Don’t forget we have our next conservation volunteer day this Saturday, 10:00am – 3:00pm. Join the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country at Portway Hill for a fun day out meeting new people, helping the environment and learning new skills. Meet on St Brades Close at 10:00am; ensure you are dressed appropriately for the forecast weather conditions, and wear sturdy footwear. You will need to bring along a packed lunch but tea and coffee will be provided. No need to book, just turn up!
Our marvellous volunteers have once again been busy, this time opening up the old public right of way through the old quarries on Portway Hill. This means that walkers now have a fully functional right of way through a part of the hillside that was so badly overgrown it had become impossible to negotiate. Here are a few photos of the hugely improved right of way!
We’ve just added lots of new volunteering dates to our website – the first one is this Saturday! Have a look at our Events page for all the details. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and see the wildlife that can be found on the reserve. Hope to see you at a volunteer day on the hills soon!
Once again, geoconservation volunteers from the Black Country Geological Society have been beavering away on Portway Hill to expose more of the dolerite rockface. For more information about the geology of the Rowley Hills, visit our geology page. Here are a few photos of the results of their work!
Our hard-working volunteers were out on Portway Hill once again at the weekend. They had a great day in the unseasonably warm sunshine doing further work to expose the Rowley Rag rock face and improve the path. Here are a few photos of them at work!
A group of enthusiastic volunteers from the Black Country Geological Society were hard at work on Portway Hill last Saturday. They did a great job clearing vegetation that was obscuring the dolerite rock exposures, and improving the footpath using eroded material from the rockface – it doesn’t get more locally sourced than that! Here are a few photos of their efforts.
We’ve just added plenty more Lottery-funded new events to our website, including volunteering days for the winter season – we will be continuing to work with the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country on improving Portway Hill’s access, habitats and key features.
The next event in the diary though is this Saturday when there will a free Halloween-themed family fun day at Bury Hill Park, with lots of activities including clay art, creepy crawlies and scary drawings! Come along any time between 11:00am and 3:00pm, and in the meantime check out our Events page to see what else we have planned for the coming months.
It’s exciting times here on the Rowley Hills at the moment. On Saturday the Black Country Geological Society held their Geoconservation Day on Portway Hill and were joined by representatives from the Wildlife Trust and Friends of Rowley Hills. The part of the old Blue Rock Quarry site now owned by the Wildlife Trust has superb examples of vertical columnar jointing and spheroidal weathering and the day was spent clearing Brambles and other vegetation from the basalt exposures and consolidating the Public Right of Way that runs through the site.
Later this summer as part of the process for the Black Country’s bid to become a UNESCO Global Geopark, assessors from China and Finland will be conducting an evaluation mission and visiting Portway Hill Quarry along with other Black Country geological sites such as Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve and Saltwell’s Nature Reserve.
A further Geoconservation day is to be arranged on the Portway Hill site prior to their visit. We’ll keep you posted when this is to take place.
We’ve got loads of great events in the calendar over the next few months and we hope to see you at a few of them. The next one is a litter pick on Portway Hill tomorrow, and hopefully the weather forecast will hold for that! If you’re planning to come to any of our conservation volunteer days, please fill in your name and tick the dates you are coming to in this Doodle poll. There’s no limit to the number of people who can attend, it just gives us an idea of how many to expect!
Rowley Hills map showing paths and access points
We’ve updated our Events page with some more upcoming Lottery-funded volunteering days. These are delivered by the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country and are a great opportunity to get involved with helping to maintain and improve the Rowley Hills, whilst spending some time outdoors and meeting new people. Click here to see all the events we have planned. Hope to see you at one!
Friends of Rowley Hills 