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Breaking News Newsletter for Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme
Pool Frogs Return!
One of our most exciting projects came to fruition on August 18th with the re-introduction of the rare Northern Pool Frog into the pingo pools on Thompson Common.
These Pool frogs became extinct in the UK twenty years ago, and Thompson Common was their last known habitat, so it
was a momentous occasion when the 400 tadpoles and froglets were released into the pingos by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC). This followed years of hard work by ARC in successfully breeding these frogs from their genetically closest cousins in Sweden, and by our partners Norfolk Wildlfe Trust in clearing the pingos and creating the perfect habitat for these frogs to thrive
Adult male Pool Frogs have a very distinctive booming call, and we hope that in the not too distant future, once the frogs have matured, it will once again be heard in the Brecks!
Projects Round-up
Munzee Trail
The Thetford Munzee Trail is now live! Follow the clues to find the hidden QR codes, and then zap them with your phone using the Munzee App to be in with a chance to win prizes. It’s a great way to get out and explore the town’s fascinating history.
Forest Fest
Our Family Fun Day at Brandon Country park was a great success, with over 500 visitors enjoying lots of fun events over the course of the day! See over for more!
West Stow Archaeological Test Pits
Over fifty volunteers came to West Stow to learn how to dig 1x1m archaeological test pits and then record their finds. See over for more on this exciting project and what they found!
www.breakingnewground.org.uk
A newsflash for project partners and participants with news items , project updates,
special features and forthcoming events.
September 2015
Project Focus
It’s the Pits: Archaeological
training at West Stow Dr Richard Hoggett, Senior Archaeological Officer,
Suffolk County Council
The latest training session to be delivered as part of
the Discovering the Archaeological Landscape of the
Brecks project concerned the excavation of
archaeological test-pits. Between 21st and 24th July,
fifty volunteers joined experts from the Suffolk
County Council Archaeological Service and the
Norfolk County Council Historic Environment Service
to learn how to dig and record a series of 1m x 1m
test-pits in and around the area of the visitor centre
at the West Stow Anglo-Saxon village.
Ten pits were excavated during the course of the
four days, each of which told us something new
about the depth and nature of the buried
archaeology on the site. Previous excavations have
shown that further Anglo-Saxon buildings of the kind
found on the main site lay in the area of the visitor
centre, where they are covered by a thick layer of
blown sand laid down in the medieval period. As a
result of the week’s work we now have a much better
understanding of how deeply buried these layers
are, which will aid greatly in the management of the
site.
A wide range of
archaeological artefacts was
discovered, including
medieval, Anglo-Saxon and
Roman pottery, as well as
large quantities of prehistoric
worked flint. The ‘Find of the
Week’ was made by a young
girl joining us for her first
ever day of digging who
discovered a Neolithic
(4000—2500 BC) flint blade
core within her first 20
minutes on site. This core is the piece of flint which
was left after a series of blades had been struck from
it, giving it a characteristically angular appearance.
The buried remains of an Ancient British warrior
were discovered in one of the test-pits, complete
with helmet, shield and
sword. Unfortunately, he
was only 2cm tall and made of
plastic – experts have dated
the burial to the 1970s
‘Airfix’ period…
In addition to being a
part of Breaking New
Ground, the test-pitting was also part
of the national Festival of
Archaeology and also coincided with a week of
celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the
start of the excavations which revealed the main
archaeological site. To mark this anniversary we
have made PDFs of the reports freely available via
the Suffolk Heritage Explorer website: https://
heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/west-stow.
Forest Fest
This family fun day pn 19th August was all about
discovering the forest; what lives in it and how it is
used. Whole families got involved with diverse
activities. These included “Cauldron Dell” with fire
lighting, marshmallow cooking and bread making;
“Wicked Willow” with willow weaving, art using
hammers and flag making; “Woodland Crafts” with
painting and sewing; Pond Dipping and Bug Hunts;
Archery; and “Herbal Superheroes” with herb safaris
and secret tea tasting.
Participants collected a passport on arrival, gathered
passport stamps as they completed activities, and
then claimed a free goodie bag at the end.
David Falk, manager of Brandon Country Park said
“The day was a great success, bringing lots of
people to the park and helping to show what makes
it such a special place.” The next Forest Fest is
already being planned for Spring 2016.
Please help raise awareness of the
BNG scheme and all the projects by
linking to our website, following us on
Twitter and liking us on Facebook!
Followers: 505
Likes: 77
t: @TheBrecksBNG
f: www.facebook.com/
TheBrecksBNG
Forthcoming Events:
1/09/15—14/09/15 Iceni Botanical Arts Exhibition , Moyse’s Hall, Bury St Edmunds
17/10/15 Painting Fungi in Watercolour 9:30-4pm Santon Downham Village Hall
See www.breakingnewground.org.uk for more details.
Picture
of the
Month Pool Froglet makes a bid for freedom!
Project Focus
Barnham Cross Common - Skills for the Future
Suffolk Wildlife Trust/Plantlife Family Morning
Suffolk Wildlife Trust held a family morning at Barnham Cross Common on 6 August as part of the Plantlife project.
As well as a plant quiz, a number of families took part in bug hunting, making peg bugs and collecting nature’s colours. A number of contacts were also made for future events. A monitoring day is now planned for early October.
Breaking New Ground
c/o Visitor Centre, Brandon Country Park, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0SU
01842 815465 e: [email protected] t: @TheBrecksBNG
f: TheBrecksBNG. w: www.breakingnewground.org.uk
What the Brecks Means to Me...
On a brisk February morning I strolled along the Little Ouse at Santon Downham and gazed into
its mesmerising water. Mist upstream made the distance disappear. The river looped out of the
woods. It seemed to spring from the tree roots then swirl along, deep and sparkling. I watched
its current in the waterweed ribboning downstream. It was too cold for swimming but in my
mind’s eye I saw myself remove my shoes and step in. There are fish in the Little Ouse and
when I visited the river again in April I saw finger-length tiddlers nibbling the gravel near the
berms. By then the trees were coming into leaf, the woods filling with green light and birdsongs,
and the river took in all of this atmosphere and amplified it. I sat on the bank and closed my
eyes. What I couldn’t see, I could hear and sense: the river’s travel, the trickle-click of water
over shingle and the little pop of a fish breaking the surface; the sculling sound when a pair of
mallard landed.
When I think of the Brecks I think of
rivers: the Little Ouse, the Thet, the
Lark. Each one is an exquisite
ecosystem and an enchantment. In
May I followed the Thet to Nuns’
Bridges and saw it take on the
character of a town river. In June,
along the Lark, I heard my first cuckoo
of the year from a riverbank fluttering
with dragonflies and cinnabars. And at
the Little Ouse that day in April, just as
I was about to leave, a swan flew
over, high above the trees, neck at full
stretch – graceful and astonishing, a
Brecks creature – following the river.
—Lois Williams, Sandlines
Get your project noticed!
If there is something that you
would like included in the next
newsletter, please send details
to Martina by 22nd September
“Staff very helpful, we enjoyed our day, a great range of
activities for all ages. Thank you!”
Participant, Forest Fest
Brandon Country Park Family Fun Day