Kenilworth Common

Kenilworth Common LNR

Common Lane, Kenilworth

OS Grid Ref: SP 297 730

One of my locals!

Neolithic lowland heath, imperial gravel pits, mountain bikes, reptiles, glow worms and recreation.

The Common lays on ancient ground but the trees are relatively young and only started to grow just over a century ago. We see them today reclaiming The Odibarnes, a once large area of open lowland heath with common grazing. Like so many of our remaining historic habitats, it is man-made. Created by land cleared and exhausted through exploitation of woodland resources and over grazing, impoverished and abandoned by the early agriculture of Neolithic man.

As a child the common was playground, all mysterious nuns and nature. Divinity and imagination inspired fantasy scenarios involving quests to find the scared yet elusive serpent, to begat magical powers. My tracking skills at the time were fairly poor so I never did get to see the elusive adder and to this day, remain a mere ordinary mortal.

The original interpretation boards on the reserve are over 20 years old. It's odd how things turn out, I remember seeing them in storage at Brandon Marsh when I was a conservation trainee. Then, I had no idea it would me who has the great pleasure of replacing them with updated versions. The design and artwork is complete and will soon be going to press, installation is due by the end of 2012.

One of the original boards soon to be replaced

Natural England - Access to Nature

Natural England - Access to Nature

Andy Tasker

What a landmark year 2012 has been for Britain, the Queens Diamond Jubilee, the London 2012 Olympics and The Wildlife Trusts Centenary. 

This year also marked a personal milestone, twenty years ago I joined Warwickshire Wildlife Trust as an employment trainee and it was life changing. Ever since then I've been lucky enough to have the lions share of interpretation projects throughout Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. 

More sadly, this year also saw the loss of Dr. Andy Tasker, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust's Chief Executive Director. Andy was the driving force behind the Trust for over thirty years, from when he became the youngest Chief of Council in 1982 and then the first paid Trust director in 1988 until his premature retirement in 2010. His achievements and sheer inspiration were extensive and remarkable, within the Trust and beyond.

His death in January came as a great shock and sadness to all who had the privilege to know him. He influenced my life so fundamentally, I'm only doing what I do now because of Andy. I just wish I'd told him that. 

Andy Tasker and David Attenborough. Brandon Marsh 1992. 

Photograph reproduced with kind permission from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

      

Welches Meadow Local Nature Reserve

Welches Meadow LNR

Radford Road, Leamington Spa

OS Grid Ref: SP 325 657

The reserve flanks the River Leam, a traditional flood meadow in existence for nearly 200 years. 

Many locals remember skating on it in winter, many moons ago. How lovely to return myself, on a bright crisp February morning, a mere thirty years later, no longer a teenager. I remember lazy slow summers along the river path, the deep soft buzz of dragonfly and silent Demoiselle. Open grassland, birds flock. Some things don’t change.

Met some lovely WWT volunteers, working hard to maintain eager bushes keen to colonise. 

The design work for the interpretation panel is complete and currently in sign manufacture production. It will be installed shortly. In the meantime, here is another preview illustration. The reserve is managed using traditional methods dating back to medieval times. The willow trees along the river bank are pollarded, as seen here. A means to maintain growth and longevity.

Willow Pollard and wagtails

  

Connect2 Tender

First draft of illustrated strapline for Sustrans Connect2 interpretation board template, unfinished.

Part of a national project extending and linking public access networks to local communities. The aim, to engage and encourage public use beyond recreation.  

Design Rationale

The illustration is a cohesive montage depicting a variety of landscape types in the background and network user types in the foreground. The variety of users to include school pupils on their way to school, manual and blue collar workers on their way to work and shoppers on their way home. Although aesthetically pleasing, the illustrated Strap line is a deliberate vehicle to indicate the potential use of each network and is further reinforced by the placement of the Connect2 tag line “Everyday journeys by foot or bike”.

The landscapes represent rural, urban and city communities and also indicate each nation e.g. Mountain ranges for Scotland, sweeping valleys for Wales, rugged coastline for Northern Ireland and open countryside featuring oak trees for England. Each topographic feature follows Sustrans specific colour swatch i.e. Pink/Northern Ireland, Dark blue/Scotland, Rust/Wales. Additional palette includes Sustrans logo bright green and grey, Route Sign blue and England Safe Routes to Schools bright blue.

Peppered throughout the landscapes, will be iconic architectural features including bridges, village church spires, perhaps mosques and city skyscrapers. Additional transport infrastructure such as trains, buses and a canal and towpath (as an historic reference to Sustrans) will also be incorporated.   

Style

Contemporary vector illustration, inspired by flat poster engravings from the 1930s to 50s, illustrated by the likes of Brian Cook and Harold Briercliffe’s, Britain by Bike book covers.

     

Brown Hawker

Welches Meadow LNR

Radford Road, Leamington Spa

OS Grid Ref: SP 325 657

Brown Hawker – Aeshna grandis

A preview from an interpretation board to be installed on the reserve a little later this year.

The Brown Hawker flies between June and September. It hunts away from the water usually along woodland rides, so you should also explore the adjacent Leam Valley reserve on the other side of the river. Well worth tracking down, it’s flight is faster than any other and it flies backwards too.

Where it all started

It was Alfred Bestall's illustration of Nutwood, the fictitious English village where Rupert Bear lived. First introduced to me through my big sister's hand-me-down annuals from the late 1950's.

1956. A.E. Bestall

1962 A.E. Bestall

Rupert Bear was originally created and illustrated in 1920 as a strip in the Daily Express Newspaper by Mary Tourtel, who retired in 1948.

Throughout the late 1960's to the mid 70's, I got my own Annuals every Christmas. It was always the portrayal of the British countryside that I adored and couldn't wait to see. Note the red not grey squirrels...

1969 A.E. Bestall

The stories were absolute fantasy yet because of the realism in the landscape detail, I believed everything was true.