Breaking News Newsletter for Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme

Pool Frogs Return!

One of our most exciting projects came to fruition on August 18th with the re-introduction of the rare Northern Pool Frog into the pingo pools on Thompson Common.

These Pool frogs became extinct in the UK twenty years ago, and Thompson Common was their last known habitat, so it

was a momentous occasion when the 400 tadpoles and froglets were released into the pingos by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC). This followed years of hard work by ARC in successfully breeding these frogs from their genetically closest cousins in Sweden, and by our partners Norfolk Wildlfe Trust in clearing the pingos and creating the perfect habitat for these frogs to thrive

Adult male Pool Frogs have a very distinctive booming call, and we hope that in the not too distant future, once the frogs have matured, it will once again be heard in the Brecks!

Projects Round-up

Munzee Trail

The Thetford Munzee Trail is now live! Follow the clues to find the hidden QR codes, and then zap them with your phone using the Munzee App to be in with a chance to win prizes. It’s a great way to get out and explore the town’s fascinating history.

Forest Fest

Our Family Fun Day at Brandon Country park was a great success, with over 500 visitors enjoying lots of fun events over the course of the day! See over for more!

West Stow Archaeological Test Pits

Over fifty volunteers came to West Stow to learn how to dig 1x1m archaeological test pits and then record their finds. See over for more on this exciting project and what they found!

www.breakingnewground.org.uk

A newsflash for project partners and participants with news items , project updates,

special features and forthcoming events.

September 2015

Project Focus

It’s the Pits: Archaeological

training at West Stow Dr Richard Hoggett, Senior Archaeological Officer,

Suffolk County Council

The latest training session to be delivered as part of

the Discovering the Archaeological Landscape of the

Brecks project concerned the excavation of

archaeological test-pits. Between 21st and 24th July,

fifty volunteers joined experts from the Suffolk

County Council Archaeological Service and the

Norfolk County Council Historic Environment Service

to learn how to dig and record a series of 1m x 1m

test-pits in and around the area of the visitor centre

at the West Stow Anglo-Saxon village.

Ten pits were excavated during the course of the

four days, each of which told us something new

about the depth and nature of the buried

archaeology on the site. Previous excavations have

shown that further Anglo-Saxon buildings of the kind

found on the main site lay in the area of the visitor

centre, where they are covered by a thick layer of

blown sand laid down in the medieval period. As a

result of the week’s work we now have a much better

understanding of how deeply buried these layers

are, which will aid greatly in the management of the

site.

A wide range of

archaeological artefacts was

discovered, including

medieval, Anglo-Saxon and

Roman pottery, as well as

large quantities of prehistoric

worked flint. The ‘Find of the

Week’ was made by a young

girl joining us for her first

ever day of digging who

discovered a Neolithic

(4000—2500 BC) flint blade

core within her first 20

minutes on site. This core is the piece of flint which

was left after a series of blades had been struck from

it, giving it a characteristically angular appearance.

The buried remains of an Ancient British warrior

were discovered in one of the test-pits, complete

with helmet, shield and

sword. Unfortunately, he

was only 2cm tall and made of

plastic – experts have dated

the burial to the 1970s

‘Airfix’ period…

In addition to being a

part of Breaking New

Ground, the test-pitting was also part

of the national Festival of

Archaeology and also coincided with a week of

celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the

start of the excavations which revealed the main

archaeological site. To mark this anniversary we

have made PDFs of the reports freely available via

the Suffolk Heritage Explorer website: https://

heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/west-stow.

Forest Fest

This family fun day pn 19th August was all about

discovering the forest; what lives in it and how it is

used. Whole families got involved with diverse

activities. These included “Cauldron Dell” with fire

lighting, marshmallow cooking and bread making;

“Wicked Willow” with willow weaving, art using

hammers and flag making; “Woodland Crafts” with

painting and sewing; Pond Dipping and Bug Hunts;

Archery; and “Herbal Superheroes” with herb safaris

and secret tea tasting.

Participants collected a passport on arrival, gathered

passport stamps as they completed activities, and

then claimed a free goodie bag at the end.

David Falk, manager of Brandon Country Park said

“The day was a great success, bringing lots of

people to the park and helping to show what makes

it such a special place.” The next Forest Fest is

already being planned for Spring 2016.

Please help raise awareness of the

BNG scheme and all the projects by

linking to our website, following us on

Twitter and liking us on Facebook!

Followers: 505

Likes: 77

t: @TheBrecksBNG

f: www.facebook.com/

TheBrecksBNG

Forthcoming Events:

1/09/15—14/09/15 Iceni Botanical Arts Exhibition , Moyse’s Hall, Bury St Edmunds

17/10/15 Painting Fungi in Watercolour 9:30-4pm Santon Downham Village Hall

See www.breakingnewground.org.uk for more details.

Picture

of the

Month Pool Froglet makes a bid for freedom!

Project Focus

Barnham Cross Common - Skills for the Future

Suffolk Wildlife Trust/Plantlife Family Morning

Suffolk Wildlife Trust held a family morning at Barnham Cross Common on 6 August as part of the Plantlife project.

As well as a plant quiz, a number of families took part in bug hunting, making peg bugs and collecting nature’s colours. A number of contacts were also made for future events. A monitoring day is now planned for early October.

Breaking New Ground

c/o Visitor Centre, Brandon Country Park, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0SU

01842 815465 e: bng.admin@suffolk.gov.uk t: @TheBrecksBNG

f: TheBrecksBNG. w: www.breakingnewground.org.uk

What the Brecks Means to Me...

On a brisk February morning I strolled along the Little Ouse at Santon Downham and gazed into

its mesmerising water. Mist upstream made the distance disappear. The river looped out of the

woods. It seemed to spring from the tree roots then swirl along, deep and sparkling. I watched

its current in the waterweed ribboning downstream. It was too cold for swimming but in my

mind’s eye I saw myself remove my shoes and step in. There are fish in the Little Ouse and

when I visited the river again in April I saw finger-length tiddlers nibbling the gravel near the

berms. By then the trees were coming into leaf, the woods filling with green light and birdsongs,

and the river took in all of this atmosphere and amplified it. I sat on the bank and closed my

eyes. What I couldn’t see, I could hear and sense: the river’s travel, the trickle-click of water

over shingle and the little pop of a fish breaking the surface; the sculling sound when a pair of

mallard landed.

When I think of the Brecks I think of

rivers: the Little Ouse, the Thet, the

Lark. Each one is an exquisite

ecosystem and an enchantment. In

May I followed the Thet to Nuns’

Bridges and saw it take on the

character of a town river. In June,

along the Lark, I heard my first cuckoo

of the year from a riverbank fluttering

with dragonflies and cinnabars. And at

the Little Ouse that day in April, just as

I was about to leave, a swan flew

over, high above the trees, neck at full

stretch – graceful and astonishing, a

Brecks creature – following the river.

—Lois Williams, Sandlines

Get your project noticed!

If there is something that you

would like included in the next

newsletter, please send details

to Martina by 22nd September

Martina.North@suffolk.gov.uk

“Staff very helpful, we enjoyed our day, a great range of

activities for all ages. Thank you!”

Participant, Forest Fest

Brandon Country Park Family Fun Day