1. Christmas Wreath Making

Thank you to everyone for coming to our annual Christmas wreath making event.  Despite the never-ending rain on Saturday 15 December, 123 beautiful Christmas wreaths were made, at our busiest wreath making event ever. Thank you to all our volunteers for enabling it to happen! “Just to say thank you so much to you and everyone involved in organising the wreath making day on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, despite the awful weather and I’m really chuffed with the wreath I made!”

2. Christmas Pizza Making

On Thursday 6 and Saturday 8 December, we hosted Walkham Valley Cub and Scout groups, respectively, for their Christmas parties which involved pizza making in our cob oven, and Christmas craft making!

3. First Student Ranger Programme Completed

14 Year 10 students from Tavistock College completed their 10 week programme and spent their final day on an expedition up Leather Tor, and each are the proud owners of a ‘Discovery Level’ John Muir Award. In January we start our second programme, this time with a group of Year 7 students. Thank you to Ian one of our volunteers, Jules & Rob from Tavistock Police, and Andy from Tavistock College.

4. Burrator Bats Win Award

Neil and Paul were invited to the Pennon Environmental Awards and were excited to find they were first place and picked up the Overall Winner Environmental Award for the Burrator Bat Box Scheme! Thank you ever so much to everyone who has helped carry out the monthly bat box surveys here over the years, this award is for you!

5. Exciting Evening Talks coming up

On 11 December we heard a fascinating talk by Neil Richards from the Tavistock team of Dartmoor Search & Rescue, as they celebrate their 50^th anniversary, and got the chance to look at all the equipment. For winter 2019 we have a wide range of talks booked covering traditional rural skills, hydrology and moss! See the diary below and click here for dates.

6. A Massive Achievement

I just wanted to say on behalf of myself, Sam and SWLT, a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all our volunteers who have carried out over 1,500 days in 2018, of which 516 volunteer days were spent carrying out site maintenance tasks, 898 days carrying out conservation and archaeological preservation tasks, and 155 days as volunteer guides in the Centre!

Event Dates for the Diary

Evening Talks:

• Wednesday 30 January 2019 – 7.30pm-8.30pm –“History of Coppicing and an introduction to Green Woodworking” by Peter Lanyon and Dave Curno. £4 per person (inc. refreshments). Please book your place in advance.
• Wednesday 27 February 2019 – 7.30pm-8.30pm – “Introduction to traditional Devonshire rural skills including hedgelaying, stone walling, cobblestoning and much more” by Don Gaskins and Richard Finnemore from Devon Rural Skills Trust.  £4 per person (inc. refreshments). Please book your place in advance.

Family Events:

Monthly Family Wildlife Watch Programme: 10.30am-12.30pm
Come and take part in a range of wildlife and heritage themed activities followed by hot chocolate and biscuits. We will meet at the Burrator Discovery Centre, unless alternative meeting point has been advertised. £3 per child, £2 per adult (please bring cash as we don’t have online payment facilities). Please wear outdoor clothing and footwear. No booking needed.

• Sunday 27 January 2019
• Sunday 24 February 2019

School Holiday Family Activity Days
Each activity day will involve a themed nature trail, woodwork, environmental art and outdoor cooking in and around the Burrator Discovery Centre. £3 per child, £2 per adult. Please wear outdoor clothing and footwear. No booking needed.

Wednesday 20 February 2019 – ‘Drop In’ between: 10:00am-3:00pm

For more information or to book your place on any of the above events, please call 01822 855700, e-mail: [email protected] or pop into the Discovery Centre (PL20 6PE).

Practical Volunteering Days:

For all the days we meet at the Discovery Centre. Please wear old clothes and sturdy footwear, bring lunch and a drink and dress ready for ‘all the seasons in a day!’

Tuesday 8 January – 10am-3pm
Monday 14 January – 10am-3pm
Sunday 20 January – 10.30am – 3.30pm
Friday 25 January – 10am-3pm
Tuesday 29 January – 10am-3pm

Monday 4 February – 10am-3pm
Sunday 10 February – 10.30am-3.30pm
Tuesday 12 February – 10am-3pm
Friday 22 February – 10am-3pm
Tuesday 26 February – 10am-3pm

Discovery Centre Opening Times:  10.00am – 4.00pm

Weekdays: Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Weekends: 
January: Sun 20; Sun 27
February: Sat 2, Sun 10, Sat 16, Sun 24