Newsletter

STOUR VALLEY VOLUNTEERS NEWS - March 2009

Spring is sprung the grass is green. I wonder where the birdie is? Out with us of course, as we do lots of access, construction and vegetation clearance.

Review of old Programme

The cold weather and snow didn’t deter the volunteers.  Despite the hard frost and cold temperatures at Arger Fen a drainage pipe was installed and wire added to boardwalks.  

At Great Cornard Country Park a great day was had as 15 volunteers thinned a coppice and widened a footpath. There was lots of digging to do at Tiger Hill when a freshwater pipe was installed.  At Sturmer volunteers worked alongside local villagers and East Town Park rangers to plant a native Hedgerow along the main road.

Project Staff News

Great news Katherine Blake has had a bonnie baby girl called Edith. Both mum and baby are fine. Whilst Katherine is on maternity leave Simon Amstutz is acting up for Katherine and Paula Booth is acting up for Simon. Elaine Bryce has just been recruited to cover Paula’s Transport and Tourism post and Cathy Smith is the new Communications Officer.

John Constable Portrait Exhibition

The National Portrait Gallery in London has an exhibition called ‘Constable Portraits: The Painter and his Circle’ from 5 March -14 June.  Colchester and Ipswich Museum Services have been working with the National Portrait Gallery to put together a major retrospective of the Portrait paintings of John Constable.  John Constable’s portraits may not be as well-known as his landscapes so this exhibition seeks to readdress the balance and let us see how fine a portrait artist he was.
In preparation for the exhibition, work was carried out to authenticate various portraits, and the exhibition is pleased to be showing a newly authenticated portrait of Golding, the artist’s father. 
A portrait of Ann Constable, also part of this research, can be seen at the Wolsey Art Gallery, Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich. 
 
Volunteer Rangers at Sudbury Common Lands

22 volunteers have now been given training in how to reduce anti-social behaviour on Sudbury’s famous water meadows. The committed volunteers spent a day learning the skills needed to deal with the public. They have been issued with a dark green uniform top that will identify them. Their role is to keep an eye on things and to make sure walkers are not affecting the cattle or other wildlife. They’ll also be on hand to advise visitors to the area and help them appreciate the tradition and history of the common lands.

The Common lands Trust, recruited the rangers after a series of incidents on the meadows. This culminated in a threat that the cattle may have to be removed for safety reasons.  The cattle are vital for keeping the sensitive meadows environment as it is. The training for the rangers has been paid through a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant.

Managing a Masterpiece: The View from the Tower

The Stour Valley has an abundance of historic churches. Apart from being beautiful buildings embodying 1000 years or more of the valleys history and culture, many have tall towers from which to look out and see the surrounding countryside. Managing a Masterpiece is promoting the use of church towers as viewpoints so visitors can look out over the landscape and with some help learn to understand and appreciate it a bit better.

There have been lots of problems getting to the tops of many towers. Technology can be used to over come some of these problems as it’s possible to create 360- degree panoramic photos that can be viewed on a computer, making the view revolve as if you were there. The View from the Tower project hopes to create panoramic views taken from many, if not all, of the valleys 30 or so churches, linking them all together digitally to create a virtual birds –eye tour along the course of the River Stour.

As well as being able to view the panoramas via the website each church will have a printed panorama, with interpretation explaining what’s special about the landscape you can see from the tower. This will give everyone a new perspective on this truly remarkable landscape.

Discover Suffolk

A brand new web site has been launched to bring you everything you need to explore the Suffolk countryside. The Discover Suffolk website includes over 50 circular and long distance walks, cycling routes and advice on outdoor activities. The new website will help you make the most of each changing season, explore hidden areas of the county, find places of interest throughout Suffolk and even locate a great country pub for lunch or a farm shop for local produce.  www.discoversuffolk.org.uk

The South + Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival
9 May – 25 May 2009

Following a very successful 2008 programme, the South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival has arranged over 60 guided walks, in a variety of locations, to suit all tastes and capabilities for 2009.  Some of them are country rambles, others are medieval meanders through our villages and towns and many of them include stopping off for lunch or afternoon tea. To get your copy visit your local Tourist Information Office.

Stoke by Clare Village Shop

The community shop in Stoke by Clare, in St Edmundsbury, has become the third recipient of a grant from the Suffolk Rural Economy Scheme, a scheme to support rural shops and post offices in Suffolk which runs until October 2009.  After a visit from an Economic Development Officer from St Edmundsbury Borough Council, the Rural Economy Scheme arranged for a specialist Rural Retail Advisor to visit the shop to discuss their plans to improve security and display shelving. The trustees, who have owned and run the shop for three years, spent over £2,500 on refurbishments, and received a grant of £1286 from the Rural Economy Scheme.

Stoke by Clare has a population of around 350 people, around 60% of whom are pensioners. The nearest supermarket is in Haverhill and the nearest convenience store is four miles away, so the shop provides an essential
service to the local community.

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