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| Photo: Judith Slater |
Eleven gardens in the beautiful estuary village of Arnside will be opened to the public this weekend, with entry proceeds going to the NSPCC.
The gardens will be open on from 12 noon to 5.30pm on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May and one of the organisers, Judith Slater, tells us she’ll be having owls in her garden on both days and chameleons and lizards on Sunday.
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| Photo: Judith Slater |
“We are keeping them well away from each other!” she notes.
The Open Gardens event coincides with a major exhibition on the natural history and ecology of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at the Arnside Eductional Institute.
Some stunning wildlife prints from leading photographers,
educational panels will be on display, illustrating the themes of various lectures on Saturday, which start from 9.00am) plus a lot of additional material.
The lectures will be on varied topics, including ecology
principles, woodland, soils, climate and geology. There will also be specialist lectures on
shade tolerant flora, deer (and ticks!), the estuary, food chains,
birds and butterflies.
Several
local conservation organisations such as the RSPB, the National Trust, and
Arnside and Silverdale Natural History Society will have stalls in the Institute during the day. There are details here (PDF download).
The AONB team are also offering fun, free activities for young naturalists on Sunday from 10.30am – 1pm: live bat and moth trap demonstrations.
• Programmes for the Open Garden Event are available from Bulloughs Londis, The Promenade, Arnside and Arnside Post Office. Admission
will be £3.00 per adult, children free. Proceeds to the NSPCC.
Refreshments, toilets and plants sales at selected gardens
• The AONB Exhibition is open Saturday from 2 – 6.0pm and Sunday from 10.00am – 5.00pm. Free. All welcome. More info at: www.arnsidesilverdaleaonb.org.uk
• The AONB Lectures cost £5 per person. Details and booking form are available here. From 2-5.00pm there is also a choice of four Field trips (only available to morning lecture attendees, sorry). This also costs £5