Welly workout

We will be having a general tidy up of the woodland.  We will be cutting back some trees, litter picking and any other little jobs that need completing this spring before everything starts growing again.

Mon 5 Mar, 1pm to 3pm at Acomb Wood

Cost: FREE!

For more information and to book you space please contact Jenny Cairns on 07833 436832 or jennifer.cairns@york.gov.uk.  Please come prepared to get muddy.  All tools will be provided.

Pondlife

The Friends of Rowntree Park and the Rangers have been working together to create a new wildlife pond in the park.  Come along and help finish the project off before the wildlife moves in.  We want to link the pond in to the existing bark chip paths, plant some wildflowers on the bank behind the pond and try to establish some vegetation in the water - Tasks may vary on the day.

Mon 19 Mar, 1pm to 3pm at Rowntree Park

Cost: FREE!

For more information and to book your place please contact Jenny Cairns on 07833 436832 or jennifer.cairns@york.gov.uk.  Please come prepared to get muddy.  All tools will be provided.

Rockery gardening

Come and join The Friends of West Bank Park in the monthly work party to help to look after their re-creation of the famous Backhouse Rockery.  Tasks will include clearing leaves, weeding and planting any new plants we have to go in - Non members welcome.

Wed 28 March, 1.30pm to 3pm at West Bank Park, Holgate

Cost: FREE!

For more information please contact Jenny Cairns on 07833 436832 or jennifer.cairns@york.gov.uk.

Loose Women

Join some of York’s top women from across the city as they discuss current events in a question and answer session at Explore York Library Learning Centre, Thur 8 March 12.30pm to 2pm

The panel will be:

Kersten England

Chief Executive of City of York Council

For the past 21 years Kirsten has worked in the public sector, predominantly local government.

Fiona Williams

Head of Libraries and Archives, City of York Council
Fiona is the strategic lead for libraries and archives across the City of York.

Cllr Sonja Crisp

Sonja has served as Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward since 2007. Cabinet member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion

Cllr Julie Gunnell

Julie has been Labour Councillor for Micklegate Ward since 2007.  Cabinet member for Corporate Services

Janet Barnes

Chief Executive – York Museums Trust

Janet is a director of the independent charity that manages museums and galleries across York.

For free tickets, or for more information, contact Explore York on exploreyork@york.gov.uk or 01904 552828

Make do and mend

Celebrate International Women’s Week and recognise the ingenuity and inventiveness of women through the ages.

This lecture with Meridith Townsend starts right back in the Georgian Period and concentrates on how women altered, borrowed and adapted their clothes to keep up with the latest fashions. It goes on to concentrate on the War Years of the 1940s using anecdotes from women, who came up with the most ingenious ways to keep their families clothed and to continue to celebrate events, such as weddings, in style.

The lecture takes place at Explore York Library Learning Centre 1.30pm to 2.30pm on Sun 4 March - cost £4

For tickets please visit www.feelinginspired.co.uk

Your city needs you!

As part of York 800, a large scale choral project, Ebor Vox will see hundreds coming together in a huge community choir, performing over Charter weekend, 7 to 9 July 2012.

We are looking for poems of 400 words (max) in response to the question ‘What is special about York?’ A winner will be selected and their poem used as the lyrics for the York 800 Ebor Vox Choral composition.

This competition is free and all entries must be in by midnight on 5 March.

Please see www.yorkfestivals.com/ebor-vox for full terms and conditions.

The Irish in York

Celebrate Irish History Month with local historian, Malcolm Walker - Sun 18 Mar, 1pm to 2pm at Explore York Library Learning Centre

York wasn't the only place the Irish flooded into in the mid 19th Century. Most towns of any size and industry had a community. 

For centuries ‘People’ had been Ireland's chief export.  Why did it increase dramatically in the 1840's?  There was no industry in York at this time. Why did they come here?  This talk attempts to answer these questions and many more.
This is a fascinating story of callous indifference, but above all of prejudice; ethnic and religious. Malcolm will give also an inspirational story in which two York Quaker families play no small part. You might not always like what you hear, but it might open your eyes and supply a few answers to some ongoing Irish problems.

Tickets are available from Explore York at £4 each, please contact (01904) 552828 or exploreyork@york.gov.uk