The April Newsletter was emailed out today, 1st April. Not received a copy then make sure you Subscribe at the top of this page please.
Signs of Spring
Spring has sprung and at this time of year you can watch as plants come to life. Woodlands with their mix of flowers, shrubs and trees are a particularly good place to see this. As the current government guidelines restrict movement and limit exercise to your local area not everyone is lucky enough to have woodlands near enough that they can walk to, although in Hyndburn there are a number of woodland sites that are near enough to the towns to be visited as part of an hours exercise. Even if you can’t get to a woodland signs of Spring can still be seen and many of these originate from woodlands. If you can walk along a hedgerow or even a grass verge you will see woodland plants. To start you off here are three plants that I have seen on my walks. I’ll be adding more in the coming days. The photos may not be the best so please look the plants up online to get better images!
Lesser Celandine Hawthorn Blackthorn
Lesser Celandine is an early Spring flower and very common in woodlands, hedgerows, meadows and verges it is a low growing plant with shiny yellow flowers with eight to twelve petals. As an early flower it is an important nectar source for queen bumblebees and other pollinators emerging from hibernation.
Hawthorn is a large shrub common in woodlands and hedges. One of the first trees to produce leaves it later develops white or sometimes pale pink blossom in May and then bright red fruits called Haws. It is a valuable food source for a wide range of insects, animals and birds. The leaves are eaten by caterpillars, the blossom is eaten by Dormice and provides nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinators and the fruit is eaten by birds and small mammals. The young leaves and shoots can be eaten raw and were known as “Bread and Cheese”, the Haw fruits can be used to make teas, jellies and wines. Hawthorn is known to be good for the heart and was also an ancient symbol of fertility.
Blackthorn is another large common shrub found in woodlands and hedges. Unlike Hawthorn it produces it’s blossom before it’s leaves so at this time of year they can easily be told apart. This blossom provides an early source of pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators. As with Hawthorn it’s leaves are a food source for a range of caterpillars and insects. It’s blue black fruits are known as Sloes and as well as being a source of food for birds and small mammals are also used to make Sloe Gin. Traditionally syrups made of the bark, flowers and fruits were used to cleanse the blood and treat digestive complaints and rheumatism.
The Secret Garden
Take Notice – Biodiversity
The Wildlife Trusts and the RHS set up Wild About Gardens to celebrate wildlife gardening and to encourage people to use their gardens to take action to help support nature. This years campaign draws inspiration from the dazzling new film, The Secret Garden, as it brings the magic of wildlife, childhood and gardening to the big screen this year. IN CINEMAS AUGUST 14th. Watch the trailer HERE
Go wild for butterflies! We’re going wild about butterflies! Butterflies and moths aren’t doing too well at the moment, with many species declining in recent years. Pledge a new Secret Butterfly Border or Butterfly Box in your garden and make a pledge to be entered into a competition.
To find out more and download the FREE guide – https://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/
Handy Hints and Tips – Article 2
FEATURING – SOAP AND SHOPPING
Why soap for hand washing? Here is a useful hand-washing link.
Click on the Handwashing poster for more information 
and more information on NHS handwashing HERE
Now some product links… because we want to help protect you and the environment.
METHOD – Here is a range of natural products for hand washing
Here is a glossary of terms that often confuse us including CRADLE TO CRADLE®: NATURAL: and NATURALLY DERIVED:
ECOVER – Here is a company you will be familiar with and their online shop in case you are self-isolating and not going out.
ONE PLANET shop, Accrington. The One Planet shop is a community benefit co-operative formed and funded by a group of volunteers. Their high street outlet offers a range of Local, Innovative, Fairtrade, Ethical, and sustainable products enabling you to shop with your conscience. As of 26th March they have adapted their opening hours to Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 2pm. Facebook
BIG GREEN SMILE offers a wide range of organic lifestyle products including natural and organic bath and skincare; and household products. This is online shopping and they are open as usual, but orders are taking longer to despatch.
Watch Out for Article 3 coming soon…
Handy Hints & Tips
We are all spending more time at home at the moment and being advised to clean and wipe surfaces. Whilst there are a great array of cleaning products available in local shops and supermarkets many of them have been based on existing natural cleaning products, all of which can be used to help with keeping our homes clean and germ-free. You can easily mix up solutions yourself.
PROSPECTS has previously run activity sessions on natural cleaning so we are going to revisit this topic and post some Handy Hints and Tips. We all need to carry on protecting the environment during the ‘Stay at Home’ period.
To get you started visit Dri-pak.
This Clean & Natural range is made up of natural cleaning agents such as White Vinegar, Bicarbonate of Soda and Citric Acid ensuring every room in your home stays fresh and clean – naturally!
There are few tasks that can’t be tackled with Dri-Pak products, so you spend less buying different cleaners for different jobs and have much more room in the cupboard under the sink!
Dri-Pak is committed to using sustainable ingredients in its products and make packaging decisions on a balance of practicality and ‘whole life’impact. They also have a policy on animal testing and products.
I am able to buy these products at small local discount stores and local supermarkets. In each of the Handy Hints and Tips I will tell you what I use the products for. Barbara, Activity Organiser, at PROSPECTS.
Growing food from kitchen waste and seeds
I like growing useful plants and it’s the time of year when we start to think about what edibles we can plant and sow in our gardens and allotments for the spring and summer. But what if you don’t have a lot of space to grow at home? Have you got a sunny spot on a windowsill? A tray or plate and some tissue/cotton wool or a bit of compost?
How about growing some nutritious and flavoursome microveg with leftover seeds from seed packets that need using up such as carrots, chard, cabbage, herbs. You can also use seeds and pulses from packets sold for cooking such as peas, coriander, fenugreek and dill.
- Put some compost in a clean seed tray/pot or layer a plate with at least four layers tissue or cotton wool and moisten the compost/tissue.
- Sprinkle on the seeds (so they look like a sesame seeded bun) and put on a sunny windowsill.
- Check the compost/tissue a couple of times a day to make sure it is moist (not wet) and you should see sprouts starting to grow from the seeds in a few days.
Depending on what you have sown the microveg will be ready for harvesting from 5 days to a few weeks, when they look like cress that you buy in punnets from the shop. Snip with scissors, wash and eat in salad, a sandwich or sprinkle into a soup or onto your dinner to add flavour. Remember to re-sow every few days.
More info can be found in this Guardian Newspaper Article.
But what if you don’t have any seeds? Did you ever put a carrot top in a dish of water to see how it grows? You can do the same with lettuce, celery and spring onion bottoms, the bit you usually cut off and throw away. Try putting them in a dish of water or pot of compost and once they are growing you can harvest the leaves/tips, wash and add to your cooking. You can also plant them into a pot of compost to grow into more mature plants. There are a couple of interesting Youtube clips with more info:
Happy Growing!
Coronavirus update (Tue 24th Mar)
Hello,
Following government guidance last night we have now closed our offices on Broadway in Accrington. These will remain closed for the foreseeable future. All staff are now working from home and can be contacted by e-mail using the addresses on the ‘Contact Us’ page of the website.
It goes without saying that we all need to look out for each other and act responsibly. Please make use of our local walks and cycling routes on the website as long as we’re allowed to.
Take care
Coronavirus update (Tue 17th Mar)
Following the government guidance announced yesterday (Mon 16th Mar) we have taken the decision to cancel all upcoming events as they are ‘non-essential’ and bring people together which raises the potential risk of transmitting the virus in our community.
We have also advised all our Prospects Panels and Forums to do the same.
As a charity we have a duty of care to look after our volunteers and beneficiaries and as such we need to follow the government guidance to the full.
We will review the guidance daily and as soon as we are able to start hosting events again then we will obviously do so and let everyone know via e-mail, the website and social media.
We fully appreciate that volunteering outdoors is beneficial in so many ways to our volunteers in terms of socialising, health and wellbeing and as such we would recommend that you also follow the guidance given and as long as we are allowed to, take advantage of getting outdoors, even for short walks on your own!
Coronavirus update re our activities (Mon 16th Mar)
Hello,
This is just a quick update given the everchanging situation surrounding Coronavirus and it’s potential to impact on people gathering for events, meetings and visiting our premises on Broadway.
As of today (Monday 16th March) we are continuing to deliver our activities as shown on our Events Calendar. We will continue to deliver these activities until we are advised otherwise by the Government.
We review government guidance on Coronavirus on a daily basis and will take immediate action to prevent any potential risks to our wonderful team of volunteers and beneficiaries.
With regard to our premises at 54 Broadway, again these will remain open to the public until we are advised otherwise.
Hedgerow Restoration (Plantation Road)
We had a Saturday session on 7th March as part of the Hyndburn Local Nature Reserve Weekend Volunteering Programme. A group of volunteers worked on the old hedge along Plantation Road which is part of the Peel Park & Coppice Local Nature Reserve. The hedge was in need of rejuvenation so some of the hedge was cut down to allow new growth to develop from the roots of the cut trees which will be healthier and thicker. Where there were gaps in the hedge these were planted up with mainly Hawthorn but also some Hazel and Crab Apple. Hopefully once these new plants have grown and the growth from the cut trees has developed then we should see a thicker, healthier hedge which will be an improved habitat for the local wildlife.
The Hyndburn Local Nature Reserve Weekend Volunteering Programme is being run in partnership with the Ribble Rivers Trust on behalf of Hyndburn Borough Council.
Above pictures by Russell Taylor: https://russelltaylorphotography.co.uk/
Discover Hyndburn
The 2020 programme of Discover Hyndburn Walks will start on Tuesday, 10th March. See the What’s On section of the website for more information on each individual monthly walk.
The Discover Hyndburn walks will be ‘Ambles not a Rambles’ around places of interest taken at a leisurely pace to discover Hyndburn and they may also include a relevant nature theme. Walks will be mainly on tracks and paths and linked to green spaces, local nature reserves and places where PROSPECTS carry out woodland maintenance and host volunteer events. Walkers will be given information about PROSPECTS, the various projects managed by PROSPECTS staff and the volunteering activities available.
The walks will be suitable for all including those who cannot walk very far or too fast and more active walkers who generally walk further and faster but want to join more relaxing walks where there is time to enjoy trees, flowers, birds, panoramas and to take photographs of the countryside around them. The walks may include unsurfaced rural paths and occasional stiles.
The walks will be led by a qualified walk leader from PROSPECTS or a partner organisation. There will be time to take in points of interest, stop and rest points, time to have a chat and socialise whilst also getting some gentle exercise.
Tree Planting at Rothwell Heights
We had a Saturday session on 22nd February as part of the Hyndburn Local Nature Reserve Weekend Volunteering Program. We planted 200 trees in the woodland at Rothwell Heights which is part of Woodnook Vale Local Nature Reserve. Some thinning had been done in the woods and we planted Hazel, Hawthorn, Holly and Crab Apple to provide some understorey to the woods which will improve the habitat and increase the range of animals and birds that are attracted to the woods and also planted Oak and Silver Birch to replace the larger trees that were removed. Woodnook Vale Local Nature Reserve was declared last year and along with Peel Park and The Coppice Local Nature Reserve is one of the two largest Local Nature Reserves in Lancashire. Leaflets on the reserves are available from Prospects Foundation and Hyndburn Borough Council. Further events as part of the Weekend Volunteer Program are being held in February and March, details are in our What’s On section.
Enfield Wharf Volunteer Day
On 19th February a small group of volunteers braved the cold and wet conditions at Enfield Changeline Bridge No 114A on the Leeds Liverpool Canal. In particular we were tackling shrubs and litter near the Enfield Wharf, Blackburn Road entrance. This historic location is used by walkers and cyclists visiting the area and by local people for leisure activities and to commute to work, schools and shops that can be easily accessed from Whalley Road bridge a short distance along the canal. The volunteer day is part of PROSPECTS partnership with the Canal and River Trust and is supported by funding from the Lottery Community Fund for Empowering Community Change in Hyndburn. The funding is to improve the places and spaces that matter to communities. More volunteers are needed to join us when we return to Enfield Wharf or tackle other areas of the canal towpath across Hyndburn.
Come and Plant a Tree at Rothwell Heights
We will be planting trees and shrubs at Rothwell Heights which is at the top of Willows Lane in Accrington and part of Woodnook Vale Local Nature Reserve. The site is opposite the KCL Garage just before you reach the hamlet of Bedlam.
The event will start at 10.00am and finish at 2.00pm, or when all the trees are planted. Please wear warm clothing and wellies or strong boots. Spades and gloves will be provided.
For more details phone Prospects on 01254-230348.
This event is funded by Hyndburn Borough Council as part of the Hyndburn Local Nature Reserve Weekend Volunteering Programme.
Prospects is Recruiting!
We are happy to announce that we are now recruiting for a new post here at Prospects. The new post is an Outdoor Learning Officer with a strong emphasis on addressing Climate Change.
The post will be for 3 years and will be for 22.20 hours per week over 3 days, including Saturdays.
The salary is £15,000 per annum for 22.20 hours per week and the post will be based in our Accrington office.
The deadline for applications is 5.00pm on Monday 9th March with interviews taking place the following Thursday 12th March.
All the information you need is available to download from our Job Opportunities page on the website.
This new post is funded by the Ernest Cook Trust, Hyndburn Windfall Fund, D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust and Prospects.
Canal Volunteering
The next Hyndburn Volunteer Workparty is on Wednesday, 19th February at 10:00am.
Please remember that our Volunteer Work Party dates are subject to change if we are asked to undertake essential or additional tasks by the Canal & River Trust. Contact Barbara Sharples to sign up as a Volunteer so we can email you with any last minute changes.
Join us on the Leeds and Liverpool Enfield Changeline Bridge No 114A, Enfield Wharf, Blackburn Road Bridge, Clayton-le-Moors off the A678. Grid Reference SD747304. Weeding and pruning shrubs at the entrance slope from Blackburn Road. We may be able to remove items from the canal – size and weight will determine this. There is a lot to do at Bridge 114A so there will be litter-picking at Enfield Wharf changeline Bridge #114A only and not along the canal towpath to Rileys Swing Bridge No 114 and Whalley Road Bridge No 114B. This session is in response to a site visit and information supplied from the general public about magnet fishing and general litter and waste and future landscaping of the two shrub beds.
Tea, coffee and biscuit refreshments are supplied. All tools and gloves are provided but you can bring your own gloves. Safety equipment provided. Please wear suitable outdoor clothing, strong shoes or boots and bring your lunch. You may need to park in the Oak Street/Maple Street area – BB5 5JJ
Volunteer for as long as you can and do as much as you can or pop along to find out more about volunteering on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. This volunteering opportunity is provided through a partnership between the Canal & River Trust and The PROSPECTS Foundation.
Contact barbara.sharples@prospectsfoundation.org.uk
Wednesday Wellbeing Walks by Water
Meet at 10:00am on Wednesday, 26th February. Wear suitable footwear and clothing for walking and for the terrain and predicted weather on the day. Only one dog per adult please.
Meet at ‘The Woodlands’ entrance just off Whalley Road (A680). The Hyndburn circular buses 6, 6A, 7, 7A pass ‘The Woodlands’ at the Sparth House bus stop. We start at 10:00am so people can use their bus pass to get to the start or have time to walk from a local school after dropping off children.
Post Code: Whalley Road BB5 5RP Clayton-le-Moors. If driving please park on Warwick Ave, Clayton-le-Moors, BB5 5RE Grid Reference: SD747314
This is the first of our monthly walks in partnership with the Canal and River Trust.
These walks will be for those taking their first steps into walking, those returning to walking and those new to the area that want to connect with other people and make new friends, be more active, take notice of their local neighbourhood, the history and nature around them, to learn with other people and to participation in social and community life. We all want to feel a sense of wellbeing. Life can be tough and we all need a space where we can get away from the noise, pressure and pollution of everyday life.
We will start after children have been dropped off at school and finish in time for everyone to get home for an early lunch! The walks will be taken at a stroll and not a long or fast cardiovascular pace. They are aimed at people who have not walked for a long time and are a little bit afraid of joining a walking group and those who want to get out and start building up their walking again. We will be looking for the first signs that spring is not far away and simply enjoying being outside near water and woods together and meeting new people. and learning a little bit about local history.
New Projects Receive Windfall Funding
Following the recent Windfall Fund assessment meeting 6 new projects received funding including Hyndburn Butterfly Project, Baxenden Community Forum, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Idle Women. This means Windfall funded work will be carried out at Whinney Hill Woodlands, Milnshaw Park, Hollins Wood, Jubilee Plantation, Woodnook Vale Local Nature Reserve and at Woodnook and Miller Fold Community Allotments.
Look out for one of the Windfall Fund plaques to see where other projects have taken place. If your community group is interested in applying for funding then head to the Windfall pages on this website for more details.
Weekend Volunteering with PROSPECTS and Ribble Rivers Trust
Prospects Foundation and Ribble Rivers Trust have partnered with Hyndburn Borough Council to run a series of volunteering sessions on the two Local Nature Reserves in Hyndburn. There are a range of activities on both Woodnook Vale and Peel Park Reserves. Keep an eye on Prospects website for details of each event as they arise. For more information contact Roger Plum at Prospects on 01254 230348 or roger.plum@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or Ribble Rivers Trust on 01200 444452 or admin@ribbletrust.com
Click on poster to expand.
Wednesday Wellbeing Walks by Water
These walks will be for those taking their first steps into walking, those returning to walking and those new to the area that want to connect with other people and make new friends, be more active, take notice of their local neighbourhood, the history and nature around them, to learn with other people and to participation in social and community life. We all want to feel a sense of wellbeing. Life can be tough and we all need a space where we can get away from the noise, pressure and pollution of everyday life.
We will start after children have been dropped off at school and finish in time for everyone to get home for an early lunch! The walks will be taken at a stroll and not a long or fast cardiovascular pace. They are aimed at people who have not walked for a long time and are a little bit afraid of joining a walking group and those who want to get out and start building up their walking again.
In February we will be looking for the first signs that spring is not far away and simply enjoying being outside near water and woods together and meeting new people. and learning a little bit about local history. See the What’s On page for February for venues, dates and times.