January 2010 - Happy New Year

We have a new Golf Pro, Chris Wicketts, who will be attached to the course. Chris will be helping with golf events, offering coaching to both individuals and groups, holding golf clinics and undertaking other golf related activities. He can be contacted via the golf shop (429 2440).

Walk for the Woods

On Saturday March 20th between 10.30 am and 4 pm we are holding our first Walk for the Woods. This is our first major fund-raising activity and we are hoping for lots of support from all people in the community. Basically we are asking people to walk a route round the park and to get sponsorship for doing this. You can download a sponsorship and information form here. Please put this date in your diary and come and support us!

Valentines' Dinner

After last year’s sell out event Jenny from the café is having another Valentines’ Dinner. The café will be transformed for the evening and there will be a 5 course meal on offer. This will take place on Saturday February 13th which will allow people to relax and stay late as they won’t have to get up for work the next day. Advance booking is essential and can be done either by visiting the café or contacting Jenny on 07932801519.

Bird Walk

The Warley Woods Bird Walk, set to coincide with the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch, will take place on Saturday January 30th starting at 10 am (not 10.30 as we said in the last e-mail). This will be led by Liz Coleman, a volunteer for RSPB, and she will help you to recognise birds by sight and by their call, and point out their habitats in the Woods. There will be a small charge and drinks will be provided at the end of the session.

Golf Celebration Week

Golf Celebration Week is being held at the course during half term, week beginning February 15th. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday there will be 2 x 2 hour Extreme Golf Sessions for mixed adult and junior groups. This is for people new to golf, so why not come along and give it a try. All sessions are free and to reserve a place please call in at the golf shop or ring 429 2440. In addition to this, Chris Wicketts, the new golf pro, will be holding a free clinic every day at 4 pm for all levels of golfers. This will include presentations by Chris on various aspects of the game. It will also provide an opportunity for you to book coaching sessions as the warmer weather approaches.

A few weeks ago some of us attended a very interesting presentation, at the Warley Woods pavilion, from English Heritage, Britain from Above. EH have recently acquired a collection of over one million aerial photographs, taken between 1916 and 2006. Their aim is to make these photographs available to anyone who wants to use them to study local history. They hope to get funding to conserve, store and catalogue the collection, but to obtain the funding they will be looking to demonstrate a level of community interest in the project.

It would be good if we could form a small group to help interpret the images for our area. If you are interested in joining such a group please let Steve Cemm know and he’ll be able to register our interest with them stevecemm@hotmail.com Tel: 420 3803

We launched a Snow Appeal this week through posters, email and in the newspaper. The recent snow has created a large hole in our income which we need to fill. The Trust is looking at ways of saving money, but it is not a rich charity and although we balance the books at the end of the year, there is very little surplus. So, if you enjoyed being in the park in the snow this winter-or any previous winters-please consider giving a special donation to help. You can either call at the shop (open 7 days 9-4pm) or send a cheque.

If you are interested in volunteering and don’t know what is on offer, don’t forget the coffee and cakes tomorrow morning, January 23rd at 11 am in the Pavilion. There will be current volunteers there to talk to you and give ideas on how you might help.

Dates for your diary:

Check the EVENTS page for upcoming dates and events

Online Donations

We are now able to accept online donations through this link - thank you in advance...

Did you know that you could raise money for the Trust by having everyclick as your search engine? Just go to http://charities.everyclick.com/info.xq?id=137913 which is the Warley Woods home page and choose to be a fundraiser. It’s simple and free – so start clicking!

If you would like to receive monthly e-mails from the Trust, keeping you up to date with what's happening, then please e-mail admin@warleywoods.org.uk