Title photograph by Kath Gabbitas

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Sunday 2^nd of October was our fungus walk. Bob Taylor led about thirty six of us through the woods collecting samples. As usual he was able to recognise, name and tell us all about almost everything we discovered. This year had seen a spell of dry weather before the walk, so some of the samples were a little dried out or smaller than usual. Despite the conditions, a large number of items were found. Of particular interest, were 'Stink Horns'. We had seen them on previous walks but this year we were lucky enough to find both as the immature 'egg' form next to the fully developed fruit. The account of this is on our wildlife page. Once again our thanks go to Bob for an excellent walk.

Why does the pump not have water in it? There are two reasons: the first is that there is an acute shortage of water from the springs on the estate. These springs supply water to the Golf Club, the Cafe, the STRI and the Nursing Home. To save water, the supply to the screw pump has had to be turned off. But why not recycle the water? A good idea but to do this the water has to be cleaned after each cycle and this would require expensive equipment and incur high running costs. The other reason is that there is a problem with sand and grit blocking the system up. The sand in the play area is a big attraction and it would be a pity to remove it just for the pump.

Unfortunately there was an accident when a trainee horse rider was injured. The Air Ambulance attended, and took the casualty to hospital where it was found that they had a broken ankle. There had been fears that the injuries might be worse. The Air Ambulance came accompanied by a film crew, making a documentary about their work.




The weather on the 6^thAugust was awful - but the show must go on. Joy Smith had planned to relate stories to the children whilst sat on the purpose made story chair, with the children seated on the wooden toad stools. That however was not to be as the rain showers were, at times, very heavy. Instead they moved across to the shelter in the play ground.

Joy did a splendid job under difficult circumstances and the event was enjoyed by all the children that came. Of the three sessions that had been planned, two went ahead. A great achievement.

Susan, our treasurer, lead a walk round the historical buildings and features of St Ives on the evening of Thursday 14^thJuly. This was a joint event with Bingley and District Historical Society and attracted about 61 interested members. The so called 'Jacobean' part of the mansion, now part of the care home, was particularly interesting. The new herb garden was also included in the tour as that too is part of the old house.

Some of Kath's photographs showing work progressing in the herb garden.

The picture shows some of the new plants that have now arrived for the herb garden. Do you recognise the stone slab behind the plants? It is the one rescued from Ireland Bridge in Bingley when it was repaired last year. A new stone facsimile now stands in its place but the old one is awaiting display in the herb garden. The slab declares that the land on which the road is built belongs to the Ferrands.

On the 1^stJuly, Ian Butterfield lead one of the ever popular bat walks. About forty or more people came and the picture above shows them striking out across the top meadow. After watching the bats at White Cote and Cross Gate, we came down to Coppice Pond to watch bats skimming across the water; collecting insects. The other picture shows a group of children at the edge of the pond, watching the bats. We were pleased to see so many young people taking an interest in the wild life.

Colin Whitfield (left of picture) took us on a very interesting walk through the woods on 10^thJune. His walk covered many aspects of the wild life and little known facts about the Estate.

21^stMay saw two events on the Estate. There was a tree planting in the new herb garden, where two trees were planted. About forty people attended and were given hospitality by Elder Homes, who had done a lot of work arranging the day.

The other event was a visit to the Estate by Brenda Graham with here husband and two local friends. Brenda who is related to the Ferrand Family through the Richardsons of Bierley Hall (Bradford) has provided this site with much of the historical data. Now living in Plymouth she called in to have a look at the home of her forebears (photograph fourth from the left). After a walk round Coppice pond the party was given refreshment by Elder Homes who made us very welcome. Brenda was able to see the heraldic bearings of her ancestors, preserved as stained glass windows in the mansion.

Michael Ferrand is a member of the family, who for many generations, lived at St Ives. Now living in France, he recently paid a visit to the Estate to look at his ancestral home. He was met by several members of the Friends group and shown inside the house by the management of Elder homes. Our picture shows Michael Ferrand (centre) with Elder homes management and a member of the Friends group (right).

Whilst on the Estate Michael visited the new herb garden and scattered some seeds (picture left). The Friends took the opportunity to quiz Michael on some of the details of his family history that will help to piece together the story of the St Ives estate.

Long a popular feature of St Ives are the rhododendrons. Not a native of the UK but a species imported from the Himalayas. They are none the less a colourful sight when they are in flower. So why are they using horses to pull them out? The answer is 'phytophthora ramorum' a contagious fungal disease that has been found in some of the countries rhododendrons (and a few other types of bush). The disease is called 'sudden oak death' in America and this is the name that explains the problem. In a manner that has parallels with the way in which the outbreak of foot and mouth was tackled, ten years ago, the rhododendrons are being sacrificed before they bring about the death of our oak trees. DEFRA (Department for Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs) are very worried that without this action, we could loose many of the oaks; trees that have taken many decades to grow.

Even without this crisis, it would have been necessary to clear some of the rhododendrons as they are a fast growing species that inhibits the growth of other plant, bird and animal populations.

Bradford Met. have been busy making a wildlife identification chart for mounting near Coppice Pond. If you would like a copy of your own, then click on this link to our download page Click Here

With help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the society has brought out a pamphlet that describes the 'Ponds an Water Gardens', both as they are now and as they were when constructed by the Ferrand family. This pamphlet is now available or you can down load a copy at this link to our download page: Click Here The file is in '.pdf' format as used by Adobe Acrobat^TM.

For birding information look up "Bradford Ornithological Group". To see their WEB site via our links page Click Here