and
Middle Marches Community Land Trust (MMCLT):
Nature Recovery Leaflets
can be downloaded here: Nature Recovery leaflets
Resting amongst the flowers in Pam’s meadow