Lifelong Learning - Courses -

The listings below provide basic information on each course. More detailed Course Information is available on request.

1. Butterflies & Moths of the Coast

2. Butterflies of the Isle of Purbeck

 

 3. An Introduction to Dry-stone Walling
4. Spring Birdwatching
5. Five Great Romantic Symphonies

6. Practical Hedgelaying

7. Art & Weather

1. Butterflies & Moths of the Coast

Start Date: Saturday 5th June & Sunday 6th June 2010. 10.00am - 4.00pm
Duration: 12 hours/2 sessions
Price: £40(Concessions for people receiving some benefits) 

Join David Brown for a weekend course introducing the fascinating world of moths.

Covers:

  • Trapping and identification
  • Hunt for day-flying moths and butterflies at one of Britain's best sites

About the Tutor:

David is a former teacher and now lectures for  Warwick University as well as conducting courses on butterflies and moths for the Field Studies Council and Adult Residential Colleges Association. He writes for the national journals 'Atropos' and 'The Entomologist's Record' and is author of 'The Larger Moths of Warwickshire'.

Booking:

2.  The Butterflies of the Isle of Purbeck

Dry Stone Waller at Work 

Start Date: Sunday 27th June 2010. 10.00am - 4.00pm.
Duration: Continues each Sunday until 18th July. 14 hours/4 sessions.
Price: £52(Concessions for people receiving some benefits) 

Purbeck is the 'home' to a wide range of butterfly species.  We will consider the various natural habitats of the area and visit sites to identify the associated local species.  Conservation, identification, research and migration will be studied.

About the Tutor:

John is a former teacher and has been fascinated by butterflies for many years. He has carried out butterfly monitoring at Durlston and at other sites in Purbeck and is actively involved with Butterfly Conservation.

Booking:

3.  Walling Stone Dry to An Introduction

Start Date: Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th June 2010 10.00am - 4.00pm
Duration: 12 hours/2 sessions
Price: £39 (Concessions for people receiving some benefits)

Spend the weekend learning to rebuild a section of dry stone wall while appreciating its history and wildife value.  Designed for those with little of no previous experience.  Working outdoors moving and lifting stone.

Covers:

  • How to build walls from scratch and repair existing walls
  • Practical tuition as well as the history, geology and wildlife of these important features of our landscape.

About the Tutor:

Lydia has lost count of how many metres of wall she has built in Somerset and Purbeck! She was one of the first people in Dorset to gain the LANTRA Intermediate Walling qualification and has taught hundreds of people this fascinating traditional craft.

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4. Spring Birdwatching

 

Start Date: Wednesdays 7.00-9.00pm, Sundays 9.00am -12noon.

Duration: 7 & 11 Apr, 5 & 9 May, 2 & 6 June 2010. 
Price: £57 (Concessions for people receiving some benefits)

Join Hamish and Phyl on this course which is suitable for anyone wanting to learn more about birds and bird watching.  Wide-ranging approach to finding,  observing and indentifying.  Sessions include song, habitats, behaviour and field craft.

Covers:

  • Choosing and using binoculars and equipment
  • Where to go and what to see
  • Fieldcraft, top tips for identification and more
  • A mixture of classroom sessions and field trips

About the Tutors:

Hamish is Head of Dorset Countryside Ranger Service and has been watching, sketching and recording birds in Dorset for over 30 years. He has a particular interest in bird sounds, identification techniques and migration studies but, above all, enjoys birdwatching. He has led numerous bird-watching tours and events, writes regular articles and served on the Dorset Rare Birds panel for many years.

Phyl is passionate about birds and their conservation. She is a former teacher, a committee member of the Dorset Bird Club and volunteers at Durlston, on Brownsea Island and for the RSPB.

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5. Five Great Romantic Symphonies

Chalkhill Blue
Start Date: Thursday 14th January 2010.  11.00am  - 1.00pm
Duration: Every 2 weeks until 25th March, 12 hours/6 sessions
Price: £46(Concessions for people receiving some benefits) 

Gain a greater appreciation of five great symphonies with Ian Pillow. 

Covers:

  • Beethoven Symphony no 3

  • Brahms Symphony no 1

  • Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique

  • Tchaikovsky Symphony no 6

  • Sibelius no 5

About the Tutor:

Ian is a composer, the chief lecturer and viola player with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

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6. Practical Hedgelaying

Wasp Spider 4

Start Date: Saturday 23rd January 2010. 9.30am - 4.00pm
Duration: every weeks for 3 weeks - 23 & 30 Jan, 6 Feb.
Price: £60 (Concessions for people receiving some benefits)

All you need to know to start or improve your hedglaying on this practical course. Includes classroom tuition and hands-on training in an outdoor environment.

Covers:

  • Tool care
  • Hedgerow management
  • Regional styles
  • Wildlife-friendly hedging

About the Tutor:

Ben Wallbridge has laid countless hedgerows around Dorset and has taught hedgelaying for more than ten years. He is now a Countryside Ranger at Durlston.

Booking:

 

 

7. Art & Weather

Chalkhill Blue

Start Date: Sunday 27th January 2010. 10.00am - 4.00pm.
Duration: Continues each Sunday for 4 sessions.
Price: £52(Concessions for people receiving some benefits) 

About the Tutor:

Howard has spent his career working for the Natural Environment Research Council on meteorological studies. He has a doctorate in meteorology and is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. He holds a fellowship at Oxford University and is currently continuing with research and writing on a range of meteorologically related topics.

Booking: