Bugs & Blossoms

Programme of events to celebrate and help save our native insects and plants

A new programme of events organised by Waveney & Blyth Arts is set to highlight the decline of our native insects and plants – and to encourage people to take action.

Bugs & Blossoms will launch over the weekend of 24-27 May, with additional events running throughout the summer.

The four days of launch activities will be centred on Palgrave Community Centre and will feature talks, workshops, an exhibition, film screening and walks.

Later in the year additional walks, talks, workshops and events will continue the programme of events to highlight the plight of our native insects and plants, culminating in an exhibition at the Ferini Gallery in Pakefield.

In the UK, as elsewhere in the world, our native insects and plants are in catastrophic decline and we are losing the intricate mix of species that gives the natural world such richness.

In response, Waveney & Blyth Arts will be running the Bugs & Blossoms events to encourage people to take notice, raise awareness and to facilitate positive action.

Melinda Appleby from Waveney & Blyth Arts said: “We’re launching Bugs & Blossoms – a new initiative to work across all the creative arts – to celebrate the wild flowers and insects that are part of our lives. But we go further – we want the arts to draw attention to the plight of many of these species and to encourage people to be inspired by them and to take action, however small and however local, to conserve them.

“Our native insects and plants are in catastrophic decline and many species are disappearing. Our childrenwill not have the rich and diverse landscapes of their parents and grandparents’ generations, nor thevocabulary that goes with them unless we act now. The events we have put together for this year include art exhibitions, walks and talks and the launch of our poetry competition focusing on Bugs & Blossoms.

“The launch weekend at Palgrave Communty Centre will feature Nick Upton, a wildlife photographer who has worked on BBC documentaries with Sir David Attenborough. As an entomologist he also knows his bugs and will be showing us the huge range of insects and plants that we often overlook”.

The patron of Bugs & Blossoms is author and naturalist Mark Cocker, who will be hosting the event Midsummer Moths at The Locks in Geldeston on July 25.

He said: “Insects of all types – bees, butterflies, beetles, moths and even flies – have supplied their pollination services to all the Earth’s trees and flowers for the last 100 million years.

“It’s time we awoke to their central place in our shared planet. They are truly the little things that run the world and I commend to everyone the Bugs & Blossoms programme of Waveney & Blyth Arts. I’m also looking forward to celebrating this ancient partnership myself at an event at Geldeston Locks on 25 July. I hope you’ll join me.”

The launch weekend will feature the following events:

My Life Behind the Lens, illustrated talk by Nick Upton
Fri 24 May, Palgrave Community Centre
Multi-award-winning wildlife filmmaker and photographer Nick Upton has worked closely with Sir David Attenborough and BBC Natural World series, and won the British Wildlife Photography Awards (documentaries). He will be showing many stunning images from his work.

Macro-Photography Workshop with Nick Upton
Sat 25 May, Palgrave Community Centre
BBC Wildlife photographer Nick Upton will lead a masterclass aimed at members of camera clubs and more experienced nature photographers. Limited places.

Bugs & Blossoms exhibition
Sat 25 – Mon 27 May, Palgrave Community Centre
An exhibition of prints, paintings, crafts, cards and 3-D work by artists based in the upper Waveney valley including Jenny Goater, Maggie Campbell, Jane West, Deborah Vass and Kate Nockles. Refreshments available all day.

Microcosmos (1997)
Sat 25 May, Palgrave Community Centre
Film footage of a dramatic, action-packed day in the life of a meadow and its tiny inhabitants, with stunning macro-photography using close-ups, slow motion and time-lapse photography. Directors: Nuridsany, Pérennou. Narrated by Kristin Scott Thomas

Throughout the summer there will be further walks, workshops and family activities delving into the theme of Bugs & Blossoms – to spark interest, share knowledge and encourage positive action on an individual level.

Wildflower Open Meadow Days. Sat 8 and Sun 9 June. Moat House, Hoxne.

Mini-Beast fun for the family. Sun 7 July. From Ditchingham Village Hall.

Walk: Redgrave & Lopham Fen – A Source of Inspiration. Sun 14 July. Redgrave & Lopham Fen.

Haiku workshop inspired by nature. Thurs 25 July. Lock’s Inn Geldeston.

Midsummer moths with Mark Cocker. Thurs 25 July, Lock’s Inn Geldeston.

Ringsfield Meadow discovery day. Sun 4 Aug. Ringsfield Eco Centre.

Poetry workshop. Tue 13 Aug. The Staithe Centre, Bungay.

Bugs & Blossoms exhibition. Fri 6 – Sun 29 Sept. Ferini Art Gallery, Pakefield.

Lunchtime Arts & Eats – poetry competition winners. Tues 17 Sept. Ferini Art Gallery, Pakefield.

Wild words debate – bugs and flowers. Thurs 26 Sept. Guildhall, Norwich.

For more details about all of these events and to book please visit www.waveneyandblytharts.com

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About Mark Cocker

Mark’s most recent book Our Place was published in 2018 and is subtitled Can we save Britain’s wildlife before it is too late?

Our Place is partly a work of history, partly a personal geographical quest and partly a philosophical inquiry into our relationship with the rest of life. Mark said: “I’d like to think that it tackles some of the central issues of our age. And in its conclusion I attempt to map out how this over-crowded island of ours could be a place fit not just for its human occupants, but for all its billions of citizens.”