Tag Archives: volunteering

October news

Over the past month we’ve been busy on the Portway Hill site, cutting, clearing and burning hawthorn, bramble and ivy to keep paths open and reduce risks from fires. While we were up there on one of the days, the sky went dark, and the sun became encircled by a red halo. We later discovered that unusual atmospheric conditions had blown up a sandstorm from Africa, and a thin layer of dust from the Sahara Desert had been carried over parts of Britain, depositing a fine film of sand everywhere. Fortunately, one of us had a camera at hand to photograph the strange-looking sun.

If you would like to get fit and active and do something positive for your local environment, then why not come along and join us on one of our conservation days?

Our next volunteer day is this Friday; for more information and to see all of our forthcoming volunteering opportunities please refer to our Events page. We look forward to seeing you there.

Volunteer day this Saturday

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!

Portway Hill public right of way improvements

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!

New volunteer dates

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!

The geologists have been hard at work again!

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!

Help survey Birmingham & the Black Country’s canals for Otters and Shrews!

Lutra lutra

Image © Peter Trimming via Flickr Creative Commons.

Here is a great opportunity to get involved with some hands-on ecology work! The first ever official survey of Otters and Shrews in Birmingham and the Black Country’s canals has just been launched by the Canal & River Trust and the University of Birmingham. They are looking for volunteers to help out with survey work; you will receive full training – click here for details.

Some training sessions have already been arranged; these will consist of a powerpoint presentation of how to survey for Otters, place Shrew traps, take habitat measurements, and anything else you will need to do for the survey. If possible, the nearest canal may be visited to look for Otter and Shrew signs. The dates and times are as follows:

Wednesday, 25/01/17, 10:00-12:00, University of Birmingham

Wednesday, 25/01/17, 13:00-15:00, University of Birmingham

Wednesday, 25/01/17, 18:00-20:00, University of Birmingham

Saturday, 28/01/17, time to be arranged, Wildside Activity Centre, Wolverhampton.

Apologies for the short notice; however there may be further training opportunities available. For the most up-to-date information visit the Otter and Shrew Birmingham Canal Survey Facebook group or email:

Samantha Mason: ssm385@student.bham.ac.uk (Survey coordinator).

Paul Wilkinson: Paul.Wilkinson@canalrivertrust.org.uk (Canal and Rivers Trust Ecologist).

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Happy New Year from the Friends of Rowley Hills

The Friends of Rowley Hills wish you a Happy New Year! 2016 was a good one for us; thanks to our funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All project we were able to deliver many exciting events for the benefit and enjoyment of the local community and carry out more vital conservation work on the Rowley Hills than ever before. We look forward in 2017 to continuing with our work to conserve and enhance the hills for the benefit of wildlife and the local community.

Here are a few photos from one of our recent Lottery-funded events – the Christmas crafts morning at Oakham Library which was well-attended and enjoyed by all!

More hard work from our excellent volunteers!

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!

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The geologists have been hard 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.

Upcoming events

Rowley Hills winter scene (image © Mike Poulton)

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.