Gareth Harris, of the Costwold Water Park Society spoke about the characteristics of bats, such as how they shout through their noses, collect food with their 'tails', and fly with their hands. 12 of the 16 species of UK bats can be foudn in the Cotswold Water Park, due to the rich abundance of food and suitable habitats, although much work is still to be done to encourage even greater numbers. Houses, barns and trees in surrounding villages such as Somerford Keynes and Ashton Keynes provide a great habitat for bats, and it is hoped that in the long term surveys of these roosts can be made to furnish us with even more information about these declining species.

Of particular interest to the children in the audience was the collection of bats brought by Dave Endacott - he looks after injured bats to restore them back to full health before relasing them back into the wild.

However, the star of the evening was Belinda, a noctule bat which was too severely injured 10 years ago to ever fly again, so she now lives with Dave, and in return for luscious mealworms will quite happily sit on Dave's shoulder and squeak!

If you are interested in bats and would like to find out more about the work of the CWP Bat Initiative, go to the Biodiversity section of the website. There will also be another Bat Walk and Talk in September - watch out for more details on the Events page.

Julieann Worrall Hood, well known for her leaping hare willow sculptures, chose to depict the shy bittern in elegant pose by the entrance to Sustrans Route 45 using painted steel.

Her design takes the important Biodiversity Action Plan target species - the Bittern - as a key image for the public access route.

In a departure from her usual work in willow forms, Julieann has designed two 3m high cut out and fabricated stylised steel birds. She has then painted them using the browns of the bittern feathers, with gold spots as a reference to the glow - worms found along the route in the gravel of the railway track and road edges. She has also created a smaller Bittern which will be installed at Waterhay Car Park at the other end of the public access route.

For more information about this and other art projects around the Cotswold Water Park, go to In Our Element Arts project

For any further information, please call 01285 860388, or go to the website www.southcerneyoutdoor.co.uk

Club days are: Saturday morning 10 till noon Thursday evening 6 to 8

Where: Waterland in Keynes Country Park.

Who: Full members of Cotswold Rowing Club (you will need your card – to follow)

Starting: Saturday 3rd May 2008

Facilities: WC; Shower; beach launching; car and trailer parking.

Own boat? Bring down by car and launch.

Other Times: Anybody who is a member can bring their own boats or use ours (with permission of the Captain) on afternoons during the week by enquiring at Waterland (01285 861202)

Notice Board: Check if rowing circulation is restricted due to other activities. Sign in and out, even if on your own, so we can check usage and for safety reasons.

Kit We will start getting Cotswold RC kit, but in meantime make sure you are warm, and wellie boots will be useful for launching

Life Jackets Worn at your discretion. All Juniors must wear them.

Contacts: Waterland: Joe or Pete on 01285 861202 Captain: Gary Kinsella on 01285 852068/07791075786 Secretary: Verity Gardiner on 01285 851248 Treasurer: Nic Hutchins on01285 869297/07734 059052 Chairman: Terry Hardie on 01793 752650/07950 035153

Can everybody pls pay their subs -£100 for Members and £25 for Associates

For more information on Cotswold Rowing Club, and to download membership forms

April 2008

Sunday 20th April saw the first ever BUSA ( British Universities Sports Association) Rowing Sprints Regatta take place at Keynes Country Park in the Cotswold Water Park. The event, which attracted over 700 competitors involved more than 20 university crews from Plymouth to Manchester.The event was organised by the Wiltshire, Avon, Gloucestershire and Somerset Region of the Amateur Rowing Association. Although the very windy weather leading up to the event meant that full side-by-side racing on the day was not possible, all races were completed on a time-trial basis.

Local teams from Bristol and the University of West England did well with Bristol achieving first places for their Women’s Novice Eights and Men’ Junior Eights. Although the event was held at Keynes Country Park, its long term destination will be Cleveland Lakes near Ashton Keynes where a 1,500m regatta course is being created with hopes to extend to a full Olympic sized course in the future.

Both Jenny Brown (CEO of BUSA) and Fiona Rennie (Chair of BUSA Rowing) came down to help out on the day. Fiona said “We are very appreciative of the support we have had from the Cotswold Water Park Society and the Amateur Rowing Association and delighted that this event has been put on for university students. We look forward to supporting the event in the Cotswold Water Park in the future”.

Regatta organiser and chair of WAGS Phil Clements said “Organising the event took a lot of hard work but I think the results more than justified the effort, my thanks go out to all the people who gave up their free time to help out”

Project Director of the Cotswold Water Park Society, Matthew Millett said “We are delighted that this national event has chosen to come to the Cotswold Water Park. I do hope that in years to come we can expand on its success and that it will rightly put the area on the sporting map”

For more information on the Cotswold Rowing Club, how to join and to download membership forms

Before entering the quarry, the enthusiastic participants, ranging in age from 6 - 60 were given an informative talk about the geology of the Cotswold Water Park by Dr Neville Hollingworth who led the hunt. Armed with safety information and equipment, tools and plenty of enthusiasm, the eager fossilers went searching amongst the gravel beds and soon found some wonderful specimens of a bygone era, when this land was covered in a warm shallow tropical sea (bit like the Bahamas!).

Remnants of marine reptiles such as an ichthyosaur vertebra and some ribs were discovered, plus mammoth tooth and tusk fragments, and of course the ubiquitous ammonites, belemnites (remains of squid like creatures) and gryphae, known locally as devil’s toenails. Some spectacular pieces of coral and fossilised wood were also collected, and with the sun shining for most of the day all agreed it was a great way to spend a Sunday in spring!

If you would like to add your name to the list for the next fossil hunt, please email events@waterpark.org

Before entering the quarry, the enthusiastic participants, ranging in age from 6 - 60 were given an informative talk about the geology of the Cotswold Water Park by Dr Neville Hollingworth who led the hunt. Armed with safety information and equipment, tools and plenty of enthusiasm, the eager fossilers went searching amongst the gravel beds and soon found some wonderful specimens of a bygone era, when this land was covered in a warm shallow tropical sea (bit like the Bahamas!).

Remnants of marine reptiles such as an ichthyosaur vertebra and some ribs were discovered, plus mammoth tooth and tusk fragments, and of course the ubiquitous ammonites, belemnites (remains of squid like creatures) and gryphae, known locally as devil’s toenails. Some spectacular pieces of coral and fossilised wood were also collected, and with the sun shining for most of the day all agreed it was a great way to spend a Sunday in spring!

Along with the ranger team, as part of the community involvement, volunteers were invited to come along and make a difference. Students from Sparsholt College, Winchester and the staff of Whitmarsh Lockhart, Swindon all exerted enormous enthusiasm, despite the bad weather, and bent over backwards to help!

Watermark Club, who provide second homes, holiday accommodation, and leisure activities such as cable skiing in the Cotswold Water Park have take on the running of the park.

The offices of the Cotswold Water Park Society have moved from the Millennium Building over to Manor Farm near Latton (Tel.01793 752413)

The Gateway Centre is still the main point of contact for information about the whole park, but for specific enquiries about activities, opening times, prices, barbecue bookings etc at Keynes Park please call 01285 868096.