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

Events held by Friends of the Fowey Estuary in the last few months are described below

Pollinator Talk & Bug House Building Workshop

Joint event with Golant Heritage Group

Saturday 22 March

In conjunction with Golant Heritage Group we held two events on March 22nd.  In the morning, we were treated to a talk on Pollinators by Toby Davies the wildlife coordinator at Heligan whose great, great grandfather also worked at Heligan.  Toby, who has a degree in Conservation and Countryside Management talked us through the different pollinator insects, including bees, wasps, bats, flies, butterflies and hoverflies we have and their important work using nectar to pollinate plants which over 35% of global food crops depend on.  Unfortunately, they are in steep decline caused by pesticides, intensive farming, hedgerow removal and habitat fragmentation. 

At Heligan they have created a wildflower meadow where they can harvest the seeds, they also have what they hope will be a Guinness world record for the biggest bug-hotel in the world. 

In the afternoon there was the slight air of a year 7 Design and Technology class when, fired up by the morning talk, 16 enthusiastic ‘woodworkers’ sat down in Golant Village Hall under the supervision of Peter Edwards to build a Bug Hotel.

We were all awestruck by the size and professional look of the finished example that was our aim to make and by how comparatively easy Peter had made it by issuing us all with a pre-cut kit, hook, screws and all!

Within the hour, everyone had produced a piece of fine accommodation ready for beetles, solitary bees, ladybirds, spiders and more. Peter personally provided the many, many hundreds of chopped bamboo bits that went into the accommodation – a dedicated and mighty tedious task.

A brilliant and productive afternoon, only made possible by the amount of preparation Peter put into it and his endless patience. Toby was impressed enough to take a kit back to Heligan!

Ten years of Seals in St Austell Bay

Wednesday 26th February 2025

We had a very interesting talk by Rob Wells on ‘ten years of Seals in St Austell Bay’ at Gallants Sailing Club in Fowey. Rob also had signed copies of his book ‘Are you my Mum’. 

Rob is an avid seal spotter and explained how by their individual markings each seal could be identified and those fitted with tracking devices showed their wide range of movements around the Cornish and sometimes Welsh coasts.  The big message of the evening was to observe them from a distance even if you are in a kayak and especially if you are in a motorboat.  Some of the seals in Robs photos clearly had propellor marks across their backs.

We also need to be sure to take we take home our rubbish from the beach and a little bit of beach cleaning each time we visit will stop the seals becoming entangled in our rubbish or discarded fishing nets.

Visit to Colliford Lake Salmon Hatchery

Saturday 14th December 2024

This was an enlightening visit to the Colliford Lake Salmon Hatchery, located beneath the dam at Colliford Reservoir. This event was a fantastic opportunity for members to learn about the vital work being done to preserve the wild salmon population in the River Fowey.

During the visit, attendees were given a comprehensive tour of the hatchery facilities. The Colliford Salmon Hatchery plays a crucial role in mitigating the loss of spawning grounds and managing water flows in the St Neot River, a tributary of the River Fowey. The hatchery produces between 25,000 and 40,000 salmon fry each year, which are then released back into the river to support the local ecosystem

Richard Grieve delivered an informative talk on the salmon hatchery process. He explained the annual cycle of collecting broodstock salmon from the River Fowey, stripping eggs and milt, hatching the eggs, and growing the young fish until they are ready to be released. This meticulous process ensures the survival and proliferation of the salmon population, which is essential for maintaining the health of the river's ecosystem

The event highlighted the collaborative efforts between South West Water, local angling clubs, and the community to sustain and protect the wild salmon population. Such initiatives are vital for preserving the natural beauty and biodiversity of the River Fowey for future generations

‘Living on the Edge’

By: Cornwall Climate Care - Thursday 10th October 2024

We thoroughly enjoyed a showing of two of Cornwall Climate Change’s series of films of Cornwall’s Climate Stories. This is a series of documentaries highlighting the impacts of climate change already being felt across Cornwall, as well as the fantastic local businesses, researchers and community groups working hard to prepare us for the challenges coming our way.

Hungry for Change is a film presented by a forager who takes us on a fascinating and inspiring journey to meet people in Cornwall working on ways for us to 'do food better' as the climate changes.

Living on the Edge is presented by passionate ultra runner Emma Hazeldine, who takes us on a journey around the Cornish coast path, visiting places that are already being impacted in sometimes surprising ways – and coming up with a range of responses to the challenges that lie just beyond the horizon.

Beach clean at Polridmouth

Saturday 21st September

We were lucky to have our beach clean at Polridmouth bathed in sunshine. The clean also incorporated a survey of the litter collected which will be submitted to the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean. The majority of the litter found was categorised as ‘Plastic fragments: 0-2.5cm’ of which we collected 83 pieces! There were also plenty of fragments of polystyrene and fishing line. It reminds us how persistent these materials are in the environment long after we have finished using them

Disappointed to find a few bags of dog poo both at the beach and on the footpath

For more info on beach cleans - see https://www.mcsuk.org/.../join.../great-british-beach-clean/

TALK AND DEMONSTRATION- Bats and Identification using a Bat Detector

Wednesday 11th September 2024

As the evenings are pulling in, we took the opportunity to get out and look (and listen) for bats in our local area.

Ecologist and expert Simon Barnard first gave a fascinating talk explaining that there is a population of about 10 million bats in the UK and 18 species. We learned about their lifecycle, feeding and breeding habits and that buildings and man-made structures provide important roosting sites. Simon specialises in advising and mitigating renovation of buildings that are homes to bats.

We then headed out beside the River Lerryn to see what we could find using some bat detectors. Bats hunt for insects at night, using a high frequency system called echolocation. Bat calls are usually pitched at too high a frequency for humans to hear naturally, but they can be heard or recorded using different types of bat detectors, and we managed to detect some Common Pipistrelles and a Noctule.

BOAT TRIP TO LOSTWITHIEL on ‘Beef R’

Tuesday 23rd July 2024

On the evening’s high tide, 18 of our members enjoyed a boat trip aboard ‘Beef’R’ upriver to Lostwithiel. Lots of herons and little egrets were seen on the way, and the meandering marshes at Shirehall and Madderley Moor were perfectly navigated by Skipper John and crew Nick. A busy evening at the Fish and Chip Shop with one other large boat from Lostwithiel and a sizeable contingent from Golant.