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Originally Posted by Matra Man Hello to all members and Administrators of this super web site !
I'm actually from Norfolk, but now living in the Mátra Mountains of Hungary. I was always interested in nature from an early age, and eventually decided to get into conservation work as a way to say thank you to all those things that had given me such pleasure.
I firstly worked at the Ted Ellis Nature Reserve at Wheatfen, Surlingham. By this time, Ted (perhaps Norfolk's greatest naturalist) had already passed away, but his incredible knowledge of the whole range of natural history was legendary. He wrote daily articles for local and national papers for most of his adult life, and was the keeper of Natural History at Norwich's Castle Museum.
Eventually I moved on to another special Norfolk place, Buxton Heath, which is a glorious mix of lowland heath, woodland and scrub, with its most important area, the valley mire. I became the voluntary warden there in 1991 and formed the Buxton Heath Wildlife Group to care for and study the site in 1992. Besides the "locals", students from all over the world (studying at Norwich's University of East Anglia) took part in our weekly visits to the Heath.
For some on environmental courses, the practical management work and species logging and study was invaluable. Others on different courses simply liked to escape the campus each week.
Following my move to Hungary, my pal Phil has taken over the reins as vol warden, so if any of you are "local" to the Norwich area, and interested in becoming a member of BHWG, please let me know and I'll act as a "go-between".
Although my life here is very different, some things never change. I still explore the countryside, studying the flora and fauna, and logging the species on databases. I write nature articles, and this year, I've started reasonably-priced wildlife tours of the species-rich local area for "grassroots" naturalists and nature-lovers from the UK. We don't usually have to go far - our garden hosts Red Squirrels, Black Woodpeckers, Wall Lizards, Golden Orioles, Scarce Swallowtails, and Ant Lions, and Wild Boar trot down our village streets !
Better close now as this is becoming a book !
Best wishes to you all, Colin. |