Wildlife Traditions

[StuartDH]

We're currently building a calendar of wildlife traditions (both old and new) that Britons used to, or still do, carry out each year.

This will include a whole variety of seasonal events from making sloe gin, blackberry wine and wild strawberry picking to roasting hazelnuts, playing conkers and a complete calendar of national wildlife days.

Essentially, the calendar will include traditional events that dictated what Britons would do on a particular day, week or month of the year. The events will need to be wildlife-related, as opposed to processes from farming etc, but they can include everything from mushroom picking and fishing to observing the stars or predicting the weather on a particular day's events.

Many of these traditions will probably be local events that may only happened in a small area of the UK, so if you've know of any then please list them here and we'll add them to the page.

The end result will hopefully be a week-by-week calendar of events that everyone can refer to as a guide to the changing seasons and things to look out for, throughout the year.

Thanks

Stuart

[StuartDH]

Some of the type of things that we've got so far include:

Edible fruit picking (including those that need to be cooked)


Crab apple = November/December
Elder = August

Hazel = called 'filberts' taking their name from St Philibert's Day on 20 August when they were supposed to start ripening. 14th Sept Holy Cross Day given as a school holiday for kids to go picking hazelnuts. Nutcrack night on October 31st.

Sweet chestnut = November
Cherry = July/August
Raspberries = June/July
Blackberries = July/August
Sloes = After the first frost in October
Strawberries = Ripen in June/July



Dewberry = July
Gooseberries =
Blackcurrants =
Wild Red-currants =
Geulder Rose Berries =
Rose Hips =


More traditions

March 1st - 2006

Put an ash twig down your sock on Ash Wednesday to keep you safe - if you didn't have a twig down your sock then it could get stamped on.

22nd April

Earth Day - aimed at raising environmental awareness

St Swithin's Day - 15th July

St Swithin’s Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair
For forty days, t’will rain no more."

12th August

Start of the Grouse Shooting Season


9 October 2005

Seed Gathering Sunday

29 October 2005

Feed the Birds Day

November 1st

The Celts noted the end of the "season of the sun" and celebrated their New Year on November 1st. This was the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold."

November is poppy month, when we wear a red poppy in memory of the people who sacrificed their lives for us in battle.

Boxing Day - 26th December

First day of the fox hunting seasons


Unknown dates for next year and beyond

The wildlife trusts 'Wildlife Week'

National Badger Day

National Outdoor Week

National Moth Night

International Day for Biological Diversity

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch

National Nest Box Week

World Day for Water

Walk in the Woods

Be Nice to Nettles Week (Seriously)

World Wetlands Day

Low Tide, High Tide, solstices

International Dawn Chorus Day

World Turtle Day

Wales Biodiversity Week

National Parks' Week

National Mammal Week

World Environment Day

Enjoy your Local Nature Reserve Week

Dragonfly Week

World Oceans Day

National Insect Week

International Bog Day

European Bat Week

Beachwatch

Red Squirrel Week

Great Landscapes Week

World Habitat Day

National Tree Week -

Tree Dressing Day -

Festival of Winter Walks -

[wildone]

We always gathered Cowslip flowers for wine in April. Elderflowers were gathered in May-early June for either wine or cordial

[wildone]

Primroses and Violets were picked and taken as a gift for their mothers, by servant girls, on Mothering Sunday.
Boiled nettles make a substitute for spinach.
May June and July were when Daisy chains were made. A favourite past-time of girls.

[John]

Originally Posted by StuartDH

We're currently building a calendar of wildlife traditions (both old and new) that Britons used to, or still do, carry out each year.

This will include a whole variety of seasonal events from making sloe gin, blackberry wine and wild strawberry picking to roasting hazelnuts, playing conkers and a complete calendar of national wildlife days.

Essentially, the calendar will include traditional events that dictated what Britons would do on a particular day, week or month of the year. The events will need to be wildlife-related, as opposed to processes from farming etc, but they can include everything from mushroom picking and fishing to observing the stars or predicting the weather on a particular day's events.

Many of these traditions will probably be local events that may only happened in a small area of the UK, so if you've know of any then please list them here and we'll add them to the page.

The end result will hopefully be a week-by-week calendar of events that everyone can refer to as a guide to the changing seasons and things to look out for, throughout the year.

Thanks

Stuart

Hi Stuart

Will this link help?

http://www.naturenet.net/education/dates.html

[StuartDH]

Thanks Wildone, this is exactly the sort of thing we're looking for. The UK has many traditions that foreign visitors to the site often enquire about - like the rules for playing 'conkers' - and it'll be great to give them more info on traditions across the British Isles.

Thanks John, that'll certainly help us fill in some of the blank dates.

For now, we're mainly gathering info on the particular dates of events, but we'll soon add more detailed info to the pages with complete recipes for things like elderflower cordial and blackberry wine, guides to playing conkers etc. So, if you find anything on your travels that might be of use, please continue to send it in this direction.

Thanks

Stuart

[wildone]

I have a vague memory that during during WW2 in September children had time off from school (half day a week) to gather Rose Hips. These were taken to centres from where they went to the factories to make Rose Hip Syrup for the under 5's. It being an excellent source of Vitimin C at a time when fruits were scarce. Can anybody put more flesh on the bones or correct if wrong.

[Tragus]

I hope this is in the right place and I checked the Calendar and it isn't up there yet, so maybe this would be worth putting on?

National Tree day ... July 30th 2006.
I actually posted something about this in another post, but here's the link if anyone is interested.

http://www.planetark.com/campaignspa...te/3/story.htm

Tragus