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NATIONAL TRUST
BROWNSEA ISLAND NEWS
March 2015
GENERAL MANAGER’S UPDATE
Welcome to 2015
Welcome to the 2015 season on Brownsea Island. If you have already been coming over to help with the
winter weekends THANK YOU! It has certainly been quite cold but, thank goodness, quite dry. I don’t
know what this means for water supplies later in the year, but it does mean that at least the weather
has been good for visitors wanting to come to the island. I understand visitor numbers have been good
for the winter weekends, with plenty of people using the new Poole service. Let’s hope we continue to
have the weather for people to enjoy Brownsea throughout the coming season – with lots of rain falling
during the night!
Spring Conference
We have just launched the new season with our Spring Conference, which was very well attended, with
around 100 packing into the Visitor Centre. We presented some of our usual round up of news of last
season and plans for this and complemented it with a theme of making the National Trust’s “cause”
more well-known and promoted. Linked to this, we were talking about how to do more fundraising to
help us towards our goals on the island, e.g. everyone has a wonderful time and we do a better job than
ever at managing landscape, habitats and wild life.
To this end we were lucky enough to have General Manager Michael MacCormack (Mac) and one of his
star volunteers Joan Graham to tell us about the work they have been doing at Stourhead in the hope
that we can follow suit here on the island. Richard Popper, currently a volunteer pier warden, but
ex- RNLI fund raiser, also gave us his reflections on what fund raising means (which, strangely, is not just
about asking for money). All speakers were very thought provoking and we have a follow up meeting
next Tuesday 24 March 9.30-12.30 to see where this takes us and what to do next. One of the tasks will
be to clearly identify a project or projects that will be our fund-raising target. If you are interested in
helping, please do join us!
“Cause” pilot
This summer we will also be taking part in a national trial to make the National Trust’s cause more
visible on Brownsea Island – in other words explaining more about what we do and more importantly
why we do it. Also important will be to make sure people know how they already help towards this and
to say “Thank you” – that goes for people who just visit for the day and pay their entry or for members
who pay their membership fee. Also for those who spend money in the Shop or Café or Outdoor Centre.
Staff news
I am really delighted to let you know that Claire has been appointed as the new Visitor Experience
Manager for Kingston Lacy. For ourselves, this is a bit of a blow as Claire has been exceptional in her role
here. However, it is vitally important that we take full advantage of the talent we have within the
National Trust and, even though we lose this for Brownsea, I know that the ambitious plans at Kingston
Lacy over the next few years will benefit enormously from her being involved. We will be moving
quickly to get some cover for her role over the next few months before we advertise the role for a new
permanent member of staff.
Other exciting news is that we have a new Facilities Manager (Adam) – more below from Reuben.
New Landing Craft
If you were at the Spring Conference you will know , or you may have heard, that we have a new boat
– a landing craft. At this stage, we would like you to help finding a name for the Landing Craft by
sending us your suggestions. We will then create a short list and hope to launch a public vote to decide.
Please get your suggestions to me by Good Friday (3 April).
Looking forward to seeing you soon, Angela
BROWNSEA ISLAND VOLUNTARY WARDENS
New chairman Tony Allen
Hello everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Tony Allen, the new chairman of BIVW and
at 6'3" I’m hard to miss. I’ve been asked to give my “potted” history, so here goes.
I’m a Lancastrian by birth who moved steadily south until running out of land in
Bournemouth. Married to Carolyn for nearly 40 years, we have 3 daughters, 2 living
locally and the eldest in France. We came to Bournemouth to open an hotel in 1979
after I had worked for 15 years in the insurance industry. What a contrast! In the mid
90s, having found the leisure industry changing, we retired to become student landlords and still are.
My association with Brownsea started in 1990, when I was persuaded to join BIVW
as a number of our church congregation at St. James’ Pokesdown were already
wardens. One of my fellow probationers that year was Brian Whitlock, our
immediate past chairman. Being asked to be a warden-in-charge many years ago,
also the same time as Brian, I was rapidly talked into being Deputy Chairman and
agreed to take over the post of Chairman last November.
Over and above my normal wardening duties, I’m a member of the carts restoration
team, turn up for winter work parties and until last year, organised the weekday
wardening during the summer period. I was also social secretary, but that now
seems to involve organising our annual quiz.
Our pastimes away from Brownsea are centred around our motorhome and our cottage in Normandy
and we spend as much time as possible in either. When not thus occupied, we are renovating a barn
near our cottage. Luckily the internet keeps us in close touch with island events and activities whilst we
are away.
I’m looking forward to my 3 years in office, during which I’m sure I will see a few changes.
Tony Allen, Chairman BIVW
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ADAM POOLE, FACILITIES MANAGER
We’re very pleased to welcome Adam Poole, our new Facilities Manager, to the Brownsea Island team.
After joining us in early November from St. Michael’s Mount and following a couple of months making
the long commute up from Cornwall, Adam finally moved here with his family who are now happily
settled in Dorset.
Adam’s role as Facilities Manager will involve all aspects of facilities management and maintenance
(property, equipment, etc.), compliance with regulations, working on building projects, logistics and so
on.
He will also be developing a volunteer maintenance team so if you are interested in helping out please
let him know. We need people who are practically trained and have a skill or those who are well
experienced at maintenance and DIY – if you are unsure, don't worry, we will provide training before we
let you loose with a hammer and paintbrush. However, if you are not very practical but are well
organised - we also need people to help co-ordinate, with the logging and reporting, maintaining stores,
ordering equipment, keeping the workshop tidy . . .
If you weren’t at the Spring Conference and so missed Adam’s very entertaining introduction to FM and
accompanying video, then please look out for his profile which will appear in the newsletter soon.
Reuben Hawkwood, Head Ranger
THE LANDING CRAFT . . .
I’m not going to say too much about this new and wonderful addition to our fleet – despite the fact that
getting it is probably one of the most exciting thing that has ever happened.
I hope that it will speak for itself over the coming months and years.
Ponder for a while – we are a little island, famed throughout the world. We are a tourist destination par
excellence with 130,000 visitors a year (give or take), we are one of the top 10 places to go birdwatching (or picnic, depending on your preference) in the country, last year we were voted Britain’s
favourite nature reserve, we have an outdoor centre which hosts thousands of children every year –
camping and activities and educational trips. We have a superb café serving thousands of plates of
delicious food and a fantastically successful shop, we have trails and activities, we have an open air
theatre, we have around 450 people to bring to work on the island through the season – volunteers and
staff, we have children to take to school and holiday cottages to bring guests to. We have tractors and
Land Rovers and electric buggies and woodlands and buildings and a sewage works to maintain, and
loads and loads of rubbish to take off . . . and we do all this with one small boat of our own that is over
40 years old and can take at maximum capacity 37 passengers.
Imagine what we'll be capable of, just take a moment to think what we can do with a practically brand
new drop-fronted, shallow draught landing craft that can bring people in wheelchairs and luggage and
stores and equipment and carry vehicles and land at different parts of the island and . . .
How on earth have we managed so far?
With a massive thanks to the Neptune Coastline Campaign fund – Coast 2015 – for providing the money
to purchase this new boat.
Start thinking of names!
Reuben Hawkwood, Head Ranger
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WILDLIFE SNIPPET
A spring in one’s step
As another winter slips, for the most part quietly, by and we drift into the onset of spring, as at this time
every year, from within I acquire rekindled anticipation. What will the natural world surprise us with this
season? Will regular faithfuls return again? Will June's Bioblitz unearth anything new? How good it feels
for the infusion of warm rays and the added daylight length. We, like our natural counterparts, begin
shedding a layer or two, metamorphose to different attire, nest build, garden and venture further afield
as the season gathers momentum.
A seal, or more probably several, have “eyed up” activities on the Quay in recent weeks. “Old Konk” the
raven, I call him this due to his prow-like bill through which he hurls a throaty “konk”, has made it clear
this past month he's not to be disregarded. Lambs tails on the hazel, sticky buds on the conker, glossy
yellow celandines opening and closing in collusion with the sun, the dainty white florets on the blackthorn, often adorning the bare branches like fairy lights prior to leafing. These early flowering species
so precious to insects like queen bumblebees who stumble from one limited source of nectar to the
next. Brimstone butterflies this year were recorded on March 10 – the earliest ever record for the island.
There are now many other indicators of the shift into spring, like the frenetic spiral pursuits up timber
torsos by high spirited squirrels.
The assault on the senses of a fantastic time of year has commenced. Bring on a Brownsea spring!
John Lamming, Brownsea Island Ranger and Wildlife Contributor
BIRD/BAT BOX GROUP
The Bird and Mammal Box Team spent 3 days on the Island in early February carrying out box repairs,
plus implementing a number of modifications and improvements to the overall scheme.
Box repairs are an ongoing task. With the exception of the “woodcrete” Schwegler bat boxes (which
are a blend of wood, concrete and clay), all our boxes are made wholly from wood. We are only able to
paint the external surfaces with non-toxic timber preservative, as commercial pre-treated timber is
unsuitable for wildlife. Consequently the lifespan of wooden boxes is limited and a programme of
replacement is necessary, compounded by structural damage caused by woodpeckers, squirrels and
storms! For this reason we replaced 20 boxes in February, added to about 18 done last September. This
amounts to an annual ongoing replacement of about 10% of the wooden boxes around the island. Even
so there are still a very small number of boxes that have survived the entire 19 years of the project,
conversely there are always a few that need repairs due to squirrel damage within a few weeks of
installation!
We also made a few practical changes to make things easier for ourselves. For example the “little owl
box” number 149 needed replacement. Unfortunately it has never been occupied by little owls, but has
been much used by squirrels. It was very high up in a pine tree, so we replaced it with a squirrel box
lower down on the same tree, thereby making inspection much easier! Likewise we moved the boxes
secured to beams under the 2 bridges along the Natural Reserve entrance tracks to positions nearer
bridge openings. This will make them easier to clean and inspect. However there was nothing easy
about moving them – it was extremely awkward to release the beams from the bridges and the work
was done on a very cold day. Sadly this reflects also upon us – we were younger and more agile when
we first put them up!
The Venetia Park owl box was due for replacement as the roof was in poor condition, but when we
prepared to do so we found it to contain a single white egg, together with a large amount of nest
material. This was perplexing as we were unsure whether it was an early 2015 nest, or the infertile
residue of the 2014 season. We opted to make some limited in-situ repairs, thereby minimising
disturbance and will seek another opportunity to replace the box later in the year.
We were very pleased to find hibernating bats in both the hibernacula buildings. The Rose Cottage
Kennels building had a single Brown Long-Eared (BLE) bat tucked away in one of the ceiling timbers,
whilst the Middle Street building held 4 BLE. We also found 2 Pipistrelles hibernating in a tit box. The box
was scheduled for repair but this had to be deferred due to the residents!
We worked hard throughout a cold but sunny weekend and it was nice to return to the warmth of Rose
Cottage for convivial “refreshments” in the evenings!
Robert Riggs, BIVW
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WOODLAND MANAGEMNENT
BIVW, along with John Lamming and Wayne Cooper, were very pleased to have c.40 Guides to one
of BIVW’s Woodland Management days, clearing the Toomer Copse enclosure. They all worked extremely
hard and judging from the comments below really enjoyed their day.
Lop ’Til You Drop
“When I walked into the woods for the Brownsea Conservation Day, honestly, I wasn’t sure what to
expect. But once I grabbed my saw, I knew we were in for an adventure. Me, Amy, Rebecca and Nor
called ourselves ‘The Fantastic Four’ because we were truly fantastic. Me and Amy cut down the trees
with my saw and her loppers, Nor and Rebecca held and then threw the trees into the bonfire. The
bonfire was mesmerising and beautifully warm, so warm I went from 4 layers to 2. After we were told
to stop, we went back to the cottage for some hot drinks and biscuits. It truly was a great day and I’d
do it all again in a heartbeat.”
Lola S
“On Saturday 21 February we went to Brownsea Island for a Conservation Day. When we set off it was
cold and the boat was wet, soon the seat of my trousers was wet as well. We went to an area of the
island that had been fenced off for 10 years, protecting it from deer and rabbits. Some trees were over
head height and we cut down other trees to give the remaining trees space to grow wider (not tall and
thin). These stronger trees will produce fir cones for all the red squirrels. We had to get rid of the trees
we had cut down, so we had a huge bonfire – it was spitting and holes appeared as if by magic in
people’s fleeces. My trousers dried out at last. It was an amazing trip.”
Celeste B
Nor with loppers
Rebecca and Guides with tree
Cutting through the enclosure
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BROWNSEA ISLAND AND MARS – THE CONNECTION!
I’m a PhD student at Imperial College London and in late 2012 Reuben Hawkwood and the National Trust
helped me collect some geological samples from the southern coast of Brownsea Island. My project
involves studying how the geology of Mars might affect experiments carried out by Curiosity Rover,
particularly those looking for carbon compounds that might tell us if life ever existed on Mars. One
mineral that is known to exist on Mars and might be problematic for these experiments also happens to
exist on Brownsea. I did some experiments on the Brownsea samples that have proven that this
mineral would be extremely problematic when searching for life on Mars and I’ve written it up as a
scientific paper that is published in a journal called Astrobiology.
I’ve been using a technique called X-ray diffraction to work out the different mineral types present in the
rock samples I took from the island. The Natural History Museum did the first part for me (in this step
X-rays are fired at a sample and the reflected beams are then recorded and analysed for variations which
are indicative of different mineral types). I did the analyses of these patterns and found that all of the
samples I got from Brownsea contain the mineral jarosite, which is exactly what I was looking for!
In the distant past when the clay rich cliffs on the south of the island were forming underground a
mineral called pyrite (made of iron and sulphur) also formed in them. In the present day these clays are
exposed on the cliff face and they interact with water and oxygen. As a result the pyrite within them is
being constantly altered to jarosite (jarosite is made of iron, sulphur, oxygen and hydrogen). If you walk
along the southern cliffs you will frequently see yellow crusts on the grey clay where the jarosite is
forming. I’ve attached a photo of a really good example of this. Because it contains iron the jarosite
eventually rusts. At the bottom of the photo you can see a hard rusty brown layer where this is
happening. The waters flowing out of the clay in jarositic areas will be highly acidic (around pH2) so it’s
a good idea to rinse your hands afterwards if you handle any.
In the first half of 2015 I will start to run experiments to see if jarosite may break down the carbon
molecules associated with life when the two are heated together. Jarosite breaks down to release
oxygen at certain temperatures and this oxygen can react with molecules made of carbon and
hydrogen and turn them into carbon dioxide, hiding any evidence for life. This is important as jarosite
has been detected on Mars and it’s possible the heating experiments that Mars rovers carry out may
accidentally destroy any interesting carbon molecules if jarosite is also present in the soil being
analysed.
The paper is available at this link: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2014.1160.
Thanks again to you and all the people at Brownsea for being so helpful. I’ll update you when I start
getting interesting data.
James Lewis, Imperial College
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BROWNSEA RESIDENTS
Many visitors to Brownsea Island are surprised that about 30 people live on the island all year and that
St. Mary’s Church is still a working church, belonging to the Church of England not National Trust with
services on Easter Day and every Sunday from May until September. In 1963 the opening season was
from Good Friday until the end of September, hence our service pattern.
Brownsea residents now live there with their families if they are employed by National Trust, John Lewis
Partnership or Dorset Wildlife Trust. Nine children live on the island, 7 of school age catch a boat to go
to school. The Postman comes by boat 6 days a week to deliver the mail and empty the postbox on
Brownsea Quay. All deliveries come by boat, either by Enterprise, the National Trust boat, or Castello,
the John Lewis Partnership boat.
Before 1925 there was a larger population as Brownsea was a country estate with the Castle or The Villa
as the “big house”, a farm (the Visitor Centre area) and a school (East Cottage and West Cottage
opposite the Castle clock tower). The school closed in 1928 with only 1 pupil left, Dorothy Battrick aged
9 years. In the island History Collection we have transcripts of the census returns from 1841-1911,
transcripts of St. Mary’s Church registers and copies of some of the School Registers. From these
records family trees have been drawn of the some families who once lived there. The census returns are:
1841 taken 6/7 June
38 males
34 females Total 72
(28 under 10 years old)
1851 taken 30/31 March 47 males
62 females Total 109
(36 under 10 years old)
1861 taken 7/8 April
66 males
57 females Total 123
(40 under 10 years old)
1871 taken 2/3 April
65 males
59 females Total 124
(28 under 10 years old)
1881 taken3/4 April
123 males
118 females Total 241
(77 under 10 years old)
1881 taken 31 Aug. by Rev Theophilus Bennett, Vicar Total 269
(not full record of names)
1891 taken 5/6 April
58 males
64 females Total 122
(36 under 10 years old)
1901 taken 5 April
37 males
29 females Total 66
(24 under 10 years old)
1911 taken
48 males
49 females Total 97
(19 under 10 years old)
Many visitors to the church ask about relatives who once lived here and some give me extra information
about them. The Toms family came to Brownsea from Highcliffe in about 1902 and stayed until 1928
when Mrs. Bonham Christie forced all the islanders to leave. There must be few people left now who
lived on the island before 1927, last year I was told of the death of Sylvia Manton (nee Toms) and her
sister Ermyn Short (nee Toms), children of Charles and Florence Toms. Their cousin, Melvin Basil Arthur
Chapman (Chappie), son of Arthur and Daisy (nee Toms) Chapman, died in 2012, for many years he was
a volunteer with Brownsea Island Voluntary Wardens (BIVW). There is a memorial seat for the Toms
family at Maryland. Four generations of the Dean family lived on Brownsea from about 1840-1932,
coming from Norfolk to run farms on Brownsea and South Haven (Shell Bay). Several members of the
Dean family are buried in the Churchyard, the latest the ashes of Lorna Holloway (nee Dean) buried in
2008 near her grandparents. Lorna and her sister Lillian attended the island school. Their cousin
Frederick Dean has a memorial inside; another cousin Margery, born in 1926, was my Brown Owl in 1953.
She remembered playing in the old school. Her family left the island in 1932 and I have just learnt
Margery died in 2014, another link with the old islanders gone. Margery’s parents Alfred Claud and Gwen
(nee Matthews) were married in St. Peter's Parkstone in 1924 but the Banns were also read in St. Mary’s.
William John (Jack) Battrick, born on Brownsea in 1909, had 7 sisters all born on Brownsea; all
attended Brownsea School. Jack wrote his memories in the book Brownsea Islander, now out of print
but available from local libraries. Jack returned to Brownsea in 1962 to work for the National Trust. He
died in 1978 and is buried in the Churchyard. He also has a memorial seat by the Farm Buildings.
Members of the Biggs, Whittingham, and Payte families also lived on the island for over 30 years.
The last significant private owner, Mrs. Mary Florence Bonham Christie, bought Brownsea in 1927 for
£125,000 and left on the day of her death 28 April 1961. She let the island return to nature but by doing
this she protected it for future generations as it was never developed. She left the island to her grandson John. As he could not pay the death duties it went to the Treasury and the National Trust has owned
it since 1962. Barry Guest came as Mrs. Bonham Christie’s boatman in 1960 and stayed until 2004
working for the National Trust, living for over 40 years on the island.
There must be something special about Brownsea for people to stay here so long. George IV when he
was Prince Regent wrote in 1818, “I had no idea that there had been such a delightful spot in the whole
of the Kingdom”.
If you are asked about past Brownsea residents please ask the visitor to fill in a Comment Card with
name and dates of the family they are asking about and their contact details. Give it to Claire and I will
attempt to answer the query.
Janet Mellors, Churchwarden of Branksea St. Mary and a member of Brownsea Island History Group
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BROWNSEA OPEN AIR THEATRE
The Tempest – July 22 to August 7
Happy New Year to everyone from BOAT – let’s hope the island is in for a wonderfully sunny, successful
season.
Well, our auditions for The Tempest are over and we have a very exciting cast and crew. However, the
director, Neil, is still looking for some non-speaking acting roles to be filled so contact him via the
website if you would like to have a go.
We are always keen to welcome newcomers to help out with costume and props making, set building
and painting and Front of House personnel. It’s never too late to sign up for any of these – again,
contact us via the website.
As far as costume making is concerned, we’ve already made a start on some preparatory work as the
photos show! Linda and Bob Nother kindly opened their home to us on 2 Fridays and a fun time was had
by all. Not so much “stitch’n’bitch” as “sew’n’smile”! More of these informal sessions are planned either
at Linda’s or at the Costume Store (Jade House, Sterte Avenue West) and if you’d like to be involved just
let Linda Nother or Sandra Yeoman know or contact us via the website.
The most exciting news is that tickets for The Tempest went on sale on Sunday February 1 and within 3
days we had sold over 10%. However, we can’t be complacent – we need a massive effort to make the
public aware of the production. The more tickets we sell – the more money we can donate to the
National Trust. Flyers are now available for distribution and we'd be really grateful if you could take
some and hand them out wherever you go.
Tickets can be booked online – via the website www.brownsea-theatre.co.uk and you can follow us on
Twitter and Facebook too.
We look forward to seeing you all once the season begins – huge thanks for your support.
Denise Mallender – BOAT Trustee and Publicity Team
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BROWNSEA BOOK LIST
The launch event of Brownsea’s favoutite 100 books was held on Saturday 14 March in Poole Central
Library. General Manager Angela Cott opened the proceedings, assisted by Hannah Tuck. Geoff Curtis
and John Herbert manned a Brownsea Island stand.
Below is the link to the 100 books list at Poole Library. When you click on the link it will take you to “what
to read next” on the Library website. On the right hand side there is the pdf download under Curator
collections: http://www.poole.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries/reading/what-to-read-next
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DIARY DATES
There will be a Team Briefing and News round up in the Sail Loft at 08.45 lasting approx. 30 minutes every
2nd Tuesday in the month. Everyone is invited, staff and volunteers, but no one is expected to make a
special trip to attend
April Friday 3 to Monday 6, 10.30 to 16.00
EASTER FUN DAYS
Saturday 11, 11.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 16.00
THE BIG DEN BUILD
Friday 17, 11.00
WORLD WAR TWO WALK
May
Saturday 7, 07.30
MORNING BIRDSONG WALK – £15
Friday 8, 11.00
WORLD WAR TWO WALK
Friday 18, 11.00
WORLD WAR ONE WALK
Saturday 23, 07.30
MORNING BIRDSONG WALK – £15
Saturday 23 to Sunday 31, 10.30 to 16.00
FAMILY TRAIL
June 12.00 Friday 12 to 14.00 Saturday 13
BIOBLITZ (WILDLIFE SURVEYING)
TUESDAY 16, 11.00
WORLD WAR ONE WALK
Saturday 13 and Sunday 14
FAMILY CAMPING WEEKEND
Saturday 20 and Sunday 21
FAMILY CAMPING WEEKEND
July
Saturday 4, 12.00 to 14.00
BIG BEACH PICNIC
Saturday 4, 18.30
EVENING NATURE WALK AND PICNIC – £10
Booking for all events either sign-up sheet in Sail Loft or to [email protected]
Booking sheet will go on noticeboard approx. 2 months prior to event date
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BROWNSEA BLOG
Over the next few weeks we will be transferring to the new National Trust website for volunteers
and creating a Brownsea page so please let the office know if you need help to register.
The old blogspot will no longer be in use so take a look at the new website
myvolunteering.nationaltrust.org.uk
and start using it!
National Trust website
(it is regularly updated)
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brownsea
Telephone number – 01202 707744
Email: [email protected]
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Items for BIN to the Editor please, Richard Yeoman, [email protected]