Up Coming Events

Welcome to Friends of the Fowey Estuary events calendar.

Listed below are events over the next few months. There are further events in the calendar which will be added here later in the year, so keep an eye open for new additions.

Everyone is welcome to attend our events which are held all around Fowey Estuary. Events range from walks and talks to working parties and evening get togethers.

Events are FREE to Friends of the Fowey Estuary members and £2.50 to non-members, unless otherwise stated.

Field trips – please bring appropriate footwear, clothing, waterproofs, a packed lunch or money. for a pub meal. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Past Events

Past events held by Friends of the Fowey Estuary are described below

Photos thanks to Claire Louise Lower

Rockpool Ramble - Readymoney

Friday 12th April

We had a fantastic turn out for this Rockpool Ramble at Readymoney Beach.

There were crabs galore (4 different species), starfish, anemones, prawns, blennies, worm pipefish, sea snails and lots more, all found hiding amongst the seaweeds and stones on the shore.

Photos thanks to Claire Louise Lower

Shoresearch Rocky Shore Survey - Readymoney Beach,

Tuesday 9th April

A super-low spring tide and sunny day gave excellent conditions to explore and carry out our quarterly survey of the rocky shore at Readymoney Beach as part of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Shoresearch Cornwall Project.

The diversity of marine life to be found on this relatively small piece of shore never ceases to amaze us! The seaweeds were starting to grow back for the season and we found all sorts of eggs (quite apt for Easter!) including dog whelk eggs and a berried crab.

The low tides exposed the kelp beds which are found on the lower shore and hiding amongst these was a spiny starfish. Some beach visitors brought us a sea mouse that they had found (a first for me!) they live burrowed in the sand and we think they'd been stranded by the low tide, we returned them safely to deeper water.

AGM & TALK – Otters in the Fowey Estuary

By: Ian McCarthy

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Following the AGM business, local award-winning wildlife filmmaker Ian McCarthy spoke about Otters in the Fowey Estuary. His inspiring stories were accompanied by superb photos and trail camera footage from the estuary and his visits to Shetland.

Following his rescue of a young otter cub from Fowey last summer (who was later named Brooke), Ian has become a patron of the UK Wild Otter Trust based in north Devon, where Brooke is being rehabilitated.

It costs about £3000 to rehabilitate each cub and so the event was a fundraiser for this great cause. Generous donations from the audience were topped up from FOFE funds and we are pleased to have donated £300 to this worthy cause.

Brooke’s rehabilitation is going well and the aim will be that she is released back into the wild once she is strong enough and learned all the skills that otters need to thrive.

Nest Box Making Workshop and Talk on Recording Birds in your Garden

By: Simon Taylor - British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)

Saturday 24th February 2024

The birds in our area will be pleased to find 20 new nest boxes which were crafted in Golant Village Hall under the guidance of Simon Taylor .

Following on in the afternoon we heard more from Simon about the BTO Garden Birdwatch and Nesting Neighbours schemes. It’s the perfect time to put up a box, top up feeders and start recording birds using your garden!

Otto (aged 9) who made a box, went straight home and put it up on his family’s farm where he can keep an eye on it from his bedroom window.

We’ll keep you posted on any feathered inhabitants!

https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw

https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/nesting-neighbour!

Love your beach day - Beach clean at Polkerris

Saturday 10th February

Thanks to everyone who came to the #loveyourbeach Beach Clean at Polkerris. About 25 people joined in and collected 2 big bags of litter (approx. 25kg in weight!). The majority of it was small pieces of plastic and a substantial quantity amount of microplastics. A microplastics sample which will be analysed by a student at Plymouth University.

There were also a few ‘treasures’ including a Lego cutlass , Gerald the Giraffe!, oh… and a toilet seat!

Talk - Seagrass in St Austell Bay

By Katie Bellman, Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Thursday 18th January 2024

Katie Bellman from Cornwall Wildlife Trust gave an animated and photo-filled talk about the ‘Blue Carbon’ habitats in the bay. The seagrass meadows and maerl beds (a calcified red seaweed) are rare habitats in the UK and their living structures not only provide homes to organisms but also absorb and store carbon, acting as a nature-based solution to climate change.

Recent surveys undertaken using funding from the G7 Legacy Project have shown extensive areas of both these important habitats in St. Austell Bay and we were treated to videos of octopus, anemones and the illusive seahorse which had been sighted during the surveys.

Katie explained that CWT wants to enlist the help of local volunteers to understand more about the inshore extent of the seagrass by using snorkelling surveys and how the bay is being used by carrying out water-user surveys from the clifftops. If you’re interested in getting involved, click here for further details.