By Parklands Primary SchoolChildren from Parklands Primary School visited the Copse several times during the Summer Term 2009. Year 1 and 2 took photos and wrote what they thought of the place:
If you would like to arrange a school visit please contact us.
Tom Broughton
The trees of Brandy Hole Copse, Chichester’s only local nature reserve, are the focus of a newly created trail around the copse. Friends of Brandy Hole Copse (FBHC) have designed a leaflet, freely available to download from the website, Brandy Hole Copse Tree Trail, to highlight 12 species of the many and varied trees that exist on this popular nature reserve.
Lauren Lelliot (7), Jenny Broughton (10) and Clare Fraser (11) studying leaflet on the Tree Trail.
Trail designer and FBHC volunteer, Judi Darley, said: “We have chosen 12 trees in the copse to highlight their natural features and mythical stories.”
For example, did you know: “Folklore tells of the importance of beech trees in helping to grant wishes. A wish made with a twig of beech was pushed into the earth under the tree. From there it was collected by the Wishing Fairies and carried deep into the under-wood for the Fairy Queen’s consideration.”
Volunteer website manager and leaflet editor, Tom Broughton, said: “The leaflet includes a map of where to find the trees. Each tree in the trail has a tree-shaped badge on it. If you know where the trees are, then you can easily walk around them in 20 minutes, but they are not all obvious! However, a more relaxed stroll around the 15 acre copse would allow you to enjoy the many other points of interest in the copse, including three ponds, pre-Roman dyke and World War 2 defences. This is an ideal activity for children over the summer holidays.”
The colourful and informative leaflet gives details of how to get to the copse, including bus stops and proximity to the Centurion Way cycle path. Brandy Hole Copse is only 1¼ miles from Chichester Cross.
Clare Fraser said of the Tree Trail “It was real cool, cos you got to learn a lot and it was really fun”.
To launch the leaflet a Family Event was held in the copse as part of the Festivities on Sunday 6th July. All participants received sweets sponsored by Waitrose.
Also, a free raffle was held with prizes sponsored by Hidden Nature. The lucky winners of a nest box were Mr and Mrs Lee of Emsworth and the winners of a tree ID guide were Mr and Mrs Farmer of Milton, Portsmouth.
The 12th Chichester Cub Scouts tried out some orienteering with a difference in Brandy Hole Copse on 24th June.
Twelve beautifully painted boards of creatures that live in the Copse were placed throughout the Copse. The Cubs then had to find all 12 boards using a map of the Copse as fast as they could.
It was an energetic evening with the Cubs running flat out round and round the Copse for more than an hour trying to find all the boards. They said they had a great time!
The painted boards were of the following creatures: Roe deer, Tawny Owl, Fox, Squirrel, Green Woodpecker, Bat, Bank Vole, Woodmouse, Speckled Wood Butterfly, Elephant Hawk Moth, Stag Beetle, Centipede.
Nearly 50 people braved the pouring rain and chill of this May half term to spend a morning pond dipping in Willow and Cops ponds in Brandy Hole Copse. Lots of pond creatures were spotted including plenty of the popular newts and tadpoles. Keen eyes also spotted baby newts looking like a mini cross between a tadpole and fish.
Less common creatures were also seen, including ferocious-looking dragonfly larva and also two Water Scorpions with their long straight tails that we learnt were actually breathing tubes. The number and variety of creatures indicated that the ponds continue to be ecologically healthy.
Led by Judi Darley and Graham Ault from the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse committee, the event was considered a great success and gave the opportunity to use pond dipping equipment purchased with grant funding from the Woodland Trust.
Judi said “We wondered if anyone would turn up in the wet and chilly weather and we were pleased and surprised to see so many people brave the weather to come along and have a great time”.
The next event will be a moth and bat walk in August.
