Island 2000 Trust Blog

East Cowes Primary students braved the cold January weather to make their contribution to the East Cowes Alphabet on Castle Street under the artistic guidance of artists Nathan Holt and Aaron Fletcher. Reception and Year 1 children got stuck in with paint, sponges and stencils to add to the Alphabet. A is for Apple, H is for Helicopter, S is for Spectacles, Sunglasses and Shades and Z, well Z is for Zombies of course.

The alphabet is part of the ‘No Barriers’ project for East Cowes supported by SEEDA. Look out for more additions to the alphabet and more art on the hoardings in the coming months.

Hello everyone - just a reminder that you can so loads more of our stuff (well quite a lot more - we’re gradually bumping it up) by visiting our Flickr sites for arts, Gift to Nature and conservation:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/island2000conservation/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/island2000arts/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gifttonature

Minibeasts quaked in their leafy arbors last Sunday as a safari swept across the West bank of the Medina, sweep netting and shaking the bugs out of their hiding places*.

Participants were fascinated to see red weevils, a large harvestman, a very fat spider, crane flies, various beetles and bugs, springtails and an impressive looking shield bug turn up in their nets.

*No minibeasts were harmed during the afternoon’s activities.

The latest phase of the Newport Rivers Group’s work restoring and enhancing the rivers in and around Newport is now complete, and these photos really do show the visual improvements that have been made. These works were carried out by the Environment Agency, and as well as improving the visual aspect of the site, they have also installed a bespoke fish pass, to allow fish passage up and down the river at this point.

We’ve just done the first in the series of wildlife and heritage walks focusing on the Medina Valley from the Solent right up to Newport Quay. The overall project is called ‘Medina Rediscovered’ (funded by Heritage Lottery) and the walks bit ‘Doorstep Medina’. There is also a schools programme making use of all the Medina’s varied characteristics and features as local learning resources, plugging into as many bits of the curriculum as we can. The walk on Thursday went from Whippingham down to the river at Island Harbour and back again and what a splendid spring day it was! 2 Swallows, Orange Tips, Tortioseshells, Brimstones, Oystercatchers shouting all over the place, Great-crested Grebe and about a million Primroses. We went by St. Mildred’s Church too where, in the graveyard, you can find Samuel Saunders and Uffa Fox, two absolutely extraordinary men who must have helped to make East Cowes the buzzing hub of engineering and design brilliance that it once was.
Being so close to them is kind of inspiring and makes you want to rush back and do something spectacular for the town. We love East Cowes.

Spent the early afternoon helping build sandmen at Steephill Cove. We so rarely get snow on the Isle of Wight, that kids here seldom get to build snowmen, so we thought we’d try a variation on a theme! Everyone had great fun, and Dan even found time for a spot of sun bathing with his new sand-friend…