Winter Talks At BEECHE

Five interesting talks have been arranged for the second Saturday afternoons each month from October to February at BEECHE. These will be between 1.30pm and 3.30pm giving members and visitors a chance to network! All visitors are welcome, especially those from Bromley's Friends Groups, Kent Wildlife Trust and Local RSPB members and anyone with an interest in natural history. Entrance is by a £3.00 donation which includes refreshments. Talks for Winter 2020-2021 have not yet been scheduled.
Date	Time	Title	Presenter
Saturday 12th Oct 2019	1:30 pm	Natural Quarries	David Boag
When David was asked to photograph, write and design a book about the wildlife and natural beauty of a working quarry in Somerset he was reluctant to say the least! He knew/thought quarries were places that destroyed the environment and were rubbish for wildlife, but he had never been so wrong. It turned out to be an amazing project but also quite a significant challenge because working in that environment is difficult. He was quickly to discover a wealth of indigenous wild plants, which lead to a profusion of insects. In turn they encouraged birds and predators were soon to follow. He has never seen the web of life so well illustrated as in that quarry.
Saturday 9th Nov 2019	1:30 pm	Otters and Beavers	Jonathan Bramley
Jon has studied otters and beavers in the UK and abroad for over 30 years. He completed degrees in Freshwater and Marine Biology and Ecology and has been lucky enough to work in Europe, South Africa and other parts of Africa since then. He worked for various Universities, Wildlife Trusts and was one of the founder members of the Kent Mammal Group (plus the Kent Reptile Group) and was on the KMG team for over 15 years, where it grew under the excellent guidance of Ken West. Jon loves otters, water voles, water shrews, beavers and all cetacean mammals (as well as many other animals, plants and algae) - so come and see him do an interesting talk on otters and beavers, which he is very happy to engage folks in and have a great natter about them.
Saturday 14th Dec 2018	1:30 pm	Hedgehogs	Nigel Reeve
It is common knowledge that there are less Hedgehog sightings these days. Nigel's talk will start by reviewing the status and biology of hedgehogs in the UK nationwide and then move on to talk about the findings of the continuing study of hedgehogs in The Regent's Park that began in 2014. This provides some insights into the problems that hedgehogs face in other urban sites nationally.
Saturday 11th Jan 2020	1:30 pm	Wild Flowers of Kent	Lynne Flower
Lynne's wildflower talk will encompass her journeys across all her favourite wildflower hotspots, including many Kent Wildlife Trust reserves, across all the variety of Kentish habitats with the best of the plants — and of course an update on the status and success of barn owls of Bough Beech.
Saturday 8th Feb 2020	1:30 pm	Slugs and Snails	June Chatfield
June is a zoologist specialising in molluscs, currently retired after a working life in education and museums but still running courses for the Field Studies Council, volunteering at Haslemere Educational Museum and writing. She is also Vice-president of the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Slugs and Snails can be found almost anywhere in terrestrial habitats and there are not too many species so identification is achievable. Individual species have their own life styles and their presence can indicate much about the ecology of the habitat and therefore snails from excavations can inform archaeologists of past environmental conditions. A reference collection of empty shells can be made with no harm to the snail. Attendees are encouraged to bring along specimens that they might like to have named and to look at some shells brought in, together with preferably a x 10 hand lens.
Saturday 14th March 2019	1:30 pm	Orpington Field Club (Facebook Group) Social	Members.
An opportunity to assess the past year in particular and the past two years of the club's new arrangement.

Click here for a map of the BEECHE Centre,
the Bromley Environmental Education Centre at High Elms.