Energy from Bath Hot Springs at the Abbey - September 5th

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE TO BATH GS PROGRAMME
September 5th
Using energy from Bath's Hot Springs at the Abbey
Charles Curnock, Footprint Project Director, Bath Abbey

 It is proposed to take hot water from the Roman Great Drain, which would otherwise flow into the river, and use it, through a heat exchanger, to heat not just the Abbey but also other surrounding buildings, as part of a district heating scheme.
Buro Happold has been working with the Bath Abbey over the last three years to facilitate redevelopment plans which include the creation of linked spaces, a dedicated choir rehearsal room and modern catering facilities.  Integral to this redevelopment is a review of the existing heating system in line with the Abbey’s vision to reduce its energy consumption.
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7.30p.m. at the BRLSI, 16 Queen Square, Bath
Everyone welcome, visitors £4 - free refreshments

Ancestor's Trail - August 24th and 26th

Ancestor's Trail
24th - 26th August
Wills Memorial Building, Bristol 
This year we are celebrating the life of Alfred Russel Wallace (on the 100th anniversary of his death) and, especially considering his bio-geographical insights.
Lectures, including one by Richard Dawkins

Walk along the Quantock Hills where we 'walk the Tree of Life' in what has been described as a 'biological pilgrimage'.

Background on the Trail: Inspired by Richard Dawkins' book 'the Ancestor's Tale', we drape the Tree of Life over the Quantock Hills so that its various branches line up with the hills' many footpaths. On the day, the tips of these branches are populated by various groups of walkers, who, with a little pre-planned choreography, are guided, such that our ever-increasing band of pilgrims arrive together at a rocky beach representing our shared origins 3.8 billion years ago. 130 people took part in our last event and, along the way, we were treated to words of wisdom, poetry, art and music. The concept has been described as a 'biological pilgrimage' and raises money for biodiversity organisations. This year's charity cause is support for a life-sized statue of Alfred Russel Wallace to be placed at London's Natural History Museum.
Full details on the website.

Clearance at Tedbury Camp (and de la Beche)

Wednesday 18th - Friday 20th September - Tedbury Camp
The focus will be on 'gardening' activities (e.g. felling, lopping, trimming, weeding, strimming) and the less pleasant task of litter picking and disposal. We could also do with a tonne of gravel chippings to top-up the step profiles if any of the local quarries are prepared to deliver it, along with a mini-skip for the rubbish that won't burn.
Please come to help even if it's only for half an hour!

Reminder - 8th September - clearance at de la Beche site at Vallis Vale.
This site is in a sorry state and, considering it's an important SSSI for a fabulous unconformity, the situation is very sad.

July 4th - Geological evolution of Gower, South Wales

'Geological evolution of Gower' will be given by Dr Geraint Owen from Swansea University on Thursday July 4th.
Further details can be found on the Bath Geological Society website.
7.30 at BRSLI, 16 Queen Square, Bath
Everyone is welcome - visitors £4 - free refreshments
This talk will be followed by a field trip to Gower, led by Dr. Owen on October 19th - further details on the website.

Earthlearningidea has reached 1 million downloads!

By the end of June, over one million activities had been downloaded from the Earthlearningidea website!
Many thanks to all Earth scientists in the west country who have supported us since our launch in 2007.
It is amazing that 3 people, with no funding, can reach almost all over the world, thanks to the internet. If you are interested, have a look at 'ELI in the world' on the website.