Group Diary 2009

Date:	Type of event:	More details:
Saturday, 06/02/10	Our 10thAnniversary Celebration – an afternoon talk on the “Jurassic Tales of Oxfordshire” & the work of the OGT. Presented by Mike Clare and Denise Dane of the OGT.	At the Banbury Museum, Castle Quay from 2:00 – 3:30 pm. Refreshments will be provided. OGT Members & visitors are welcome.
Thursday, 11/02/10	Evening talk on the “Geology of Wychwood” . Presented by Lesley Dunlop of the OGT.	At the High Street Methodist Church, Witney from 7:30 – 9:00 pm. Wychwood Project members, OGT members & visitors welcome.
Saturday 20/02/10	“Oxfordshire’s Geotrail” A circular, guided walk from Wittenham Clumps to Shillingford Bridge return. The walk encompasses part of the Thames Path. Led by Bill Horsfield & Denise Dane of the OGT. If you’ve time, why not also visit the Northmoor Trust’s Project Timescape exhibition that explores the local landscape – past, present and future. Light refreshments are available in the Poem Tree café when the exhibition is open.	Meet at 10 am at the Northmoor Trust’s car park at Hill Farm, GR SP 563927. The trail is just under 6 miles long so we will allow up to 4 hours. Please bring a drink and snacks. We can stop halfway for facilities, if necessary. The exhibition and café should still be open on our return. Families can elect to join us for the first part of the walk around the Clumps (approx 1 mile return).
Saturday 13/03/10	” Rock and Fossil Identification Day” at Science Oxford. This event is one of many events taking place during the “Oxford Science Festival” which is taking place from 6th – 21st March 2010. Activities run by OGT staff & volunteers.	At Science Oxford from 1:00 – 4:00pm. Science Oxford is also hosting a “Low Carbon Living” Exhibition on this day.
Saturday, 20/03/10	“Oxfordshire Goes Wild” at the Natural History Museum, Parks Road, Oxford. Activities run by OGT staff and volunteers.	From 12:00 – 4:00 pm. Craft activities for children aged 4 to 12. This family event is taking place during “National Science Week”.

Projects update:

3 Year Practical Geoconservation Project funded by the Heritage Lottery:

The first year of this project has been very successful with 8 community groups taking part in 9 clearance sessions at 5 important geological sites in the county including Rock Edge, Greenhill Farm, Dry Sandford, Giant’s Cave and Ditchley Road Quarrries. We ran a public open day at Rock Edge in July that was very well attended by local residents keen to learn about the history of their local quarry & about the work of the OGT generally.

New SE Regional Projects for 2009/10 funded by Natural England:

We have researched potential new local geology sites (RIGS) in the south of the county where we have fewer sites registered. Having defined site selection criteria for new designations, we are currently establishing a panel of experts to review and approve 3 new sites in South Oxfordshire by mid-March ’10.

We are coordinating the launch of 8 new “Geotrails” which will take place in counties across the SE Region from end-January to mid-March ’10. Each trail will incorporate part of a local National Trail. Our Oxfordshire Geotrial is taking place on Saturday, 20^th February – please see details given in events diary above.

New Geology Trust Projects for 2009/10 funded by the ALSF:

Having assessed the condition of 20 local geology sites across the county in Spring ’09, we have now secured additional funding to assess the remaining 23 local geology sites in the county. We have also received additional training to survey both soils and quaternary deposits at appropriate sites.

We have successfully bid for additional funding to update our OGT website in the next few months – watch this space! Any comments/input would be much appreciated.

Please contact OGT if you have any queries.

Oxfordshire Geology Trust
The Geological Records Centre
The Corn Exchange
Faringdon
SN7 7JA

Telephone 01367 243260
Email contact@oxfordshiregt.org