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Today our learning adventures took us back into times of Castles, Battles, Kings and Queens!! It also took us on an adventure into how people used to live and the ideas that they had. Stirling Castle was our destination and what a day it turned out to be. On our journey towards the castle we were amazed at how tall and proud it sat on its high perch over looking Stirling. Arriving at the castle was a great experience as with excitement in our eyes history flooded over us in one almighty swoosh! The colour of the castle was something that we noticed first as we made our way into the mouth of the castle and into a very warm welcome. The staff at the castle undoubtedly know a lot about people from the past but the definitely know lots about people of the present and we were treated like Kings and Queens as we were led on a tour through the castle and through time. Through cobblestone courtyards and cannon lined walls we made our way into palaces and religious buildings while grey skys frowned down upon us heavy with the weight of dark rain. But our spirits were not to be dampened and so on we went....

The Aspire Group got the chance to go to one of the other Nature reserves in Dudley. The Leasowes is a SSSI which means it is Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the waxcap fungi grasslands, and the area contains several rare species. While we were there the group worked on restoring Acid Grassland, they were cutting back brambles and smaller trees to make open spaces and rides for Bees and Butterflies. The Senior warden Helen walked us back to the wardens base along the canal side also known as "the cut" in the Black Country. It was nice to see the connection between the woodland and the aquatic landscapes, we could see wild geese floating along and hear birds in the woodland. After lunch we went to walk around the reserve to explore the wooded valleys, streams and lakes. These areas were created by Willian Shenstone and shows his love of nature and wildlife. Thank you Helen and everyone at the Leasowes! The Groups also got the chance to use the peeling Jig and draw knife to take bark off Ash trees with Les from the Friends of Saltwells and Emma the warden. We can't wait to show you what we will be doing with the peeled logs in a few weeks!

(2 hrs) "Mother nature provides for our need, but not our greed" While in Vancouver, I made a visit to the Bill Reid Gallery, which showcases the work of a contemporary First Nation artist who has been very influential in Canadian art and environmentalism. Bill was born and raised in Victoria city (his mother was one of the 'stolen generation' sent to residential school and cut off from her culture). He reconnected with his Haida roots after visiting his grandfather at Haida Gwii (island north of Vancouver Island) when he was 28. He developed a style which fused classical Haida with modern art. He was already trained as a goldsmith so he made gold jewellery but also lots of other art. In his later years, he made a totem pole in his old age. As Parkinson's took hold, he worked with wire instead of drawing. Haida art is connected to the natural world, symmetrical around the vertical midline, with primary work (skeleton that holds it together) which must match in design and thickness and then intricate secondaries within, but symmetry is the heart of it all. First people's art often shows two aspects of the same creature eg front or overhead view plus side aspect, a bit like Picasso's work. Haida art contains tension, but it is controlled not exploded. On reviewing my photos from Victoria, I realised that the distortion of images caused by ripples on water connects to the 'graphicness' of Haida/first nation art (see pic above, taken by me, of the distorted reflection of a pile of kayaks) There were also a number of interesting films at the gallery about how the Haida use natural resources, including for dying fabric and for weaving. Alder bark produces bright yellow, cedar bark gives red (steep for up to 3 months for most intense colour), mosses for green, with different mordants and pots eg copper pot, to alter the colours. Salal berries for indigo, Oregon grape (mahonia) for deep purple. I learned that weaving requires good energy and breath, and people had time for song and dance art and culture because the land was so rich, and the art was used to teach. (Rcbm.ca/livingcultures for original films).

(1 hr) Visited a very interesting exhibition at The BC Museum - 'Sacred Journey'. This was about a project which helps young indigenous people to reconnect with their roots, by creating groups all over British Columbia to build canoes using traditional methods, which are then paddled up the coast to a camp where all the project participants celebrate. Serving as a 'rite of passage' for teenagers who may not have had any contact with their culture, it teaches them indigenous conservation methods and it has quite profound effects on some young people's lives.

(2 hrs) From Comox, I moved on to Victoria, where I took a guided kayak trip in Victoria harbour. It was interesting to see that although the harbour is very busy - between the seaplanes coming into land, the massive Seattle ferry going in an out, and the small yellow taxi-boats criss-crossing, you had to stay alert - attention has been paid to the local wildlife and living in harmony with it. I learned about the rare Garry oaks - only 8% left, clustered on one shore, but protected now. Saw seals, river otter, kingfisher and a grey heron eating eels. Also nestboxes for the purple martin swallow, previously highly endangered but they put up nestboxes away from predators on shore, and numbers have recovered. No whales, sadly, though my guide, Kip, has encountered whales while kayaking further out (choppy today so we didn't venture as far out as originally planned. Wind direction has reversed since yesterday, bringing cooler air but also meaning seaplanes come in right over the inner harbour, which makes for better photos. Kip also showed us an old totem pole which was a hazard to flights due to lack of lights - the locals were eventually persuaded to saw it in 3, despite this usually being forbidden due to each pole being a complete story. The master craftsman starts at the top, his apprentice at the bottom, and by the time they meet in the middle the apprentice is usually competent.

(2 hours) Today we travelled to Elk Falls, an area of ancient, old-growth rainforest, where the trees are more than 300 years old. It was a warm day, so a relief to walk in the cool, damp, green shade of the Douglas Firs and Western hemlock, though we kept a nervous eye on the shadows, in case a cougar was lurking. The path leads to a beautiful waterfall (viewed from a slightly scary suspension bridge!) Work is going on in the park to restore the gravel riverbeds which are an important spawning area for the steelhead trout, ocean-going fish similar to rainbow trout which can reach 55lb. Damming for hydro power upstream means the gravel beds have been washed away, so remedial work is now taking place. Back in Comox (the First Nations 'land of plenty' - Ko'moks - see here for more: https://komoks.ca/), we went out after dinner to watch the sun set from the waterfront at Goose Spit. There were seals swimming around in the glassy water, and the glacier was wreathed in clouds - a very calming experience, with nothing but occasional seabird calls to disturb the silence.

(2 hrs) My aunt is blessed with a large 'back lot' on which she has planted more than 20 trees during the last 40 years, including hawthorn (2 kinds, English and Canadian), two chestnuts (sweet and horse), two kinds of apple tree (King and Macintosh), an oak, a maple, an ash, a rowan, two poplars, several Douglas firs, several cedars, a hazelnut, and two junipers. Plus aspen and maple at the front. There is not much autumn colour yet, except for the bright yellow aspen, and a tinge of red on the maple, but the chestnuts are the biggest I've ever seen, and both apple trees are laden with fruit. I spent an hour exploring, and collecting a basket of windfall apples for applesauce, Later, we walked in the North East Woods and looked at the plants and creatures there. We were mobbed by a flock of chickadees, which have learned that local dogwalkers often bring birdseed for them - it was quite an experience to have wild birds fearlessly flying to my outstretched hand in the hope of something tasty (they were disappointed!) The woods were full of salal, a medium-sized shrub with glossy, leathery oval leaves with pointed tips and white bell-shaped flowers in early spring. It is native to the Pacific Northwest, and its attractive leaves are prized for floral arrangements. In the summer, the clusters of black berries that appear are edible and loved by birds. Salal is drought and moisture tolerant and thrives in a wide range of exposures from full sun to shade). Near the woods, we saw some mysterious large webs hanging from the trees in great profusion. The 'Comox Valley Record' of 28 Aug 2017 said: The webbed nests that are increasingly seen on trees in the Cowichan Valley are likely the result of a moth species called the fall webworm, not tent caterpillars. Provincial forest health officer Tim Ebata said the fall webworm’s nests resemble the more familiar nests from tent caterpillars that are common in the area during some spring seasons, but, as the name suggests, the fall webworm makes nests in the late summer and early fall. We also stopped off on the shores of Comox Lake, used to supply drinking water to nearby towns, and kept a sharp lookout for the bear which had been seen nearby in recent days. I learned how to identify a turkey vulture - it has splayed wingtips and a rocking motion in flight, very distinctive once it's pointed out to you.

It has been three years in the making, it's progress has been watched closely by local dog walkers, many of whom stopped to chat to the groups over the years. The trees will not be abandoned but the digging is over, deturfing to give the saplings the best start and not competing against the weeds and grass. One more day should do it, we still have planting to do and maintenance on the previous years work, however there is a new area on the cards for next year. Thank you to the Woodland Trust for their on going support with providing trees.