Click in the image above for a full screen version

or download a printable version of our 2025/26 talks programme by clicking HERE

All talks take place in the Baptist Church Hall, Keynsham BS31 1DS. They commence at 7:30pm, with refreshments available from 7:15pm

Entrance fees: £3.50 for Avon Wildlife Trust members and £5 for non-members, to include the refreshments.

Everyone is welcome to attend with no pre-booking necessary, just turn up and pay on the door with cash or card.

Wildlife cards, second hand books and other items are on sale at our meetings in aid of Avon Wildlife Trust. 

Pond Dipping for the under 7s

Our popular short sessions
for young children at Wellsway School

These two short 1 hour sessions are for younger children accompanied by a responsible adult. Please book the appropriate number of places for both child and adult.

Our events will enable young children to experience the wonders of pond life in a safe environment. The pond at Wellsway has a healthy ecosystem and you can be sure there will be some interesting creatures to find when the pond is netted and it will help to give the children some background as to how this environment works.

Please note, booking is essential through Eventbrite here:
https://pond-dipping2025.eventbrite.co.uk

This is a free event however donations are always welcome for Avon Wildlife Trust either when booking or on the day.

Saturday 27th September

River Dipping for the over 7s

Our popular short sessions
for older children on the River Chew

This event is for older children, 7 and above, accompanied by a responsible adult. Please book the appropriate number of places for both child and adult.

These two short 1 hour sessions will enable children to experience the wonders of river life and the aim is to check the health of the River Chew. You can be sure there will be some interesting creatures to find when the river is netted and it will help to give the children some background as to how this environment works.

Children must be accompanied by an adult who can assist their child/children in the river. Wellies are essential for all participants.

Please note, booking is essential through Eventbrite here:
https://river-dipping2025.eventbrite.co.uk

This is a free event however donations are always welcome for Avon Wildlife Trust either when booking or on the day.

Sunday 28th September

Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project

Did you know that the Avon Gorge is one of the top three botanical sites in England, hosting five endemic species of tree, two flowering plants which grow nowhere else in the UK and over thirty rare and scarce botanical species? Why are there goats in the Gorge? Did the peregrine falcons raise any young this year? Why is there a moth which is found nowhere else in England? Has the Avon Gorge always been of interest to botanists and what has Brunel got to do with it?
Discover a host of fascinating facts with Anna, biodiversity engagement manager at Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife – the body which is working to secure the outstanding wildlife interest of the Avon Gorge, Clifton and Durdham Downs. She aims to encourage awareness and understanding of this unique location and its importance for wildlife, people and local habitat.

Friday October 10th

with Anna Stevens

Find out more about the elusive Hairstreak butterflies and butterflies (lepidoptera) in general. Including which species we can find locally, as well their varying habitats, methods to see some and conservation to help them.

Nick, a lifelong Birdwatcher, and former Nature reserve Warden, has devoted his life to shouting about how amazing our native bixodiversity is and just why we should care for it... He has a passion for hairstreak butterflies and will share his experiences with them!

Silver Streaks & Forest Secrets

The Allure of Hairstreak Butterflies

Friday November 4th

with Nick Patel

Fur, Feathers & Festivities

Short talks and festive refreshments

Our members evening this year comprises three short talks from our committee alongside festive refreshments. Come along and join in the fun. 
The evening is not restricted to members, and is open to all.

Friday December 12th

Watercress Farm Rewiding

Friday January 9th

Watercress Farm is one of Belmont’s nature recovery and connection projects just outside Bristol. The rewilding project aims to restore an environmentally degraded landscape to benefit nature, climate and community. Belmont has been rewilding and rewetting the landscape, enabling the land to act as a functioning floodplain while restoring natural water flow and creating a haven for birds, pollinators, and plants.

As the Head of Nature Connection at Belmont, Martin Williams is dedicated to helping people understand their natural surroundings and fostering a deeper connection to nature that inspires a love for and commitment to protecting the planet.

with Martin Williams

A Buzz in the Garden

Growing spaces bees will love!

Friday February 13th

Our pollinators are in peril; bumblebees, solitary bees and honey bees are all under threat from the modern-day onslaught of pesticides, habitat loss and intensive agriculture. Yet between them, the almost 300-species of UK bee, along with other pollinators, are responsible for more than a third of everything we eat.

This fascinating and richly illustrated talk will introduce many of the bee species found in the UK and explain how you can help to save them by creating a pollinator oasis in your garden - or window box, if that's all you have.

Richard Rickitt is one of the UK's best-known beekeepers and co-editor of BeeCraft magazine

with Richard Rickett, Westonbirt Beekeeper

Messing about on the River

Discovering and protecting our local waterways

Our rivers have been in the headlines recently. They're in a bad way but despite real issues there is progress too. This talk will bring some of that to life focusing on our local area. Good work is being done by grassroots groups, plus the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership is coordinating stakeholders to deliver projects across the catchment, including the River Chew. There is still plenty of wildlife in our rivers (some of it quite exciting) and the plans will help this. Meanwhile river pollution needs to be considered including what we can all do to help.

Having been fascinated with rivers and their wildlife since early childhood, Peter has stayed involved with them ever since, and now works as secretary for Bristol & Avon Rivers Trust.

Friday March 13th

with Peter Coleman-Smith, BART

Wild Mull

Scotland's untamed isle

The Isle of Mull is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides, accessible by ferry from the small town of Oban. The island is rugged, remote, and teeming with wildlife, including coastally-adapted Eurasian otters, white-tailed sea eagles, pine martens, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. Small, winding roads take you along the 480km of coastline, including several stunning coastal lochs – perfect feeding grounds for otters and eagles.

Emma Fennell Hodson fell in love with the Isle of Mull, and has returned several times to film and enjoy the wildlife there. She has made several short films about wildlife on the Island, which can all be found on the Biome Project YouTube. Emma will be talking about the amazing wildlife that can be found on the island, sharing top tips for spotting some of it’s more elusive residents and talking about some of the fantastic organisations working to protect and safeguard Mull’s breathtaking biodiversity.

Friday April 10th

with Emma Fennell Hodson