Apple Day, 2013

the ammonite tree

A bit belated, but here are images from our Ancient Landscape activities at the Dove Valley Centre's delicious Apple Day but in October

We sent the AL artwork and artist) in as a reminder to visitors to look under their feet and to remember that the earth the fruit trees were growing in drew its form from the stony bones of the earth. And here those bones reflect the ancient seas of 300 million years ago….

preparing decorations 

a jellyfish is captured in wax crayon 

ready for action

Belemnite-streamers

the fossil streamer-tree

Apple Day, 13th October

Apple Day

Sunday 13th October 

11.30 - 3.30

Dove Valley Centre

No, we're not fossilising apples nor pretending they are the first of the Carboniferous fruits! But thsi Apple Day falls from its tree deep in our ancient limestone landscape, just where muddy water shales meet the limestone of the lagoon floor

Add caption

So, our Ancient Landscape will be rippling itself around on this Apple Day to remind everyone of the geology under their orchard feet!

So come along and play with a trilobite or two!





And try some of the Apple Days activities as well:
apple tasting and identification
apple recipes
apple juicing
orchard wildlife walks
techniques for pruning your own trees
storytelling
and other fruitful delights!

Where: Dove Valley Centre, Under Whitle, nr Longnor, SK17 0PR (on the road between Longnor and Sheen)
Cost: free!

Small creatures creeping in!

Following up on earlier entries....we've had a delicious delivery of tasty ancient seafood...or maybe just some wonderfully tentacled lovelies. Thanks you, Geraldine!

The Big Bird, Beast, Bug and Botany Hunt

The Big Bird, Beast, Bug and Botany Hunt

preparing for last year's event

When: Sunday June 9th, 11.00 - 16.00

Where: Dove Valley Centre

Under Whitle Farm

(between Sheen and Longnor)

SK17 0PR

www.dovevalleycentre.co.uk

Ancient Landscapes among the Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Boatnicals? We'll be there, with fossils to look at and draw, models to handle, people to talk to, a wall to stare at (just in case we can find anything!) and our usual exciting, messy, colourful and engaging creative activities

We'll be making fingertip coral, adding small animals to one of our smaller landscapes and hopefully working on a 2 metre tall stand of prehistoric kelp! Visitors will also be welcome to make their own ancient rockpool to take home!

Gordon the Toad (one of our familiar Ancient Artists will be at the event as well - helping mess people up with fingertip corals but also telling stories of the animals and plants that we might (or hopefully might not) find in the Valley around us!

The main event

From the Dove Valley Centre press release

This is a free event for the family that supports Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

Do you like counting wild creatures and flowers and maybe learning more about them?

If so, come along to the annual biodiversity day at the Dove Valley Centre on naturalists will lead activities around the farm: these will include pond and river dipping, wildflower and bird walks, sweeping for bugs, art activities and story-telling and more…You will be able to get really close to moths that were caught the previous night. There will be information too on barn owls that have bred on the farm.

the Centre is a lovely place for explorations!

Plants can also be swapped, so bring along any spares.

Refreshments will be available throughout the day, but if you’re staying for some time you may need a picnic – and wellies!

Tel. Paul/ Elspeth on 01298 83282 or email: walker@dovevalleycentre.co.uk

We splashed around....

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Tuesday 28th May....
images from the event

We have also featured in the Buxton Advertiser - follow the link: Feature

resources and results: models, fossils and rockpools

it was good to see children playing with our main installation

careful adjustments are often necessary

a beautifully observed coelacanth

proud rummagers in ancient rockpools!

Next event:
Sunday June 9th, the Big Bird, Beast, Bug and Botany Hunt at the Dove Valley Centre

The tide comes in again!

The tide is running!

 

fingertip corals growing

There are a busy few days ahead for some Carboniferous rockpools…

a) Green Man Gallery: our main Ancient Landscape will be rippling in the window of the Green Man Gallery in Buxton between 11th and 19th May. Why not pop into the Gallery and stroke a shellfish or squeeze a cuddly seaweed? Green Man Gallery, 55 High St, Buxton, SK17 6HB. Open daily, 11.30 - 5.30. (At the Fiveways crossroads opposite the London Road pub)

On Sunday 19th you can join our artists and add your own ancient wildlife to the landscape - or make your own pet trilobite to take home!

Sunday 19th May

Morning: a quiet event, between 11.30 - 1, drop in and try your hand at crocheting a quick something or other, or knit a ribbon of seaweed, of needle-felt a snail. We'll bring wools, felting needles and crochet hooks but please bring your own knitting needles

Afternoon: 2 - 4pm. Life in Ancient Seas: make your own trilobite! Handling and drawing fossils, making fossil puppets and bringing an ancient world to life! Free. No booking needed: just drop by and join in!

b) Hartington Village

the Village Trail invites us to look for fossils
as well as getting to know the history and geography of the village

As part of the events to launch the Village Trail, our more mobile Ancient Landscape will be on show for visitors to dip their fingers into the wooly tentacles of ancient sea anemones and risk a nibbling by trilobites

There will be a chance to add their own fingertip corals or other creatures to the growing reef and to make their own Prehistoric Rockpool to take home

Details

1- 5pm at Hartington Village Hall, Hide Lane, Hartington,   
Buxton
, SK17 0AW

There are lots of activities in the Hall and the village that afternoon: http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/village-trails

This link will tell you more about the event and give you a copy of the trial to download

Be careful if searching for the Village Hall as it is easy to be sent north of Longnor. Look for Hartington village on the B5054 off the A515 just north of Newhaven in Derbyshire

A pause in a rockpool

WORKSHOP MOMENTS - from sessions at Hartington Primary School and with Borderland Voices writing group at 

the Dove Valley Centre

we enjoyed, simply drawing our fossils and the animal models

Hartington: a busily creative tabletop!

Hartington: no injuries, just the first stage fingertip - or thumbtop?- coral

Thumb-coral growing

a somewhat psychedelic nautiloid

The tide comes in!

An ancient sea in Hartington!

 On Sunday 12th May from 1 - 5pm, the ancient landscapes of the Peak District will come to life again (albeit a bit woolly and fluffy) in Hartington

finger tip coral growing

As part of the events to launch the Village Trail, our Ancient Landscape will be on show. Visitors will be welcome to dip their fingers into the woolly tentacles of ancient sea anemones and risk a nibbling by trilobites

ancient rockpool

Visitors will also be able to add their own fingertip corals or other creatures to the growing reef and to make their own Prehistoric Rockpool or Personal Trilobite to take home

Event details

Date: Sunday 12th May 2013,

Time: 1pm - 5pm

Costs: our activities are free (not sure about others)

Venue: Village Hall, Hartington, Hide Lane, Buxton, SK17 0AW

Other activities include fossils to look at, the Village Trail to follow, activities with the Peak Park Rangers and the chance to enjoy one of the Peak District's lovely villages!

make your own rockpool to take home

fingers can be at risk in an Ancient Landscape!

Sunshine and trilobites

Miller's Dale, Saturday 6th April

all set up and ready for action

fossils and finger-corals

A sunny day in the Peak District! This felt like an exciting release after weeks of cold snow and slippery roads and visitors came rushing out to bask in the sunshine

And the stones were waiting! We had a lovely day working with visitors to this peaceful stopping point on the Monsall Trail

We rummaged in the fossil-pot (thanks to the National Park Rangers for the wonderful chunks of limestone!)

having a good rummage

fluorspar with galena? out of the fossil-pot

We made new fingertip corals and personal trilobites

40 people went off to look at fossils along the Trail (thanks again to the Rangers for leading these)

fossil-expedition setting off!

And the rest of us (another 60 during the day), looked at stones, handled fossils, made models and enjoyed the sunshine!

rockpool!

personal nautilus