St Nicholas Fields

Give or Take Day 12th June 2010

It was a great day and everyone had a good time. We had around 250 people taking part in exchanging around half a tonne of stuff.

Give or Take Day 12th June 2010

Some of the huge variety of stuff swapped on the day - anything from books, clothes and plants to kitchen ware, tools and toys.

Give or Take Day 12th June 2010

Steve Hill of Daftasadrum (pictured in high vis vest) entertained children and adults alike with his drumming workshops.

Give or Take Day 12th June 2010

While our mobile solar heating unit did very well on this sunny day, boiling water for a cup of tea using pedal power proved too difficult. A number of riders together managed to raise the water temperature to around 60 degrees but no more - still it was a great workout!

Give or Take Day 12th June 2010

One of St Nicks Volunteer co-ordinators Katie and her helpers setting up their junk crafts session - they made lovely fridge magnets and shakers, and together with other participants came up with over 70 alternative uses for discarded jam jar lids.

Seed Swap 20th March 2010

York in Transition organised a Seed Swap event, which attracted more than thirty people despite appalling weather. Over 50 different kinds of seeds ranging from pumpkin, beans and tomatos to herbs and wildflowers were swapped on the day.

Seed Swap 20th March 2010

John the Composter (pictured left, sieving compost) did a couple of demonstrations on how to make seed compost as part of the Seed Swap organised by York in Transition.

Seed Swap 20th March 2010

The day culminated with Chris Chidlow's introductory talk on the principles of permaculture.

Bee Day 20th February 2010

Peter (on the left) from York in Transition, which organised the event, explains how a top bar beehive works.

Bee Day 20th February 2010

A family cutting bamboo for making a solitary bee home. (Photo by Carolyn D.)

Bee Day 20th February 2010 - film show

Information about bees and how to help them was available on the day from the Buglife info stall, leaflets and from short films.

Bee Day 20th February 2010 - honey tasting

Anna from York in Transition organised a little honey tasting corner with five different kinds of honey. A lot of people were surprised quite how much the flavours differed.

Bee Day 20th February 2010 - beehive challenge

A group of York University students took on the challenge of building a top bar beehive in two hours. Carolyn and Peter of York in Transition made it a bit easier for them by preparing some of the parts but there was still plenty to do.

Bee Day 20th February 2010 - beehive challenge finished

With a bit of help from others, the student group managed to finish their beehive and take it away to their allotment! (Photo by Carolyn D.)

Apple Day 10th October 2009 - face painting

Who says face painting is only for children?

Apple Day 10th October 2009 - longest peel competition

Andreas concentrating on trying to beat his own last year's record, which he did - his longest apple peel was a very respectable 209cm or 82 1/4 inches long. In under 16's category, Amy achieved 79cm or 31 inches.

Apple Day 10th October 2009 - story telling

Nettlefoot Kate told gripping stories to both adult and children's audience.

Apple Day 10th October 2009 - apple juggling

Circus skills (and composting) guru Professor Fiddlesticks teaching apple juggling

Apple Day 10th October 2009 - stalls

Yorkshire Orchards (www.yorkshireorchards.co.uk) had a stall offering little known varieties of apples and their produce while Fulford Community Orchard volunteers were inviting people to go and see how an old orchard is being restored.

Apple Day 10th October 2009 - apple cards

Some of the lovely apple cards and gifts tags made on the day.

Self Build with Timber course 18th July 2009

Our new bike shed is coming along as a result of the timber course.

5th St Nicks LNR birthday 28th February 2009 - John Lally woodland

One of the stops on our guided walk was in John Lally's Community Woodland which was planted on St Nicks between 1994 and 2001 in memory of the local envrionmentalist John Lally. From this place one can also see the City of York Council's EcoDepot - the largest strawbale office building in Europe.

5th St Nicks LNR birthday 28th February 2009 - birthday cake

John Brierley, St Nicks Project Co-ordinator lights candles on the birthday cake

5th St Nicks LNR birthday 28th February 2009 - tree trail waymarker post

The birthday celebration included a guided walk of our new tree trail which is marked with posts like the one in the picture. The group of lime trees on the Bull Lane side of St Nicks mark the place where the old brickyard's manager had his house. John is explaining to the group where the brickyard used to be and how it worked. You can pick up a copy of the tree trail leaflet from the Environment Centre.

5th St Nicks LNR birthday 28th February 2009 - Barry Potter's speech

Chair of York Natural Environment Trust, Barry Potter was one of the first people to rediscover St Nicks in late 1988s as a thriving green haven on top of the old rubbish tip. He, the City of York Council leader Andrew Waller and Dave Meigh, Head of Parks and Open Spaces gave short speeches at the celebration.

Big Recycle Day 7th June 2008 - junk sculpture 1

Junk sculpture in the making

Big Recycle Day 7th June 2008 - junk sculpture 2

Junk sculpture or 'Bag Lady' is getting finishing touches

Big Recycle Day 7th June 2008 - junk swap punters

Around three hundred people took part in our junk swap, saving hundreds of items from going into landfill

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple juicing

St Nicks apples being turned into yummy juice

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple juicers

A lot of human power is needed to juice apples but luckily there were lots of helping hands

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - longest peel competition judges

The judges had a lot of responsibility in the longest peel contest as there was less than an inch difference between the winning peel and the second place in over 16's category. Andreas won with 71 3/4 inches (182cm) while Rocky won in under 16's with 28 1/2 (72cm). Sadly, both were a long way away from last year's national records of 21ft 1/2 (658cm) and 5ft (152cm) in respective categories.

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple stories

Nettlefoot Kate is telling apple stories

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple olympics

Apple spoon race requires concentration

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple olympics

Apple bobbers

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple juggling pose

Apple jugglers pose for the local press photographer

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple pudding competition

Nevermind which pudds won the judges' praise, they all got eaten within 15 minutes after the results were announced

Apple Day 11th October 2008 - apple crafts

All children helped create this beautiful Apple Day memento

Pumpkin Evening 29th November 2008 - children carving pumpkins

There were around twenty wonderful entries in the pumpkin carving contest

Pumpkin Evening 29th November 2008 - carving winners

Winners of the 8-16 year olds category

Pumpkin Evening 29th November 2008 - adult category entries

Pumpkin Evening 29th November 2008 - giant pumpkin contest winner

Representatives of the Bishopthorpe School gardening club which grew this amazing pumpkin weighing 8.65 stone (about 55kg) using only a bit of manure and neglect

Christmas Ceilidh 4th December 2008 - full dance floor

Tramways Club on Mill Street kindly hosted our Ceilidh which attracted around 120 jolly punters.

Christmas Ceilidh 4th December 2008 - whirling dancers

Christmas Ceilidh 4th December 2008

St Nicks Management Committee Members and staff joining in the lark - Secretary Steve (grinning on the left), Vice-chair Pat (flowery top) and Volunteer Co-ordinator Michelle (concentrated face on the right)

Christmas Ceilidh 4th December 2008 - graceful speed

Ceilidh dancing is anything but slow so all the dancers got a fair amount of exercise by the end of the night.

Christmas Ceilidh 4th December 2008 - raffle draw announcement

There were 17 good quality prizes in the raffle and the majority of them had been kindly donated by local businesses. The lovely young lady in the middle is Katie without whom the Ceilidh wouldn't have happened and we wouldn't have had such a good night so a big thank you to her!

5th St Nicks LNR birthday 28th February 2009 - exhibition

Our celebration of St Nicks having been a Local Nature Reserve for five years included an exhibition of how St Nicholas Fields developed over the last 30 odd years. In the forefront of the picture sits John who's always lived in the area and who remembers the brickyards and rubbish tip that St Nicks used to be. He celebrated his 80th birthday on the day and drew us plans of what St Nicks used to look like.

St Nicks 10k team

The 10k team before the Run for All on 1st August 2010: (left to right) Rachel, Peter, Jean (shy at the back), Ivana, Ginevra, Anne (shy at the back), Mikey and Lyndsey. They all did very well and raised over £1,000 for the Environment Centre.