The British Plant Gall Society

Follow us on Twitter at @britgalls

Home Membership Events Meeting Reports Contacts Publications Verification Gallery Links Forum  Bedeguar Project

Affiliated to the British Entomological and Natural History Society (BENHS)

The Cecidological Calendar for 2018

The BPGS has an extensive programme of field meetings each year. These events are an excellent way to learn more about galls, and beginners are very welcome.

PLEASE REFER BACK REGULARLY TO THIS PROGRAMME

FOR ANY AMENDMENTS, ADDITIONS, or MODIFICATIONS.

Note some events require pre-booking

Download the 2018 programme (pdf)

Saturday 23rd June  Wanstead Common, London Bioblitz   Tommy Root has been asked to co-ordinate gall records at this Bioblitz. Please contact him if you wish to attend. trroot@hotmail.co.uk.

Sunday 24th June    Brierley Forest Park (Ashfield District Council)

Galls are under-recorded over the whole Ashfield district, but preliminary visits in Autumn 2017 to this site and a number of similar parks created on former colliery sites in the area suggest that they offer a good range of galls on both trees and herbs.

Brierley Forest Park has been chosen because it has good facilities (loos, café), accessible paths and fortuitously straddles two hectads of SK45 and SK46. It was created in 1994 and is now managed by a charitable trust. This is a 250 hectare country park on the site of Sutton Colliery commanding good views to the west across to Hardwick Hall. There is a broad range of mature native trees, as well as grassland areas sown with native herbs, and a few ponds with marginal vegetation. If further variety is wanted in the afternoon, we may visit another local site such as Silverhill Wood (car park SK 470 616) or Rookery Park (street parking SK 470 583). Pathways are generally flat, easy walking on compacted gravel.

Meeting point : The site is immediately north of Huthwaite village centre and 2 miles east of Sutton in Ashfield. Park in the main car park (signed from B6026, grid reference SK 471 594). From the M1, junction 28, take the A38 east-bound; after a mile turn left on B6027 opposite the Parker-Knoll factory; another mile leads to the crossroads with the B6026 in Huthwaite; turn right and then left in a quarter of a mile. The site is a short walk from public bus routes. Toilet facilities are available at the café which provides simple and inexpensive meals. Disabled parking is by the café (SK 472 595). It is proposed to start the meeting at 11.00 am.

Leader : Jerry Clough contact details are : 0115 978 3440 (home), 077 9103 4742 (mobile), e-mail jrclough2@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday, 24th June 2018 (11:00 -4:00pm) Nottinghamshire

Brierley Forest Park (Ashfield District Council)

Galls are under-recorded over the whole Ashfield district, but preliminary visits in Autumn 2017 to this site and a number of similar parks created on former colliery sites in the area suggest that they offer a good range of galls on both trees and herbs.

Brierley Forest Park has been chosen because if has good facilities (loos, cafe), accessible paths and fortuitously straddles two hectads of SK45 and SK46. It was created in 1994 and is now managed by a charitable trust. This is a 250 hectare country park on the site of Sutton Colliery commanding

good views to the west across to Hardwick Hall There are a broad range of mature native trees, as

well as grassland areas sown with native herbs, and a few ponds with marginal vegetation. If further

variety is wanted in the afternoon, we may visit another local sites such as Silverhill

Sunday 15th July.  Attenborough Nature Reserve.

A visit to this reserve ten years after a first visit to examine any changes that have taken place in the meantime.

Leader : Jerry Clough contact details are : 0115 978 3440 (home), 077 9103 4742 (mobile), e-mail jrclough2@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday 29th July 11:00 a.m. Walk in Salcey Forest.

Meet in the main car park (charge) off the minor road 1¼ miles south of Quinton. Grid Ref. SP 789513. 

Cafe, toilets etc. available.

Leaders Roger Warren and Seán Karley  01933-225397

 

Sunday 12th August   Bishop Middleham, County Durham

Please meet at Bishop Middleham  NZ 327315 at 11:00 am. There are no toilet facilities.

Please bring a packed lunch.

The walk follows a track alongside the wall of a deer park which once belonged to the Bishop of Durham. It joins the abandoned mineral railway line which once linked Fishburn Colliery to the mainline. In previous years many galls have been recorded on Alder, Oak, Lime, Sycamore and Willow. There also many herbaceous plants along the pathways such as Clover, Meadowsweet, Speedwell etc. which have been hosts to galls.

Leader : Steve Robbins but please contact Tom Higginbottom if you require details at

5 Spennithorne Road, Skellow, Doncaster, DN6 8PF. 01302 725978 tomhig@talktalk.net).

Saturday 18th August Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits

Meet at reserve entrance of Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits, Fulbourn Rd, Cambridge CB1 9JL at 11.00 a.m. Grid reference: TL 48461 56000. Nearest train station: Cambridge Railway Station, Station Road - 45 minute walk to reserve from station. 17 minutes by Citi 3 bus – Stop 2 from railway station. (destination bus stop: Queens Edith Way). Citi 3 bus also runs from Drummer Street Bus Station. No reserve car park, however there are local parking bays nearby. There are numerous car parks in Cambridge, the nearest one being Babraham Park & Ride – 30 min walk.  I can advise on travel and parking if needed. No toilets on site. Bring packed lunch.

Leader : Tommy Root. trroot@hotmail.co.uk.

Wednesday 22nd to Saturday 25th August 2018  

Plant Gall Meeting in Poland - Bialowieza

This meeting comprises 4 DAYS of field excursions in the heart of Europe's most preserved forest and its beautiful surroundings.

 Forêt & Naturalité is a Belgian association working for the defence of natural forests in Belgium and abroad, in collaboration with the Białowieża National Park.

The meeting will allow professional scientists, as well as amateurs, to learn and to share their experience, skills and knowledge in a convivial atmosphere. Comfortable accommodation and nice local food are guaranteed !

For details click here  for any queries please contact Sébastien Carbonnelle

The cost is 390 € (all included)

 

Optional Extra

7 days from Saturday 25th to Saturday 1st September

 Field excursions during the day and the evenings with different themes :

° Natural forest ecosystem compared to managed forests, identification of different natural habitats.

° Mammals sightings : looking for bison, deer, and 40 other species possible... including wolf and lynx.

° Botanical approach : trees and characteristic local species, geobotanic and phytosociology.

° Birdwatching : remarkable birds with many nesting and migrating species.

580 € (includes the above Gall meeting) or 700 € if not attending the Gall meeting.

Saturday 25th August  Waterworks Centre Nature Reserve

This is a joint meeting with London Natural History Society. This reserve is mainly known as a birding reserve, however numerous plant species have been recorded, so there should be good scope for galls. Location: Waterworks Centre Nature Reserve, London E10. Meet at 11.00 a.m. at the entrance of The Waterworks Visitors Centre, Lammas Road (off Lea Bridge Road), Leyton, London E10 7QB. Grid ref : TQ 36218 86934. Nearest train station: Lea Bridge Railway Station (6-minute walk to the reserve). This reserve has car parking. Toilets on site. Café on site or bring packed lunch.

Leader : Tommy Root trroot@hotmail.co.uk.

Saturday 1st September.  Ashburnham Estate, East Sussex.

Meet in the Orangery car park on the Ashburnham Estate at 10.30 am. Leave the A271 at Battle travelling west. After several miles turn right into Ashburnham Place. A wooden finger board points to the Orangery Tea Room. Wind through the estate continuing to follow signs for the Orangery Tea Room. We will meet in the car park there, at TQ 689145. A café/tea room is on site and there are some toilet facilities. Ashburnham Estate is now a Christian Retreat and Conference Centre and there are several scenic walks through the estate. Woodland and parkland are the main habitats and there is plenty of scope for finding galls. Leader : Keith Palmer 07798 861467 keith@palmer-family.me.uk

Sunday 2nd September. Stretton Wood, Rutland

Meet at 10.30 am at Stretton Wood Rutland, meet at SK952169.

Leader : Roy Lemmon. 01780 762051

Thursday 6th September (9:30am -3:00pm)  Charnwood Lodge Nature Reserve 2

This event is a continuum of the meeting held on Thursday 3rd May.

 As a reminder: The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, who manage this site, have invited members of the Society to help them conduct a gall recording survey of this Reserve. Most of the site is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part has been declared a National Nature Reserve . The Reserve is not only of Biological interest, it also contains two Geological Conservation Review sites. (For more information Google Charnwood Lodge Nature Reserve). In terms of gall records, the site is virtually virgin territory.

Access to the site is restricted, so those wishing to participate should contact Chris Leach who will be leading the “Gall” elements of this event. Chris’s contact details are: 0116 2711991 or email: c.leach23@btinternet.com. He will provide both Directions and Access information to those notifying him of their intention to join this meeting.

Saturday 8th September (10:00 -3:30pm)   Blaby Oaks 2

This event is a continuation of the meeting to be held on Thursday 10rd May.

Blaby Oaks was created by the Community in 1998 and is now managed by the Woodland Trust. Its name is a little misleading for although there is a fine stand of young (and gall-laden) oak trees, it offers much more with a wetland pond area with willows and ash trees which lead onto open areas and bridleways with a variety of hedgerow shrubs and plants. It is more-or-less linear although a variety of circular walks are available. The core of the reserve and associated open ground and bridleways is about a mile long.  If, however, further variety is needed, less than half a mile away are the more cultivated Bouskell Park and Guthlaxon Path which leads across fields to Crow Mills in South Wigston. There are no facilities in Blaby Oaks but a traditional village pub (The Old Bakery) is a short way from the car park. Anticipate finding a wide variety of autumn galls, and, if previous experience of the site is anything to go by, expect heavy crops of woody asexual galls of the oak cynipids.

Pathways are flat, fairly easy walking unless wet when they become rather muddy.

Meeting point: The site is about 5 miles south of Leicester and lies between Blaby and Countesthorpe.  Park in Oakfields Park car park (signed from Hospital Lane, grid reference SP576970). Oakfields Park is a recreational park and an entry to Blaby Oaks is adjacent to the car park entrance.

It is proposed to start the meeting at 10am.

Meeting Organiser: Chris Leach: contact details are: 0116 2711991 or email: c.leach23@btinternet.com.

The meeting will start at 9:30am with a tea break at 11am, lunch at 1pm (The Trust will provide tea/coffee and biscuits). Usually these meetings end between 2:30 and 3:00pm. Suggest stout shoes and, if weather inclement, suitable wet weather gear.

Saturday 8th September.  Middleton Dale

Another wander in the White Peak. Meet 10.30 am in centre of Middleton-by-Youlgreave village SK196632. A general search for galls. Leader : Norman Bamforth.

Sunday 9th September.  Dearne Valley Country Park, near Barnsley  

Meet at 10.30 am in the car park at SE 362066. There are no toilet facilities. Please bring a packed lunch.

The aim of the meeting is to record the plant galls and other aspects of natural history in the area. The pathways provide easy walking along what would have once been railway tracks. Benches are spaced at intervals along the tracks. There are a variety of habitats with Cliffe Wood Local Nature Reserve an example of mixed deciduous woodland with links back to the twelfth century. There are areas of grassland and marshy areas beside ponds. It will be interesting to compare the galls on the Pedunculate Oak and the Sessile Oak both of which are common in the area.

Leader : Tom Higginbottom (5 Spennithorne Road, Skellow, Doncaster, DN6 8PF. 01302 725978 tomhig@talktalk.net)

Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd September.  AGM weekend South Devon

This year we are based in the Devoncourt Hotel, Exmouth. The cost is £190 per person.

Further details will be available in due course but book the dates NOW!

A full itinerary will be available in the late Summer to all those who have booked up for the AGM

Saturday 29th September Kensal Green Cemetery, London.

This is the middle meeting in the series of seven covering the so-called “Magnificent Seven” Victorian London Cemeteries. Meet at 10.30 a.m. The entrance to use is the one for the Crematorium on Harrow Road (A404) opposite Hazel Road. Parking should be available at the Crematorium and also on the Cemetery roads as long as you park in such a way that other vehicles can pass. We will meet at the entrance opposite Hazel Road.

Leader : Keith Palmer 07798 861467 keith@palmer-family.me.uk.

Sunday 7th October  Brocks Hill Environmental Centre (10am - 4pm (or, optional, 9am-4pm))

Washbrook Lane, Oadby, Leicester.  [Grid ref: SP619997].

The BPGS Invertebrate group annual workshop.

“Gall Causers in Focus”

Whether you are an expert Cecidologist, a talented photographer or simply interested in galls, this year’s Workshop is designed to provide you with a further  opportunity to see gall causers and their associated parasitoids  

In addition to flagging this event, this note is also an invitation to you to make a contribution (a few slides perhaps, live/preserved specimens etc). Your contribution can take the form of a poster, a collection of specimen tubes, microscope slides, or a short presentation (Please let Chris Leach know so that the appropriate resources (time, display boards etc.) can be allocated).

We prefer participants to pre-book and since the number of places is limited by the room available to us, early booking is advised to avoid disappointment. There is a cafe on site (now under new management) which can provide sandwiches, soup and similar etc. (these need to be ordered by 10:30am). Historically this has been a little unreliable so you may prefer to bring your own.

Programme

The Full Programme has yet to be finalised but below is an outline pattern for the day.:

Optional 9am meet in the car park to collect materials from Millennium Wood to examine in the workshop

10am   Arrival, coffee and setting up displays (in the Environmental Centre)

10:30-10:45am Introduction- establishing the objectives for the day (Contents and Products)

10:45-12:15am Examination of displayed and brought materials. Reviewing existing materials

 Commencement of dissections, photographing, videoing, discussions

12:30-1:15pm   Lunch

1:15-3:15pm Continuation of dissections etc and further materials to review/examine

3:15- 4:00pm Summing up and clearing up.! (We have to leave the building by 4pm).

Workshop organiser:-  

Chris Leach.................... c.leach23@btinternet.com or  0116  2711991

Booking:-

Registration fee = £7.00 per person  Cheques to be made payable to the British Plant Gall Society.  

Please send your registration details and fee to the Society’s Treasurer Alan Rix, 31 Norfolk Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 1BL or, to save money on postage, email Alan (alan.rix@blueyonder.co.uk) to register and pay him on the day (cash or cheque).

Details of venue and an updated programme will be sent to all registering.

Invertebrates Workshop. Contact Chris Leach on 0116 2711991, 07818 828454 or via email: c.leach23@btinternet.com Brocks Hill Country Park, Washbrook Lane, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5JJ . The entrance to Washbrook Lane is on the south side of the B582 Wigston to Oadby Road, at traffic lights and opposite Brabazon Road. Proceed along the lane [passing Parklands Leisure Centre on the right]. Brocks Hill Environment Centre is straight ahead. Anticipate that the car park will be quite busy.

As the car park is quite large, we should meet up just outside the Visitor Centre (SP619997).

Sunday 21st October at 11:00 a.m. Harlestone Firs, Northampton.

Fungus Foray and Gall Gallop.  Meet at the main gate, opposite the roadside car-park outside the Garden Centre on Harlestone Road. Grid ref. SP 711637.

Leaders Roger Warren and Seán Karley  01933-225397