Did you know that you can raise money for Goblin Combe charity without any extra expense to yourself?      

It’s true you know and there really are no catches! With Christmas fast approaching and the “credit crunch” beginning to bite, we know that raising money for Goblin Combe is not necessarily a priority for you.

However, we do have a solution to this problem, from which we can all benefit.

Our fundraising website – www.simplefundraising.co.uk/5090 - is full of special links to most of the UK’s major retailers, plus a plethora of specialist online shops and companies.

Many of these companies – including such names as Amazon, Marks & Spencer, HMV, Toys R Us, Tescos, Sainsburys, Majestic Wines and Boots (the list is endless!*) – are offering a variety of discounts, bulk buy savings, sale prices and free or reduced delivery for online purchases.**

Furthermore, you will still get the best online prices and associated promotions and for every £1 that you spend when using the links from our web page, the retailers will give Goblin Combe a donation out of their own profits – you will not be charged a single penny extra for items that you buy.

However, the retailers can only give us our donation if you use the special links that are on our fundraising web page. If you go to the retailer directly, they will not be able to make their donation to us.

Not only does shopping online ensure that you get the best possible prices, it also means that your purchases can be delivered to your door, saving you time, hassle and petrol by battling with the crowds at your local shopping centre.

Our fundraising web page represents one of those truly unique win-win situations for everybody involved – you get the best prices available, with the minimum of hassle and at the same time, you will be helping us to raise money.

So before you start your Christmas shopping, please visit our fundraising web page – www.simplefundraising.co.uk/5090 and keep using our special links to the online retailers to purchase your Christmas gifts.

Don’t forget that it’s not only Christmas time…..shopping bought online at any time of year can be purchased using this link. Maybe you do your grocery shop online at Tescos or Sainsburys, book your holiday through lastminute.com, get your car insurance from Churchill, or use itunes to download your favourite music and apps….please don’t forget our link when you do any shopping online.

Thank you for your continued support

* A list of participating retailers is available from Goblin Combe – please email enquiries@goblincombe.org.uk if you require a copy.

** Please note that you do not need to sign up to anything (unless you normally would do so to shop on a particular shop’s website) and Goblin Combe do not receive any information about what you buy. To protect individual’s privacy, only the retailer knows who the customer is and the details of each individual purchase.

Dormouse at Goblin Combe – photograph by Jamie Edmonds

There was excitement at Goblin Combe recently when several families of dormice, one of Britain’s most endangered mammals, were discovered using recently erected dormouse nest boxes in Goblin Combe woods.

To aid local conservation efforts and to become part of the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme, a project was set up by staff at Goblin Combe Environmental Centre. Fifty individuals including staff, volunteers, local Cubs and work experience students were involved in making nest boxes and placing them in strategic places in the woodland. They were placed in areas most likely to attract the dormice, areas where there is a good tree canopy, a good mix of trees most useful to them (Hazel, Oak & Ash) and a diverse understory of honeysuckle, bramble and scrubby species which dormice love.

Fifty boxes have been placed in the woods which qualifies Goblin Combe to apply to the People’s Trust for Endangered Species to take part in their National Dormouse Monitoring Programme. This programme has been running for the past 21 years and has several hundred monitors responsible for organising box checks throughout the year. Michelle James, Woodland Manager from Goblin Combe, and Jamie Edmonds, Group Environmental Manager from local waste contractor May Gurney, who is licensed to check dormouse boxes and handle dormice, have been working on setting up the dormouse scheme for 18 months. The first of the boxes were erected in 2010, with the last of the 50 boxes erected in July this year. In October Michelle and Jamie visited the nest boxes and discovered three occupied boxes, one of which contained a new born litter and the other two containing parent and juvenile mice, a total of eight mice and a litter (which wasn’t disturbed). Both Michelle and Jamie are extremely excited and pleased that after a lot of hard work and effort by so many people there has been such a positive result.

Jamie, who got involved with dormouse conservation when completing his Masters in Ecological Impact Assessment at Bath Spa University, has been working for several years with another dormouse monitoring program in Cheddar and has seen varying results in the last few years in the use of specifically made boxes. He says

it is such great news to have dormice using the boxes so quickly, some schemes have to wait years to get dormice in boxes but to have them in just a few months is very encouraging. It is great to be able to show people dormice, they are so rare and being arboreal (only living in trees) and nocturnal (active at night) means that your chances of seeing one in the wild is almost zero!

Checks made since the first dormice were found has shown that dormice are using more boxes as well. No further dormice have been seen but several dormouse nests have been found. Dormice make very specific nests, usually a ball of honeysuckle bark cover with green leaves picked straight from the tree, no other small mammal makes such elaborate nests. Checks have also found nesting birds, as well as yellow necked mice and woodmice using the boxes, proving that the dormouse boxes are helping other woodland animals as well.

Dormouse Facts

Scientific name is Muscardinus avellanarius.   

  Dormice are 6 to 9cm long with a tail of 5.7 to 7.5cm.  An adult weighs 17 to 20g, although this can increase to 30 to 45g just before hibernation.

 They are one of only three species that hibernate in the UK (the others are bats and hedgehogs – all found in the Combe).

Dormouse hibernation is highly weather dependant but usually occurs between October/ November and April.

They hibernate at or just below ground level (the only time they come to the ground).

Torpor is a type of day time hibernation that dormice use to minimise the use of body energy; when in this state they can be picked out of boxes, weighed and photographed and returned without waking them.

They are arboreal and nocturnal and feed on a range of food from the tree canopy and shrubs throughout the year; nuts, berries, aphids, flowers for their nectar.

 Dormice are one of Britain’s most endangered mammals and there are thought to be as few as 45,000 adult dormice in the UK.

They are mostly found in mature mixed woodland and hedgerows but have more recently been found in coastal scrub and reed beds.

There is only one native species of dormouse in Britain and they are protected by law because their numbers and distributional range have declined by at least half during the past 100 years.

The decline in dormouse numbers is thought to be due to poor woodland management and destruction of habitat.

Dormice are important because they are a ‘flagship species’; where dormice occur, the habitat is usually very suitable for a wide range of other species too.

  Dormouse nest boxes are wooden boxes similar to bird boxes, but with the entrance hole at the back of the box facing the tree. As well as providing additional shelter for hazel dormice, and other visitors, they offer a way of detecting these rare creatures. Large numbers of boxes can boost populations and be used as an effective survey method.

All photographs by Jamie Edmonds

Goblin Combe has a team of volunteer rangers who lead fascinating guided walks around the Combe.

The walks cover many interesting natural subjects such as spotting animal tracks, tree identification and learning about the woodland. They also take in the many archaeological features of Goblin Combe including one of the only unexcavated Iron Age settlements in England as well as lime kilns and lead mines. All of this and fantastic views from Cleeve ‘Toot’ too.

Click here for more information on how to join our rangers walks.

BBC Things To Do Website

Stay & Dine this Christmas

Why not make this year’s Christmas party something different by combining an overnight stay at Goblin Combe’s sustainable woodland lodge with the culinary delights of the Observer award winning restaurant the ‘Ethicurean’. If you want to make the most of things why not add a team development day to the package! What a great way to support a local charity and social business.

Christmas Packages

In addition to our ‘Stay & Dine’ package why not add one of our many exciting options?

Perhaps a festive cheeseboard to be enjoyed on return to the lodge, or a scrumptious breakfast at the Ethicurean the following day. You could even get the most from the day and add our festive fun team development day.

See our  Christmas Brochure 2011 for more information on our various Christmas Packages.

Why not liven up a walk or add an element of competition to a day out with friends!

Orienteering is a challenging outdoor adventure sport that exercises both the mind and the body. The aim is to navigate between control points marked on a unique orienteering map and decide the best route to complete the course in the quickest time. It does not matter how young, old or fit you are, as you can run, walk or jog the course and progress at your own pace.

Trevor Crowe from Bristol Orienteering Klub (BOK) worked with Alice Tucker from Goblin Combe to produce an orienteering map for anyone and everyone to use in Goblin Combe woods. There are three courses to choose from, which are designed not only for beginners but also those with some orienteering experience…..fun for all!

The maps are printed on weather-proof paper so can be used time and time again.

 You can buy a map for only £2 at Goblin Combe  Centre, Plunder Street, Cleve, North Somerset, BS49 4PQ (Open Mon-Fri 10am – 4.30pm).

Photographs by Freia Turland

Alice Tucker, centre left, with Goblin Combe staff at the stall in St Nicholas Market, Bristol

Goblin Combe is in the media! Below is an article published on the Bristol24-7 website on Monday about our work programme for Somerset teenagers and young adults…

In the wake of the riots that blighted Bristol, London and other towns and cities around the UK, there was an initial national mood of anger and retribution. Once again, young people were “the enemy” – as one national newspaper said. Politicians of all sides condemned their lack of responsibility and the selfishness that ruled their lives.

Only this weekend, the prime minister David Cameron has said he wants to roll out a “national citizen service scheme” so that young people could learn “that real fulfilment comes not from trashing things or being selfish but by building things and working with others”.

However, one North Somerset charity is already taking great strides to provide the skills and training that can give disaffected and disillusioned young people hope for the future.

On Friday, Goblin Combe staff brought Somerset teenagers and young adults into the heart of Bristol to set up a stall at St Nicholas market. The young people were on a work project delivered by the charity based in Cleeve, where they had been taught vital work skills which had improved their self-confidence and, crucially, their chance to gain paid work and make a positive contribution to their lives and the communities in which they live.

All money raised by the sale of trinkets and tools, made themselves out of the wood they have carefully gathered from the woods surrounding the village, went to three charities they nominated themselves – Help for Heroes, Shelter and Cancer Research UK.

“When I saw the riots on TV I thought, ‘wow’, this is the demographic that we are working with,” said Goblin Combe tutor Alice Tucker when Bristol24-7 caught up with the group on Friday. “It is so positive, the young people here today are not rioters –  they are raising money for charities and helping their communities. The guys have got so much out of people who have passed by saying what a good job they are doing. It makes them feel part of the community and valued by people, rather than being blamed and feeling victimised.”

Goblin Combe was established as a charity in 2003, initially by a small group of local people to protect the ancient woodland that surrounds the picturesque North Somerset village. Since then, it has expanded and has big plans to provide the same kind of training throughout the South West – to live up to its aim of helping people “realise their potential in the natural environment”.

In recent months the charity has worked with a huge variety of people who have all had trouble finding work, as Alice explained.

“The guys we are working with are all unemployed and have been for at least six months. We have introduced them to a whole variety of conservation tasks, such as fence building, path clearing and felling trees.

“Then towards the end of the project we have introduced them to the concept of self-employment, which you see here. We have been in the woods creating woodland products such as spoons, solitaire boards, walking sticks etc. It’s been really positive. You can appreciate they can be difficult to work with sometimes, but they have been so into the project, they’ve been taking things home to finish off their work which is unheard of.

“As many of the guys will tell you they have haven’t done many things that they can be proud of, but they are so proud of what they have done here”.

“There is a real variety of people on the project – such as those who have had a really hard time growing up and have come out of school or college and haven’t found work. But we have also had people who have worked all their lives. One was aged 55, made unemployed and couldn’t find another job.”

The key to our programme is to get people into a routine of work. After six months of unemployment, people lose their focus, motivation and a structure to their day. For the young, who have come out of school, have had hard times growing up and already feel a sense of dislocation with society, it is a toxic cocktail.

But the Goblin Combe programme aims to turn this tide back. Although, if support is not on-going, it is easy for spirits to drop once again.

“We give the group a structure,” said Alice, “but they also learn new skills, that are relevant and recent for job applications. And it re-energises people. For example, one of our group was aged in his late 50s had been unemployed for two and a half years. After our course, he got himself a job straight away.

“Young people finish school or college and they are keen to work. They want to work and do something positive that engages, challenges and interests them.”

The charity has recently been selected by JHP Training & Rehab JOBFIT as one of their specialist land-based providers for the Government’s new Work Programme.

Andrew Tandy, the charity’s managing director said their work programme offer was intended to explore all aspects of land-based employment. He said that with over 45% self-employment across the sector the ‘Enterprise Challenge’ being demonstrated at the market had been designed to introduce self-employment whilst emphasising the continued need to work as part of a team.

We decided towards the end of last year that Goblin Combe needed to promote itself far better online, to reflect the work we are doing and the expansion of the organisation as we move into the next phase of our life.

After an extensive recruitment process, we hired Bristol24-7 – the new online newspaper for Bristol, which earlier this month won the prestigious EDF Energy South West website of the year – to use its web design and marketing skills to take on the job.

As well as the new website, and a brand new logo, Bristol24-7 is working with us to promote Goblin Combe’s expansion through social media and newspapers, as well as this new and improved email newsletter.

Chris Brown, editor of Bristol24-7, said: “It’s been a real pleasure working with everyone at Goblin Combe. They have a fantastic team and have great ambitions for the future. I’m proud to have worked with them so far and look forward to working with them well into the future.”

We would love you to join us online via the new website, as well as our new Facebook page and Twitter account, which we will be updating regularly to tell you about what we are doing and wider news that affects us and our work.

There is so much to tell you about, so please do join us. In the meantime, we hope you like the new website and look forward to speaking with you in the future.

Young people at work thanks to Goblin Combe's New Deal projects

Following the successful delivery of its Work Programme pilot, Goblin Combe is pleased to announce that it has been commissioned to support the delivery of the final phase of the New Deal programme in Somerset.

Working with national provider Prospects, we are now involved in the delivery of projects involving up to 72 New Deal customers at Taunton, Frome, Bridgwater, Yeovil and Wells.

Over the last five weeks our tutor teams have worked on projects for Somerset County Council, Mendip AONB, Frome Town Council, Cleeve Parish Council, and local landowners. We are about to commence projects for Wrington Parish Council, Shepton Mallett Town Council, Mendip District Council and Somerset Science Centre.

Work completed to date includes:

• Huntspill Work Preparation Unit – creation of vegetable garden; composting area; erection of new sheds, hedge planting and painting;
• Frome Town Council – improvement of riverside walk; repair and painting of seating areas; reinstatement of dry stone walls; improvements to a riverside meadow area; support to the Millennium Green project and site management projects;
• Mendip AONB – repair of eroded footpaths on Blackdown Hill;
• Cleeve Parish Council – improvements to millennium Green site including path improvements; clearance of trees/shrubs; painting and litter clearance.

As well as providing invaluable training for New Deal customers, the project has allowed us to offer a range of short-term employment opportunities for land-based tutors and administrative support staff.

Duncan Massey receives his award

Goblin Combe’s chairman Duncan Massey has been recognised as a local hero by Radio Somerset listeners for his work with the Avon and Somerset Search and Rescue Team.

Duncan received his Somerset Community Hero Award 2011 in June, after listeners to the station – as well as county council representatives – voted for him above 31 other nominees.

Duncan was nominated by an anonymous member of the local community, perhaps a thankful patient! He had no idea that he had been nominated until two days before the awards ceremony.

“I came back from holiday to a letter asking me to come to Taunton, I assumed it was someone trying to sell me something and ignored it,” he said. “Then on Tuesday (31st May) I had a phone call from Somerset County Council asking me if I would be attending the awards ceremony on Thursday!”

Duncan Massey has been involved with Goblin Combe since the trust started and became the Chairman of the Trustees in 2010.

He has also been part of the Somerset Search and Rescue team for 30 years and five years ago took on the role of First Responder using his vehicle to answer indoor emergencies. His work is entirely voluntary but his invaluable  contribution is much appreciated and supported by local people and businesses.

“I feel very proud, thankful and grateful to everyone who voted,” he added. “These awards are a great way of raising the profile of volunteers in the community and it is nice to get recognition for the work that you do.”