Annual Open day - Sunday 9th June

Our annual Open Day is on Sunday 9^th June this year and we are busy making preparations for the day. Admission to the reserve is FREE for this event. The day will start at 10am and finish at 4pm with a whole range of conservation organisations taking part. There are twenty five organisations that will be setting out their stalls and be able to tell visitors all about the work that they do in the area and further afield. Organisations such as Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, East Riding countryside service, In Focus optics and Experience Community highlight the range of information available. See the list below for every stall.

	Organisation / Stalls
1	InFocus Optics
2	Yorkshire Coast Nature
3	Josh Harrison Photography
4	Tophill Low Membership Stand
5	Yorkshire Red Kites
6	TOAST
7	East Riding Hedgehogs
8	Netty’s cake stall
9	Fresh Water Habitats Trust
10	East Yorkshire Rivers Trust
11	Yorkshire Dragonflies
12	East Yorkshire Bat Group
13	Bishop Burton College
14	Natural England
15	Experienced Community
16	YW Education Team
17	YW Biosecurity Team
18	J & J farming
19	East Yorkshire Badger Protection Group
20	Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
21	East Riding of Yorkshire Council Rangers
22	East Riding Archaeology Society
23	RSPCA Wildlife Response
24	SCJ Training
25	British & Irish Scything Society & wood crafts
26	British Trust for Ornithology - ringing / Motus
27	Volunteers – Polytunnel
28	Volunteers – Pond dipping
29	Volunteers – Nature Trail
30	Volunteers – Nest boxes

Activities include guided walks, led by local Ecotourism company Yorkshire Coast Nature, at 10.30am and 2.30pm, as well as pond dipping sessions at the reception pond from 10.30am – 12pm and from 1.30 – 3pm. Throughout the day families can pick up a nature trail pack and follow the trail through a section of the reserve, finding clues along the way, with prizes at the end.

There will be refreshments available in the form of “Stuart’s of Driffield” fish & chip van, hot drinks and homemade cakes. Please bring cash to pay for our cake stall.

We also have our volunteer teams showcasing the work that they get involved in when they come to the reserve, whether it’s once or twice a week or on college placements. It’s a great chance to find out about the “behind the scenes” tasks that take place to maintain the range of habitats that we look after here at Tophill Low to create a reserve with a rich biodiversity. There is an opportunity to purchase nest boxes that have been made by our volunteers and also membership to the reserve can be arranged on the day.

Our polytunnel which is a hive of activity throughout the year, propagating wetland and meadow plants for restocking the reserve and donating plants to other wetland sites in the area, can not only be visited but there will be a selection of plants for sale. These will be in packs of 6 for £5 and we ask that visitors please pay in cash. Our team can tell you all about this exciting venture and how you can come and be a part of it as it enters the next stage with a new wetbed polytunnel soon to be installed, increasing the amount of plants that can be propagated. We are already planning days where volunteers can visit local areas to collect further seeds to increase the variety of plants that we grow.

We really hope that the local community take the opportunity of visiting the reserve on our open day as we showcase the success of this nature reserve and the partnerships that we have developed with other conservation organisations in the wider Hull valley.