Interested in fashion and the environment? If yes, this free talk is for you!
Join us on March 10th as we welcome Liz from By the Fire to discuss her many years of experience working in the world of fashion and sustainability.
Liz has a very impressive background in this field. She has been teaching about fashion and sustainability in higher education for over a decade, as well as working for over 15 years with Labour Behind the Label and the Clean Clothes Campaign supporting garment manufacture workers to defend their rights.
In this talk, we’ll explore the ethics behind the textiles industry, how we as individuals can reduce our clothing footprint and what the future looks like for the industry.
A while ago Sustainable Warminster commissioned recordings of the different bats found around Smallbrook Meadows in the heart of Warminster. The result was a folder full of ultrasonic sounds of eight species of bats all recorded in Warminster. Over the past few months various musicians have been writing pieces inspired by the bats’ calls. For this to work the noises that the bats make when hunting or navigating have needed to be made audible to human hearing as the ultrasonic recordings are so high that we are unable to hear them at all. This has involved slowing the recordings down and altering the frequency. When you do this the bats suddenly sound like birds chirping or even the spooky sound that we associate with whales underwater. Here are some examples – all recorded by Gareth Harris at Warminster Town Lake and the adjoining Smallbrook Meadows.:
Serotine recorded at Warminster Town Park LakeGreater HorseshoeLesser horseshoeLong-eared
Here are some of the recordings that have been produced so far:
Tom Hiscocks – Barbastelles
Local musician Tom just let his imagination wander and produced this dreamy track supported by our local Barbastelle bats throughout.
Tom Hiscocks – Barbastelles
MARC OLYOTT – St Mary’s bay
During lockdown Marc was with his partner down in Devon on the coast. He was already working on some ideas for the project and was inspired by a walk to St Mary’s Bay. The area is a Strategic Highway for Greater Horseshoe Bats – I guess the mood just took him!
Marc Olyott – St Mary’s Bay (Greater Horseshoe Bats)
Ralf DorRell – the last Pipistrelle
This moody piece has a strong story to tell…. Not a happy one. At a time when many species of animal are near extinction Ralf has painted a sound picture of a lonely, lost and last Pipistrelle.
Ralf is a local composer, music teacher and Bass player. The piece uses some techniques from contemporary classical composing. If you want to find out about the compositional technique then have a look at Ralf’s Blog here https://www.ralfdorrell.com/blog.
The full title of this piece is “The Song of the Serotine in Dream Land”. In April 1849 Christina Rossetti wrote a poem called Dream Land. This beautiful poem is about a woman escaping reality and achieving a sense of peace. The words seem to have some resonance with the alternative reality that bats must inhabit. The poem has been set to music, Serotine Bats start and finish the piece and a Serotine “chirp” provides some percussion throughout. The drums were added virtually by Al Simmons and the “oohs” were provided by Sarah Walters.
Simon Taylor – The Song of the Serotine in Dreamland
Steve Dettmar – Long-Eared bats
Local musician Steve has accompanied the cries of Long-eared bats with two locally made acoustic instruments – the Kantele and the Stick Dulcimer.
The Kantele is a Finish string instrument similar to a zither. In the Finish national epic, the Kalevala, Väinämöinen the wizard builds the first kantele from the jaw bone of a pike and charms all the people and the animals of the forest. Steve’s Kantele is made of wood by a local craftsman
Steve Dettmar – KanteleSteve Dettmar – Stick Dulcimer
Marc Olyott – Dub Bat
Will the creative talents of Mr O ever run dry?…I hope not. Here’s an interesting experiment !
Mr O – Dub Bat
Simon Taylor – Come Down by the Lakes
In the heart of Warminster is the Town Park complete with Lakes and Nature Reserve. This piece of poetry celebrates the diverse range of wildlife (including Bats) to be found everyday in the park. The poem wanders through an average day and is accompanied by sounds recorded in the park. It’s not all about Bats but there are some of our Myotis Bats at the end.
The project continues
…. the aim is to produce at least one track for each of the eight species of Bats that we have recorded. Other musicians have been working with different Bats and hopefully we will soon be able to bring you some other tracks. Who knows, we may even release a CD! If the mood strikes you and you feel like composing something yourself…get in touch! I will leave you with a cheeky little number that Marc threw in for fun. It’s called The Bat Shuffle, I’m not even sure which Bats we are listening too!
the Bat Shuffle – Mr O
BBC Radio Wiltshire Interview
This project is part of the Smallbrook Meadows Bat Project funded by the Tesco Bags for Life community fund
“Are you looking for a project to do with your children in the garden over the summer? Sustainable Warminster can help! How about making your garden “Hedgehog Friendly” with one of our Hedgehog Highway signs, and a leaflet with lots of hints and tips about what to do to encourage hedgehogs to visit?
We have a supply of Hedgehog Highway signs and leaflets kindly funded by Warminster Town Council to give away to Sustainable Warminster members, friends and family. Please comment below if you would like one, and we’ll arrange for one to be made available to you.”
Hedgehog close up
Reply here if you would like a Hedgehog Highway sign.
Sustainable Warminster would like to clarify our position with regard to grass cutting in Warminster.
The Town Council’s Environmental Services Working Group was set up on Monday 15th June and has yet to meet to draft policies relating to grass cutting.
Any uncut areas of grass are therefore due to the Wiltshire County wildflower trials (a decision taken last year without our knowledge) or as a result of understaffing due to the pandemic.
Sustainable Warminster is a community group composed of unelected volunteers. Any complaints about grass cutting should be directed to Wiltshire Council or Warminster Town Council.
All councils have been badly affected by the pandemic, with staff shortages due to illness or sheltering, and an extra unanticipated workload. Please bear this in mind before you complain to either council if you have been affected by the lack of or lateness of grass cutting.
