<< Main Events Page | << Events 2009 - 2007Friends of Troopers Hill
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Sat 14th October 2006 - Kite Flying Event
This event was inspired by the number of times we have struggled to prevent our gazebos from flying like kites at past events, it is always windy on Troopers Hill! Saturday 14th October 2006 tried to prove us wrong, it was one of the calmest days we have had. There was still a bit of breeze though, blowing over the hill from the east and although we couldn't do the planned exhibitions on Troopers Hill Field we did get a range of kites into the air and have a fun time. |
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Sun 3rd September - Avon Valley WalkThis walk was organised in conjunction with the Bristol Living Rivers Project and The Friends of Eastwood Farm with assistance from the Dundridge Park Group. | Conham Vale: 1 Dundridge Park: 2 River Avon |
Sat 12th August - Family Fun Picnic 2006
A breezy afternoon on Troopers Hill saw around 30 children of all ages walking from the chimney to a gazebo hidden in the trees where they were entertained with a very special story. On the way they had collected as many different colours as they could to stick on some paw prints they had been given. The story, which featured Troopers Hill and one of the animals that lives here, was performed by International Storyteller Cassandra with enthusiastic participation from her audience. |
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Tues 1st August - Purple ProwlLocal botanist Libby Houston led a group of 40 on a very enjoyable tour of our hill to tell us about the grasses and other species that thrive in this unique environment. Troopers Hill is covered with glorious purple heather at this time of year, but there are many other plant species that live on the acid soil (created by the underlying pennant sandstone) and are seen nowhere else in Bristol. Libby also indroduced us to another resident of our hill, a spider that lives in the crevices on the chimney (beware they can bite!). |
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Sat 1st July 2006 - Music on the HillWe were very pleased to join forces with Arts at St Aidans to host our biggest event to date - a summer evening of music on Troopers Hill, provided by the Bristol East Band.
We were blessed with ideal weather and around a hundred people joined us on the hill to have a picnic and drinks and enjoy the wonderful outlook over Bristol from the top of the Hill while listening to the sound of this superb brass band. |
Set up and ready: The band in the sun: |
Friday 26th May 2006 - Moth EveningFollowing last June's successful event we were pleased to welcome the Bristol and District Moth Group back to Troopers Hill to carry out another survey. It was much colder than last year but we were fortunate to have a dry evening after a very wet week. The moth group were pleased to have cloud cover - last year the lights on the moth traps were competing with a very bright moon. A small but enthusiastic group gathered round the light traps and were rewarded with a close up view of many different species. |
Cockchafer Beetle: Striped Hawk Moth: |
Sunday 7th May 2006 - Dawn Chorus WalkFor the third year running our dawn chorus walk was blessed early morning sunshine. Another good turnout included many people who had not visited the hill before.
Local bird expert John Tully again entertained us with descriptions of the birds we could hear and see. As well wrens, chiffchaffs, blackbirds, wood pigeons, great tits and many other of the more common birds we also heard a white throat which is rare so near to the centre of Bristol.
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Friday 14th April 2006 - Good Friday ServiceOnce again the Friends of Troopers Hill were pleased to be able to join this open air service on Troopers Hill which is organised each year by local churches. |
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Sat 18th March 2006 - Troopers Hill ExhibitionThis was held on a very cold March afternoon, at Wesley Memorial Church Hall, Bryants Hill. The exhibition showed the information we have collected about Troopers Hill, its industrial past and the unique wildlife of the present. We were also able to show details of our latest grant award. Although the attendance was disapointing, those who did come along seemed to be genuinley interested and we hope learned something new about the area. |
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Sat 18th February 2006 - Bird BonanzaThis event attracted over 60 people of all ages to Troopers Hill on a wonderful sunny afternoon. Held in National Nest Box Week, making bird boxes was the main focus of the afternoon. 34 boxes were made, most were designed for blue tits or great tits while a few had larger openings for robins. 10 of the boxes were donated to the Friends of Troopers Hill and were put up in the woodland areas on the reserve and in Crews Hole Woodland. We will be able to see if they have attracted any residents when we walk through the woods on the Dawn Chorus Walk on the 7th May. There were also many other fun events for children, including making bird masks, hand birds, and bird mobiles. Once the bird boxes were complete we also made some bird feeders. You can see a video of the event on our Video Project Page. A special thank you to Susan for all the work she put in planning the event. Also to everyone who helped at the event and joined in cutting out masks and preparing other items on the previous Tuesday evening. Funding for this event was provided by Bristol Parks. National Nest Box Week is organised by The British Trust for Ornithology. |
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Sat 21 Jan 2006 - Hedge Planting at GreendownA very sucessful day, full details are on our Work Parties Page. |
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Sat 22 Oct 2005 - Fungal ForayThis event was inspired by the discovery of lots of different fungi last autumn (see link on our Hill Wildlife page for photographs). |
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Sat 17 Sept 2005 - History ExhibitionOur friends at the Bristol East Allotment Association allowed us to use their Pavilion in Nicholas Lane to display the information that we have collected on the history of the area. The event was well attended despite the fact that we had only produced limited publicity and had failed to mention it in our Newsletter - sorry. We asked people to bring along any old photographs that they had and were fortunate to be allowed to copy three photographs taken from the Tar Works in 1953. We were also very generously donated a copy of the book produced in 1953 giving the history of the Tar Works. |
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Sat 20 Aug 2005 - Wildways WalkThe Friends of Troopers Hill hosted the final walk in a series of exchange visits between groups at Local Nature Reserves in Bristol, BANES and South Glos. This was a very enjoyable walk on a sunny Saturday morning with representatives from Badocks Wood and Manor Woods Valley. Members of the Friends of Troopers Hill who came along were also persuaded by Susan and Rob to take litter pickers with them and collected 4 bags of litter. |
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Sat 13 Aug 2005 - Family Fun Picnic 2005We again held this event to coincide with the Balloon Fiesta at Ashton Court. Unfortunately the weather did not behave! |
Storytelling photos: |
Wed 22 June 2005To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Troopers Hill being declared a Local Nature Reserve, some of the Friends of Troopers Hill followed the advice in our Newsletter and went for a walk on the hill. |
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Sat 18 June 2005 - Evening Moth HuntThe Friends of Troopers Hill were joined by the Bristol and District Moth Group to discover some of the hill's most secretive nocturnal wildlife. Light traps were set to attract moths and over ninety different species were recorded. The Moth Group's report on the evening with the full list is available on our moths and invertebrates page. |
4 photos of of the gathering around the light trap: |
Mon 30 May 2005
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Sun 08 May 2005 - Dawn Chorus WalkThis year's walk, again led by local bird expert John Tully, really was at dawn! 24 people gathered at 5.30am for a walk through Crews Hole woodland and then on to the hill. Sally had organised another beautiful and calm sunny morning, a range of birdsong and a flypast by six herons, probably on route to feed their young at the Eastwood Farm LNR heronry. |
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Fri 25 Mar 2005 - Good Friday ServiceThe Friends of Troopers Hill attended this year's Good Friday Service on the hill. We were able to show off the gazebo and tablecloth that had been produced as part of the School Project organised by Sally Oldfield with Year 3 pupils at Air Balloon Hill Junior School. |
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Sun 10 Oct 2004 - Guided WalkThis walk was part of Bristol Festival of Nature and introduced 15 people from all over the Bristol area to Troopers Hill and the surrounding area. Our walk leader Rob described something of the history of the area and the work of the Friends in managing the hill. |
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Fri 13 Aug 2004 - Family Fun PicnicThis was a very enjoyable afternoon, despite the fact that the weather was not too kind to us. We had hoped to end the event by watching the balloons fly from Ashton Court, the wind was in the right direction but unfortunately too strong for balloon flying. |
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Wed 04 Aug 2004
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Insects in the net |
Thur 29 July 2004 - History TalkThe Industrial History of
Troopers Hill
& Crew’s Hole - a talk by Joan Day. |
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Sat 12 Jun 2004 - Butterflies, Bugs and Beasties WalkRupert Higgins of Wessex Ecological Consultancy led a gang of enthusiastic young nature lovers on an exploration of Troopers Hill and its unique insect population. |
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Sat 24 April 2004 - Dawn Chorus WalkA 7am start for this walk led by local bird expert John Tully. John had also entertained us with a talk about the birds we were likely to hear on the preceeding Thursday. There was a good turnout on a sunny morning for a very enjoyable and entertaining couple of hours that we hope to repeat next year. |
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Wed 25 Feb 2004 - History MeetingThis was an informal evening for people to share their knowledge and learn more about the history of Troopers Hill and the surrounding area. The evening attracted an excellent turn-out and was great fun. It demonstated the great interest in the history of the area amongst local residents. |
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Sat 04 Oct 2003 - Litter PickFollowing a further meeting on 10th September, this litter pick was the first practical work to be carried out on the hill by what had now become known as the Friends of Troopers Hill. Further meetings on 16th October and 2nd December confirmed the election of the committee and the adoption of the constitution. The success of the litter pick led to the instigation of the regular 1st Saturday of the month work parties that are described on our work party page. |
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Tue 22 July 2003 - Nature WalkAn evening walk led by Rupert Higgins. This walk was organised by Sally Oldfield, Bristol's Local Nature Reserve Officer, to inform local people about the importance of the hill to wildlife and to encourage the formation of a community group to assist in the hill's management. There was an excellent turn-out. The walk followed an initial meeting to guage interest in setting up a group which had been held on 5th June. |
Website produced by the Friends of Troopers Hill www.troopers-hill.org.uk |