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Society Of Biology Western Branch Christmas Lunch at Vet School 15 Dec 2011

The branch Christmas event was held as a lunch this year at the University of Bristol Veterinary School at Langford in North Somerset. A canteen full of lively students welcomed us and the staff had set aside a private table for the society. An excellent meal of three courses was provided which everyone enjoyed.

Jenna Stevens-Smith came down from London to the lunch and members were delighted to have a chance to discuss with her some of the initiatives the society is involved in.

After the meal we were able to listen to a talk by Professor Peter Holt who recently retired from the Veterinary School. His talk was “My life as a vet”.

He surprised his audience by explaining that his career choice was rather unexpected since he was the first in his family to go to university. He had not really thought about being a vet. Supportive parents, a helpful careers teacher and the wisdom to seize an opportunity gave him his start.

Early on as a young vet he was offered the chance to work in Africa and again took the opportunity which led into a period of challenges both with animals and some people. During his time there he had to sort out an elephant with an injured leg, a wounded jackal and later an aggressive Sarus Crane.

With so many vets on the TV these days it might be taken for granted that wild animals can be dealt with as a matter of course. In fact as Peter illustrated many hard and often dangerous lessons have had to be learnt to make it look so easy!

Back in the UK Peter took an interest in reptiles and was among the pioneering vets at a time when the profession was more focussed on domestic, farming and equine species.

Again we now take it for granted that exotic creatures can be treated and cured and are perhaps unaware that much difficult and challenging work was needed in the early days. Peter described how to operate on and then repair a tortoise which is not so easy when you have to open and then reseal the shell.

Peter rounded his talk off with some stories around his years at Langford and we had a chance to look at some horse bladder stones which were small egg size making everyone wince at the thought of a poor animal carrying those.

Overall Peter’s talk was illuminating and inspirational and made an excellent and robust talk for a biology Christmas lunch.

Mark Howard, Branch Chairperson, Western Branch.

Western Branch
Somerset Lavender Farm, 19 June 2011

20 members and guests met at the farm at Faulkland near Bath to learn about the amazing diversification, just a few years ago, from dairy cattle to cultivation of lavender. The owner of the farm kindly gave us a guided tour and described the techniques involved in cultivating this crop. The stunning views of fields of rows of lavender in flower belonged in French Impressionist paintings.

The several varieties of lavender which are grown vary in their oil content and aromatic qualities. The soil and climate are not perfectly ideal for lavender, being rather too damp and cool, but the plants thrive well on the whole. Weeding of the crop is carried out by hand. Harvesting is by tractor- mounted cutters, with binding followed by collection of the bundles. The material is trimmed, put into a vat and steamed to release the oil which is separated and collected. It can then go for refining and a variety of uses. Processed plant material is composted.

Members thoroughly enjoyed this informative and enjoyable visit, which allowed plenty of time for discussing with colleagues the farming, biological and social issues.

The farm is open to the public from May to September, Wednesday to Sunday, and the website www.somersetlavender.com gives details. There are lavender plants for sale along with other plants. There is also a shop with lavender products and a cafe.

Report of the Society of Biology Western Branch  & Wessex Branch field trip to the Carrymore Environmental Centre on Saturday 14th May 2011

An enjoyable morning was spent walking a waste tip. Inspiration, hard work and co-operation has produced a valuable habitat and very useful learning material at this education centre.

Education Officer Graham Jennings introduced the site with a very informative presentation. He then led a walk across the restored old tip and viewed the active tipping area and the planned new tip section.

The restored tip has been used for various experiments and trials planned by a number of universities. This is providing knowledge on what grows on restored tips and  how to manage the sites for wildlife. Since the site is  a bare site to start with it has great flexibility and various researchers have tried all kinds of experiment.

Schools regularly use the site and can study the wild flowers which in some cases have been seeded from nature reserves and in other cases seeded using particular types of plant.

The active site and the new site are very interesting from the sustainablity viewpoint. There are recycling units attched to the tip that deal with garden waste, food waste and wood. Compost is manufactured and sold. Although the active site is still busy household recycling is making a difference to the items now being landfilled. Commercial waste is still a problem though since there are barriers to effective recycling.

Gas produced from the tip is used to generate power and leachate from the tip is treated and water returned to the local stream. The branch members were impressed by the engineering and biological systems used to manage the tips.

The educational centre, run be a charitable trust is very active. The maain centre building has an eco-design and there are additional buildings such as round-house and an area built as a shanty town based on examples in a number of countries.

Local history on the site is evident too with the remains of WWII buildings in a few places. The site was previously farmland but was used as a munitions camp in the war.After the visit the evidence for the WWII remains was mentioned to the Somerset County Council Historic Records officer.

Details of the site can be seen at www.carymoor.org.uk  Visits are available for school and adult groups. There is a fee.

Report on the Society of Biology Western Branch  & Wessex Branch  visit to Warminster Maltings, Pound Street, Warminster.  

Date of Event: Saturday 30th October 2010.

The visit was organised by branch member Sandra Bates. Fiona Steel attended the visit and here is her report.

The visit to Warminster Maltings began with a welcome hot drink and biscuit as everyone arrived. It was a fascinating tour with a guide who gave us a good history of the buildings and their details from before they were built. The building is listed (Grade 2*) and dates from the 19th century. It is the oldest remaining floor maltings in England producing malt by hand much as it would have been done when the maltings was first built.

There was then a walk- through- the- process room by room with an explanation of the malting process. The place smells wonderful.

Traditional methods continue, with a small amount of   mechanical assistance; most of the shoveling and turning is done by hand.  The ceilings are low in some areas of the rooms so only shorter people could work in them in any comfort.

The party had a nice ploughman’s lunch while listening to Sandra talking about the people involved in running it and met the man who saved Warminster Maltings from being shut down. The group had a look at the historical artifacts including maps of the site, barley strains grown and developed, old photos and tools. Dr E S Beaven who worked at, and then owned the Maltings, in the late 19th / early 20th  was involved in the development of modern barley varieties. The visit finished with a walk around the laboratory.

The branch is grateful to Sandra who is Quality Manager at the facility.

Report on a Dawn Chorus walk by the Western Branch of the Society of Biology

Date of event: Sunday 18th April 2010   Time  0600-0800 hours

Fifteen members of the society watched the sun rise over the Bristol Downs as they enjoyed a field meeting to look at the avifauna of the area. Richard Bland, an expert ornithologist and Mandy Leivers of the  Avon Gorge and  Downs Wildlife Project ( www.avongorge.org.uk)  took the group round key sites on the Downs.

Richard pointed out that a trained ear for birdsong was essential because many birds were very difficult to see. He explained that birdsong was one part of several of the bird’s perception that differed from humans. Birds spoke much faster than humans and only if song is slowed down can many of the important micro-features be identified. Birds can also see in the ultra-violet and locate food and other objects too small for most people to see.

Despite this he described how some birds had found humans useful. A population of Blackcaps had adapted to over-wintering due in part is seems to feeding by people. Christmas pudding was one of the things they appear to have enjoyed. Whether there are separate groups of Tesco and Marks and Spencer pudding loving Blackcaps remains a future research project.

The morning of the field walk was a cold though sunny one with a clear blue sky. Only birds were flying because it was during the period of the Icelandic volcano eruption when aircraft were grounded. The cold had been more pronounced earlier in the year and Richard said that flowering of plants was certainly much later. In fact this had been a very interesting year to compare with a number of years when everyone was commenting on how soon plants were flowering.

Another floral feature noted on the walk was the growth of elm suckers from the stumps of trees lost from the landscape. Huntingdon Elms were a major feature on Ladies Miles, a road across the Downs. These were all lost though on some parts of the Downs new growth does spring up. Human perception of the Elm loss was a small part of a longer term cycle and Richard explained how we could not see the real picture. It appears humans are too slow to appreciate birdsong and too short-lived to appreciate trees!

As the group crossed the Downs the Avon Gorge was reached. Botanically very rich the gorge cliffs are home to Peregrines and Ravens. Peregrines often hunt Woodpigeons and Feral Pigeons and store them in larders in fissures in the rock face. The ravens have learnt to raid the larders and steal the cache.

The Jay has a similar habit to the Peregrine insofar as it hides acorns in the soil around the Downs. This has led to a proliferation of Holm Oak because acorns of native oaks have become less available due to gall wasps. Holm Oak has spread on the gorge slopes.  The Project is working to control the Holm Oak because it is invasive and threatens to shade out the unique flora of the area.

After seeing the Peregrine Watch team set up for the day the party retired to the Zoo for breakfast at the café. 

The following list of birds was seen on the walk. The list was kindly compiled by Richard Bland.

Blackbird
Blackcap           
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow              
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff          
Coal Tit
Cormorant              
Dunnock            
Great Tit 
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Greenfinch
Jackdaw
Jay                      
Kestrel
Long-tailed tit                                  
Magpie
Mallard                                             
Mistle Thrush
Robin                                                
Song Thrush
Swallow                                            
Woodpigeon
Wren

Report on the Society of Biology (Western Branch and Wessex Branch) visit to Blagdon Pumping Station and Lake.

Date of event: Saturday 8th May 2010.

Members of the society visited the important Bristol Water pumping station and surrounding estate to see what is needed to provide safe drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people. Jeremy Williams of Bristol Water introduced the pumping station. An original steam driven pump is conserved and can be run under electric power. A second pump is awaiting restoration funds. Originally these pumps and other pumps now removed plus the creation of Blagdon Lake were part of the provision of fresh safe water to Bristol and the surrounding area. This was and remains a significant piece of mechanical and biological engineering.

The water company has preserved the pumps and much historical material such as wooden pipe lengths of elm, tools used in the management of the estate and company records. The estate has been kept free of artificial chemicals and grazing animals to enhance water quality. This has favoured the site as a nature reserve and although public access is allowed in some parts there is strict control.

Chris Klee who managed conservation aspects of the estate for the company took the group on a walk around the site. Fish are reared in ponds outside the pumping station and go to stock the lake. These ponds lie in front of the face of the 1890’s retaining wall holding the lake.  The company has recently installed new paddle aeration equipment. After looking at the fish ponds the group looked at the grasslands in the pumping station precinct which are full of wild flowers including Green Winged Orchids. Apart from some amenity mowing the meadow is left until a hay cut is taken.

At a nearby woodland site next to the lake itself various nesting boxes were pointed out. These have been successful for Noctule Bats and Owl species although Chris pointed out that more common species such as Mallards were not above “renting” the properties.

The tree species around the lake apparently were chosen originally to try and invoke the feeling of Scotland and so Scots Pine were strongly favoured. The trees are managed with thinning from time to time.  The lake surrounds are a variety of woodland, meadow and wetland plants. Chris pointed out groups of the Adder’s Tongue Fern in the meadow area by the lake. The lake rises and falls with use and to mitigate some of the effects of this on wildlife channels and ponds provide a diverse edge to the lake.

Owl pellets collected by Chris reveal that the current management appears successful in encouraging small mammals. Examination by Roger Symes picked out various skulls and jaw bones of  field voles.  Amongst the small mammals known on the site though not identified in the trawl of the pellets are Harvest Mice.

Another species from a different kingdom was the Morel mushroom. These occur now and then and we had missed the best of the one we saw on this visit. It was interesting though to see the remains of the unusually shaped cap.

At a bird hide by the lake it was possible to have an excellent view of the lake. The area is an SSSI for the water birds although at this time of year numbers are now low. Nearby was an owl nest box in use so we could not approach too close. It seemed to be an ideal location set in the middle of a meadow next to a lake and woodland.

At the end of the visit Dr. Gerald Coles invited members back for tea and further discussions.