Everyone is welcome to the meetings below. For outdoor meetings wear stout footwear, suitable weather wear, and as appropriate, insect repellent and sunscreen. For day meetings bring a drink and a packed lunch. Mothing sessions – usually arranged at short notice – bring a torch, hot drink and warm clothes. Other field visits may be arranged, depending on the weather. Detailed information about excursions will be sent by email a few days before the event. Please let Margaret know if you will be coming to an excursion, so that the leader knows how many will attend and any changes or cancellations can be notified. Attendance is at your own risk. Children under 16 should be accompanied by an adult. Doncaster Naturalists’ events are in bold.
| Date | Meeting Details |
|---|---|
| January | |
| Sat 7 | New Year Walk, Fairburn RSPB reserve. Leaders : Joyce & Paul Simmons. Meet at 10:30 am at the RSPB car park. |
| Wed 11 | Indoor meeting. Speaker : Francis Hickenbottom. ‘Dead Flies and other fascinating things’. Meet at 2 pm at Parklands Sports and Social Club, |
| Sat 21 | Annual General Meeting. CANCELLED until Feb 8 Meet at 10:30 am in the Tofield Room at Potteric Carr. In the afternoon there will be a walk around the reserve. |
| February | |
| Wed 8 | Indoor meeting followed by AGM Speaker : Helen Kirk. ‘What’s lurking in the local mire?’ Meet at 2 pm at Parklands Sports and Social Club. |
| Sat 18 | THE 12th SOUTH YORKSHIRE NATURAL HISTORY DAY. “What’s Going on in South Yorkshire?” – A Festival of Amateur Natural History. Treeton Miners’ Welfare, Arundel Street, Treeton, S60 5PW. Begins at 10:30 am. |
| Wed 22 | Movie Makers evening. Meet at Flintwood Methodist Church, Lansdowne Rd, Intake, Doncaster at 7:30 pm. |
| Fri 24 | Brodsworth Community Woodland walk. Leader : Nora Boyle. Meet in the car park off Longlands Lane at 10 am. The intention is is to walk to Highfields Lake and back with the option of lunch at Markham Grange. |
| March | |
| Wed 8 | Indoor meeting. Speaker : Julia Foster (Trees and Woodland Development Officer for Doncaster Council) Tree Planting in Doncaster: Tackling the Climate Emergency with One Million Trees. Meet at 2 pm at Parklands Sports and Social Club. |
| Fri 17 | Walk at Barrow Hills NR, Harwell, Nottinghamshire. Leader : Jim Burnett. Meet at 10:30 am at Harwell village. Grid ref SK 686917. |
| Wed 22 | Don Gorge Hellebore Hunt. Leader : Colin Howes. Meet 1pm on Archers Lane [formerly Butt Holes Lane] (SK/524988) off the A630 Doncaster/Conisbrough Road nr. Pelican crossing. ROUTE: We will cross to the north side of the A630 via the pelican crossing to enter Nearcliff Wood, passing along the tarmacked haul road as far as the disused worked out lime quarry (looking like a set for a ‘Spaghetti Western’) to the east of Conisbrough viaduct, below Butterbusk Green and the white water tower. We will pass the celebrated Nearcliff Pipe Tunnel (of hibernating bats fame), the spectacular Conisbrough Viaduct (now a public walk/cycle way) and the legendary Dragon Cave which ‘steams’ in either very hot or very cold weather. TERRAIN: The population of Stinking Hellebore, Spurge-laurel and associated limestone plants are in a precipitous and precarious fragment of woodland miraculously missed by the quarrying. Terrain is Slippery and Steep. Stout footwear, gloves and probably a walking stick, essential. DISTANCE: (there & back) 1½ miles. MAPS: OS Landranger 111 Sheffield & Doncaster or South Yorkshire A-Z Map page 80, cells C3, D3 & D2. |