THE BEST MACROS
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"Very narrow areas of expertise can be very productive. Develop your own profile. Develop your own niche."
Quote - Leigh Steinberg
Inside Tate Modern, London
I took all these pics through the closed patio window , so I apologise for the lack of techy expertise - ha ha - did me best didn't I? There's something called 'Fade correction' in my PSP software that always seems to correct the lacking colour contrast and works a treat when my pics are taken through said window.
I have mentioned before that sometimes the results can be rather unpredictable , but I love to experiment with it on my indoor stuff too ....
I know it's all naturally 'wired in' but birds (large and small) landing expertise I find quite astounding
Branch., stick., pole., post... high wind., rain or shine and they land and perch themselves on an area that seems neither credible or sensible yet still they do it with effortless ease
Funny when you compare how long it takes for a human to stand up and take its first 'wobbly' steps on two legs!
Expertise welcomed. Spotted this Turkey Vulture cruising around with his family . I wanted to get as much detail as possible so intentionally I set the focal length to maximum. It came very close by and did not even fit in the frame, but this exciting encounter made my day. I believe it is a leucistic vulture. I have never seen one like this before.
Merci à Jean-Philippe Mathieu pour son expertise.
www.facebook.com/jeanphilippe.mathieu.33
Aka "Cabbage White"
In my backyard.
Jill Endfield’s Glasshouse of Immigrants one of the outside displays of Photoville 2018 is actually 45 separate antique windows each of which showcases a glass portrait of contemporary immigrants to form a sing hours that “People Should Not Throw Stones”. The images which definitely have an old feel to them were made using wet-plate collodion, a 150 year-old photographic technique that Jill says einforces the precarious nature of immigration itself. The antique distressed windows represent the hardship of what it means to be an immigrant. Jill is a fine art photographer who expertise lies in old methods like collodion. See it on display at Photoville under the Brooklyn Bridge this weekend, Friday September 21 through Sunday September 23, 2018.
If you are in the New York metro area it's worth the trip to see some impactful and poignant photos in massive shipping containers and workshops by Leica and Adobe that is Photoville under the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO annually; I’ll be there volunteering a second straight weekend.
Image captured with Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ50, RAW image processed in Photomatix Pro and cleaned up in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
Lacunas in knowledge, expertise are closely related to fantasies that we build around them. (C) Renata Salecl
A female red-winged blackbird
It was hard to get a good focus on the red-winged blackbirds amongst the tall reeds. This female had a beakful of bugs. There is likely a nest nearby. More than once a red-winged blackbird flew at me while walking the trail, but not the two birds I took a photo of.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/lifehistory
Red-winged Blackbirds eat mainly insects in the summer and seeds.
Both males and females defend nests from intruders and predators.
This lovely and colorful Vermilion Flycatcher brings joy to all the parks and green zones of the city as he jumps from branch to branch looking for flies which he captures with great expertise.
Su nombre científico Pyrocephalus rubinus se compone de las raíces griegas pyros: fuego + kephalế: cabeza y su epíteto del latín med. Rubinus: De color rubí o enrojecido. En conclusión su nombre sería: Ave con cabeza de fuego color rubí.
Orden: Passeriformes
Familia: Tyrannidae
Genero: Pyrocephalus
Nombres comunes: Titiribí Pechirrojo, Mosquero Cardenal, Papamoscas cardenalito
Nombre científico: Pyrocephalus rubinus
Nombre en ingles: Vermilion Flycatcher
Sexo: Macho
Lugar de captura: Barrio El Poblado
Región: Medellín, Colombia
Por: Carlos Iván Restrepo Jaramillo
We have a mole hill on my pride and joy lawn building mole hills….(Bottom left)…..So I decided to call in a bit of expertise help……And yes…..I guess you could say that I might have gone in over kill in the numbers…..But they assure me that they are best in mole evictions in the district……. Apparently all it takes is a few well placed Sheltie yaps in the right place…..And that’s it, job done…..And like any canny businessman (Or dog)….These are all asking for half payment up front…..Which is just fine by me, as long as they get this mole to move on before it does any more damage to my lawn….And I very much doubt the Shelties would mind if I sneak in a photo just for you dear reader whilst I have their full attention ….Click…..There, that should do it….
For my video; youtu.be/62pczjGa_dA,
North arm, of the, Fraser River,
Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Hodder Rasp,
Best seen on a large screen,
Agility, expertise,
Caly faces the office, adjusts the backpack slung over her shoulder, and
Darren drives away.
Cut to Mateo Lopez, expertly waterskiing on the lake.
Mateo: (shouts to Sienna Dane at the wheel) Take me in! (as the boat
approaches the dock, he spots Caly coming out of the office, dressed in
her park uniform) Nice!
(Staring at her, Mateo releases the drag line, allowing momentum to
carry him onto the beach. But his expertise goes unnoticed by Caly as
she is joined by Camp Director Wilson, who is apparently giving her the
orientation tour of the RV park.)
(Sienna secures the boat before walking down the short dock, stepping
over Mateo's skis to stand beside him, following his line of sight.)
Sienna: Must be the new girl.
Mateo: There's a new girl?
Sienna: Remember? Last meeting? Director Wilson said Jerry was
graduating and going to work for his dad's company.
Mateo: I have a blind spot regarding anything about Jerry.
Sienna: Because he beat your War Wolf high score?
Mateo: Because he was a boring cheater. What's her name?
(They begin strolling toward the main lodge.)
Sienna: What do I get out of it?
Mateo: You're bargaining for a name?
Sienna: I've seen her file. I can tell you more than her name.
Mateo: (looks impressed) What do you want?
Sienna: I've got kitchen clean-up duty tonight. You cover and I will
spill the tea.
Mateo: I hate clean-up.
Sienna: She's seventeen. That info's free. The rest will cost you
clean-up duty.
Mateo: Oo, nice safety. Thanks for the warning. Gentlemanly approach,
nothing freaky. Okay, I'll cover clean-up. (they enter a side door
marked, "Employees Only."
(To be continued...)
(Sienna: Bailey
Mateo: BSM)
People dismiss expertise and listen to know-nothing sweet talkers. He told me how difficult it was to reach his expert level. In just becoming a captain, he worked and apprenticed for over 720 days on a 100 ton ship. He then had to study and take a grueling test to get his captain's license. He knew the sea. He knew the ship. He knew the regulations. And man, did he know the shore and ocean contour around that lighthouse.
"That’s quite an accomplishment," I said. "But I suspect programmers and engineers are going to fully automate the piloting of ships with artificial intelligence. Soon."
"They'll still need captains," he said.
"I'm not even sure they'll need lighthouses," said I. "Think of all the land and expenses that would be saved if you could just put a cyber lighthouse on an electronic GPS map."
"What if you don't have an electronic map, or the GPS signal goes out?" queried the captain.
"Then the ship stops."
A secretive and cryptic shorebird that is wary and seldom seen. It's Old World cousin, the Common Snipe, lends its name to the term "sniper" -- denoting the expertise a marksman was required to successfully hunt this skittish and fast flying shorebird. Harns Marsh.
Leonora Veterano on Glenn Losack ( once known as the furious physician )
this was written atleast 5 years ago:
Dr. Glenn Losack is a very busy man telling the stories of the world, our world and you’re bound to listen. The seeker of truth is no way content in “just being a Doctor.” This physician, psychiatrist, photojournalist, musician, lecturer and charity worker just to name a few is on a mission and will not be stopped! A man who has many varied interests and expertise in several areas he is “The Renaissance Man.” This Brooklyn born native of a low middle class family and one of three children all born on the same day, May 7th, but different years is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore! “I am an extreme pessimist, I am furious; I think countries like India will survive because they have religion, morals, ethics and culture. The USA has none of this, we read the Ten Commandments like a comic book,” he says.
Why the “Furious Physician”? Dr. Losack is furious at the injustices in the world and sees life from a pessimistic perspective, a lot if not most of the time.
He is a man who practices what he preaches. Dr. Losack who is semi-retired from his medical practice in order to follow his passions lives a part of the year taking photographs in third world countries. Earthquakes in India, civil war in Sri Lanka, typhoons in Bangladesh, political unrest in the Dominican Republic and the 2004 Tsunami. Here in his native country, the United States he has photographed our own tragedy 9/11. In December of 2009, he heads to India to shoot festivals. He has won several awards for his photographic work, and has been published in many magazines, including National Geographic. One of his prouder moments includes one of his photos owned by Yoko Ono, the wife of Beatle John Lennon. One of his life aspirations before becoming a Doctor, he wanted to be in the Beatles. By the age of fourteen he could play every Beatles song on guitar or piano. Dr. Robi Ludwig (national commentator, bestselling author and psychotherapist) is also the proud owner of several pieces of Dr. Losack’s work. He contributes Dr. Ludwig as helping him take himself and his artistic talents seriously and encouraged him to do something legitimate about it as an artist and musical tune writer. “She has helped me immensely.”
But what makes this Doctor so unusual, extraordinary; exceptional is he allows himself to be exposed to danger in order to photograph the dark side of humanity. These countries are no country clubs where a steak and potatoes meal only requires one to place an order from a menu. His journey includes countries susceptible to nature’s wrath, man’s shortcomings and many disappointments to its native people. Dr. Losack is the advocate for all these causes. The underdog, the downtrodden, the scapegoated and the disenfranchised, he is a champion for them all in his artistry. “I shoot pain, agony, human suffering, I shoot those who have no advocates, you can see this in my work.” The pleasures, the pain, the underdog with no voice are all expressed in his work, if only you have the courage to look. He photographs as if he could touch anything without hurting the subject and leaving them with their courage and dignity intact. The Doctor shows how much he loves these people; they are clearly a part of his life. He is a man who not only seeks for knowledge and truth, but interacts it in his art. Dr. Losack depicts the human drama in parts of the world, where some are quick to be beaten but have a faith in life and love, no easy task to pursue. “People do not have a clue, not a clue what real suffering is, I find it fascinating.”
Although Dr. Losack’s art explores the dark side of humanity, they still reflect his humble love of life. He is a man who has a heart or why else would he do what he does with his subjects. “I seem to want to take care of them or let them know they are not forgotten. I want to make it palatable to look at people who are so deformed and forgotten and self hating. If people don’t run from Lepers they can help them.” Perhaps this all started with his own beginnings. His father was a truck driver and his mother was a housewife. He feels his father gave him the artistic gene which his dad was not allowed to pursue. “My father got a scholarship to Cooper Union but his pop said, No Way! I think my father’s life was rough, he couldn’t be what he wanted to be or was good at; his father took it away from him.”
Dr. Losack shows in his work that we all can be heroes, admired for our own achievements and qualities. He shows the world the people who struggle with their lives every single moment are heroes. “Every beggar, every deformed, every leper, every man and woman who walks on their hands and are blinded by their parents so they are profitable beggars are heroes. They are all worthy of that, these are my heroes.” Some have called him the “conscience of photography,” but what Dr. Losack wants is to make people see what they are afraid of. He wants them to understand that a leper is a human being and not the monster many may view them as. In these turbulent times of today the message is clear: “I want them to see that beauty can be ugly and the reverse true also!” Ladies and Gentlemen “the Doctor is in!”
As if photography isnt enough the doctor is avidly composing tunes, jingles and taking his musical chops more seriously. He has written and performed “THE THEME for Dr ROBI” which will appear on various of her venues.
hear it all evolving at
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=losackmd&aq=f
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=losackmd&aq=f
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=losackmd&aq=f
Dr. Losack’s present exhibit, presented by Salon Ciel, “His Photography, His Music” . A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit “Doctors without borders”. He will also have a photographic gallery show in India in January 2010. Details soon to come.
Asheville, North Carolina
Symmetry
Photography’s new conscience
Aston Martin DBS is a 6.0-litre V12 powered, race-bred, two-seater shaped by the aerodynamic demands of high performance, with an exquisite interior that marries beautifully hand-finished materials with the very latest in performance technology. Race-derived materials and components and Aston Martin’s unrivalled hand-build expertise makes the DBS a luxury sports car without equal.
Aston Martin DBS Specifications:
Body:
- Two-door coupe body style with 2+0 seating
- Bonded aluminium VH structure
- Aluminium, magnesium alloy and carbon-fibre composite body
- Extruded aluminium door side-impact beams
- High Intensity Discharge headlamps (dipped beam)
- Halogen projector headlamps (main beam)
- LED rear lamps and side repeaters
Engine:
- All-alloy, quad overhead camshaft, 48-valve, 5935 cc V12. Compression ratio 10.9:1
- Front-mid mounted engine, rear-wheel drive
- Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves
Projected Performance figures:
- Maximum power: 380 kW (510 bhp/517 PS) @ 6500 rpm
- Maximum torque: 570 Nm (420 lb ft) @ 5750 rpm
- Maximum speed: 307 km/h (191 mph)
- Acceleration: 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 4.3 seconds
Transmission:
- Rear-mid mounted, six-speed manual gearbox
- Alloy torque tube with carbon-fibre propeller shaft
- Limited-slip differential
- Final-drive ratio 3.71:1
Steering:
- Rack and pinion
- Servotronic speed-sensitive power-assisted steering
- 3.0 turns lock-to-lock
- Column tilt and reach adjustment
Wheels & Tyres
Wheels:
- Front: 8.5" x 20"
- Rear: 11" x 20"
Tyres:
Pirelli P Zero
- Front: 245/35
- Rear: 295/30
Suspension:
Front:
- Independent double wishbone incorporating anti-dive geometry
- Coil springs
- Anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampers
Rear:
- Independent double wishbones with anti-squat and anti-lift geometry
- Coil springs
- Anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampers
Adaptive Damping System (ADS) with Track mode
Brakes:
Front: Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 398 mm diameter with six-piston calipers
Rear: Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 360 mm diameter with four-piston calipers
Dynamic Stability control (DSC) with Track mode, including anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), emergency brake assist (EBA) and traction control.
Dimensions:
Length: 4721 mm
Width: 1905 mm excluding door mirrors, 2060 mm including door mirrors
Height: 1280 mm
Wheelbase: 2740 mm
Fuel tank capacity: 78 litres
Weight: 1695 kg
Interior:
- Semi-aniline leather and Alcantara interior
- Matrix alloy facia trim and Iridium Silver centre console finish
- Carbon-fibre door trims and door pulls
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror & garage door opener (USA and Canada only)
- Sports seats with ten-way electric adjustment, including height, tilt and lumbar adjustment
- Memory seats & exterior mirrors (three positions)
- Dual-stage driver/passenger front airbags
- Side airbags (sports seats only)
- Heated seats (sports seats only)
- Heated rear screen
- Automatic temperature control
- Organic Electroluminescent (OEL) displays
- Trip computer
- Cruise control
- Hard Disk Drive (HDD) satellite navigation system*1,2
- Bluetooth telephone preparation*1
- Powerfold exterior mirrors
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Tyre-pressure monitoring*1
- Alarm and immobiliser
- Remote-control central door locking and boot release
- Battery disconnect switch
- Battery conditioner
- Tracking device (UK only)
- Boot-mounted umbrella
*1 Not available in all markets
*2 Includes Traffic Messaging Channel (TMC) in Continental Europe
In-car entertainment:
- Aston Martin 700 W premium audio system with Dolby® Pro Logic II®
- MP3 player connectivity
Optional Equipment:
- Lightweight seats with six-way adjustment, including front and rear height adjust (Does not include side airbags or heated seats feature. Not available in USA or Canada)
- 20" alloy wheels with graphite finish
- Satellite radio system (USA only)
- Piano Black facia trim and centre console finish
- Leather storage saddle
- Personalised sill plaques
- Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror*1
- Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror with garage door opener (Europe only)
- Alarm upgrade (volumetric and tilt sensor)
- Tracking device*3
- First-aid kit
- Ashtray and cigar lighter
*1 Not available in all markets
*3 Complies with UK Thatcham Category 5 requirements. Excludes subscription. Standard in UK.
Crepuscular Glow & Skygazing in the Island of Chios ...
* "The 8323 Krimigis Asteroid" was late but I was patiently waiting ...
"And what he greatly thought,he nobody dared."
Homer,The Odyssey
*** Dedicated to Stamatios Krimigis who comes from Chios ***
* 8323 Krimigis is a main-belt asteroid discovered on October 17, 1979 and named after Dr Stamatios Krimigis.
*The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Trophy for 2015 was awarded to Stamatios M. Krimigis, who for 45 years has pioneered the exploration of our Solar System and beyond while at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.His visionary work developing new and innovative ways for NASA to explore the solar system provided the Laboratory with the opportunity to contribute engineering and science expertise to humanity’s quest to understand our Universe.
Currently, he is involved in missions to Mercury, Saturn, Pluto, the heliosphere, and participating in path-breaking contributions to understanding the transition zone to interstellar space.
www.youtube.com/watch?t=5&v=lvqtPPy6bQg
N.B. ****There is a Total Eclipse of the Moon on the night of September 27-28, 2015. It happens to be the closest Supermoon of 2015.Enjoy it if you're an ardent sky-gazer.The event will not be repeated until 2033. ... ***
♥ Many Thanks Flickr friends for your comments & faves ♥
Don't be fooled by the name—the Rabbit Trail is far from a gentle walk. Starting at Hacienda Zuleta, it ascends steeply into the mountains, reaching up to 3,140 meters above sea level. The climb can be tough in parts, but the panoramic views—expansive valleys, distant ridgelines, and the vastness of the Andean landscape—make it worthwhile.
The real adventure begins on the descent. The trail narrows and becomes slippery, especially after rain, requiring careful footing. Along the way, we passed several earth mounds built by the Caranqui culture, who inhabited this region from 700 to 1500 CE. These truncated pyramids and ceremonial platforms served rituals, residential, and astronomical purposes. Today, they are overgrown with grass, which surprisingly helps preserve them.
Eventually, we reached Cóndor Huasi, a small conservation effort aimed at protecting the Andean condor—one of the world's largest flying birds and a cultural symbol in the Andes. We met a French biologist dedicated to safeguarding these endangered birds in Ecuador. His enthusiasm and expertise brought the project to life in a personal and insightful way.
Afterward, we walked about 3 km on a cobblestone path back to the hacienda. The mostly flat route gave our legs a rest after the climb. After nearly five hours on the trail, we arrived hungry, tired, and satisfied—just in time for a late lunch.
This photo was taken along the trail, looking down into one of the steep valleys characteristic of this part of the Ecuadorian highlands. I converted it to black and white to emphasize the textures and natural lines of the landscape. Without color, the emphasis shifts to light, shape, and depth—elements often overshadowed in a more colorful scene.
All of the expertise behind Beleza Revelada did not develop overnight. Professional photographer Gina Stocco was raised in Canada and spent part of her childhood in the U.S.A. She pursued her creative passion by studying Art at Connestoga University where she developed her photography talent and graduated ready for a career with her camera. In 2001, Ms. Stocco was invited to work as a chief photographer for a leading lingerie company, Fruit de la Passion. Ms. Stocco has also worked as a photojournalist associated with Fenaj, Arfoc, International Press, and I.F.J. She has worked at Futura Press, Folha de Sao Paulo, Comercio Jornal and lately works for …….
Despite his lack of practical farm expertise, William Johnston (1848-1885) was the "founder" of the Ontario Agricultural College and its Principal from 1876-1879. It was his vision that led to the creation of a three-year degree program, affiliated with the University of Toronto, which began in 1887 and continued until 1964. Johnston Hall, built in 1932 as a student residence and administrative offices, is now one of the University's most recognized buildings.
Johnston Hall's stone tower is the University of Guelph's best-known landmark, and its spacious front lawn one of the most loved spots on campus. Administrative offices fill the lower floor, while 315 students live on the top three floors in large double and triple rooms. Built in 1932, Johnston Hall's traditional architecture and its spacious tower lounge make it a favorite with many students.
Zutphen. Stationsplein. Gratis bewaakte fietsenstalling in twee lagen. Deze foto is beschikbaar gesteld door het kenniscentrum voor fietsbeleid: www.fietsberaad.nl. This photograph has been made available by the centre of expertise on bicycle policy: www.bicyclecouncil.org. [P7110061_fb]
Despite his lack of practical farm expertise, William Johnston (1848-1885) was the "founder" of the Ontario Agricultural College and its Principal from 1876-1879. It was his vision that led to the creation of a three-year degree program, affiliated with the University of Toronto, which began in 1887 and continued until 1964. Johnston Hall, built in 1932 as a student residence and administrative offices, is now one of the University's most recognized buildings.
Johnston Hall's stone tower is the University of Guelph's best-known landmark, and its spacious front lawn one of the most loved spots on campus. Administrative offices fill the lower floor, while 315 students live on the top three floors in large double and triple rooms. Built in 1932, Johnston Hall's traditional architecture and its spacious tower lounge make it a favorite with many students. 2
Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo Lineautus) ~ Hillsborough County, Florida
A perennial favorite of mine to run into, these silent hunters glide with great expertise under the canopy - and more often then not taking me (and the prey) by surprise. I suppose that is the point.
Thanks for visiting!
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Horace wanted us to take him to explore a location he had googled so he could check out if it would be a suitable bungee jump venue.
You may ask where was Hoof, well following Lewis Hamiltons failure to clinch the formula one world championship last weekend due to a bit of a botched pit stop strategy, Toto Wolff (owner of Lewis’s team) called him up to fly out to Mexico so that Hoof could input his technical expertise and get this job sorted.
Hoof comes from a very distinguished background in motor sport think of the Ferrari Badge and what do you see, yes the prancing horse and the initials S F.
The horse is actually Hoof, and as Hoof is rather shy he did not want his name emblazoned on the side of the badge, he was happy with just S F meaning Shy, and the last letter of his name being the F. If you don’t believe me look on the badge of a Ferrari.
Back to Horace he was very impressed with this as a possible jump site, but was worried about dinosaurs muscling in on the act as this is part of the Jurrassic coast, can’t be to careful these days, call security. So it is back to Cornwall.
Thank you for looking, as always your comments and views are so appreciated.
Go Lewis, bring it home, Vroom vroom🐎🐷🏆😎😂😂
Brockholes is a new kind of nature reserve, an unreserved reserve owned and managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.
There's lots to see and do at Brockholes, you can hunt out our floating Visitor Village with a restaurant, shops and Welcome Centre or explore our family-friendly hides, walking trails and play area.
At Brockholes you can explore our beautiful reserve, see the wildlife that call it ‘home’ or hunt out our Visitor Village with restaurant and shops, all of which float (yes really!) on one of our lakes.
Our floating Visitor Village features a gift shop and a restaurant providing stunning views across the lake. You can also discover our interactive Welcome Centre and learn all about the wildlife that you could see on-site. Be sure to call in to pick up a welcome leaflet that will help you plan your day. You can view the reserve map in our Welcome Leaflet here to help you plan your first visit.
2013/14 Opening Times:
4th November 2013 to 31 March 2014 10am-4pm
1st April 2014 to 31st October 2014 10am-5pm
Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day only
Car Park Charges
We don't charge for entry and any profits made here go back into looking after the reserve. So every time you pay for parking, treat yourself in the shop or enjoy some lunch, you are helping look after the reserve and the wildlife that visits us!
Sorry no dogs allowed!
There is a good reason! Dogs can disturb wildlife, especially nesting birds. If your dog was to get too close to a nesting bird it would cause the mother to leave the nest. So to avoid any accidents we ask that you don’t bring your dog. (Assistance dogs are welcome.)
Explore the reserve
Brockholes is one of the best sites in the UK for many species of bird and has one of the largest strips of ancient woodland in the county. You can take a stroll by the River Ribble, explore our woods or enjoy the lakes on site, which have all been specially designed to attract all kinds of wildlife for you to see!
Walks around Brockholes
What can I see at Brockholes?
Read about the happy habitats we've been working hard to create at Brockholes.
Watch out!
The Visitor Village floats on water and there are lots of areas of open water on the reserve. Take care in these areas and keep an eye on any children with you. The following activities are not allowed on the reserve:
Barbecues and fires
Fishing
Swimming
Please do not feed the birds
Big gulls know it’s much easier to find food when we leave it lying around rather than finding their own lunch. Here at Brockholes we have lots of species breeding with us, little ringed and ringed plover, lapwing, oystercatcher and redshank. Unfortunately the big gulls will eat the chicks of these special birds so if we feed the gulls and encourage them to stay there is a big chance that they will eat our important chicks, so please do not feed the birds and take your leftover picnic away with you.
www.brockholes.org/our-journey
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has been working on developing Brockholes for nearly 20 years, here is an overview of our journey.
1992 Lancashire Wildlife Trust first contests the quarrying of Brockholes.
27 November 2006 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has four weeks to raise £50,000 to buy the Brockholes site, near Preston, and protect it from development. Brockholes sits next to J31 of the M6 and is the size of 120 football pitches.
15 January 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust makes the biggest land purchase in its history - thanks to donations from Wildlife Trust members, and an investment of £800,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) under the Newlands scheme. The project to buy and develop Brockholes is also supported by The Tubney Charitable Trust.
3 May 2007 Ian Selby is appointed as Brockholes project manager. Ian has 20 years' experience of managing the North West's canal network for British Waterways, followed by environmental regeneration work. Sophie Leadsom, Brockholes' new reserve manager, has worked in conservation for 14 years.
July 2007 The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the launch of a new open competition to design new visitor facilities.
5 October 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the shortlist for the new multi-million pound visitor centre. 61 architects from all over Europe submitted designs. The five were Adam Khan Architects, Arca, Architecture 2B, AY Architects, McDowell + Benedetti.
25 February 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) and partners announce the winner of its competition to design a visitor facility. Adam Khan Architects was selected for its inspirational design concept: "A Floating World". Designed as a cluster of buildings constructed largely of wood and other sustainable materials, it resembles an ancient marshland village.
April 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the completion of its first phase of preparatory work, including the restoration of the wetlands, creation of ponds, seeding of meadows, planting new hedgerows and trees, making access paths and building proper bird watching hides.
March 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust secured £8million of funding from the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The investment was made under ‘Newlands’, a NWDA and Forestry Commission programme that is regenerating brownfield land across the Northwest into economically viable community woodland.
Summer 2009 Volunteers gave us 134 hours of their time to help propagate our own reed seedlings on-site. We ended up with 20,000 new redd seedlings ready to plant out around our new visitor centre, creating two hecatres of brand new reedbed.
August 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust were granted detailed planning permission for the site.
December 2009 Contractors first day of work as they begin to construct the iconic floating visitors centre. Press conference being held with a ‘cutting of the first sod’
November 2010 A herd of longhorn cattle move into Brockholes to graze the reserve.
December 2010 BBC Countryfile fronted by Julia Bradbury visit Brockholes to film a feature that airs in January 2011.
March 2011 Brockholes makes history as the Visitor Village is floated for the first time.
Easter Sunday 2011 Brockholes opens its doors to the public for the first time!
www.brockholes.org/happy-habitats-brockholes
Happy habitats at Brockholes
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust are using their expertise to create habitats that will encourage lots of different species to visit the site, read more about the work we are doing on the reserve...
Number 1 Pit
Uniform and steep, the edges around the original gravel pit used to look very different. The island looked different too – an egg-shaped piece of land sticking out of the water by three metres. These land profiles weren’t great for the bird species and aquatic invertebrates we wanted to attract. So, with bulldozer and digger we pushed earth into the lake to create shallow, underwater ledges and peninsulas where birds can roost and feed, safe from predators. Diving ducks, such as Great Crested Grebe, now hunt for fish in the deep water.
Nook Pool
The edge of this pool has been planted with reed to create places for small fish and aquatic invertebrates like dragonfly larvae to hide and grow, away from predator fish. The shelter provided by the vegetation provides an ideal hunting ground for lots of species of dragonfly including the impressive Brown Hawker and Emperor Dragonfly.
Meadow Lake
This shallow lake is great for bird watching: when the water level is down, wading birds feed on small invertebrates in the exposed mud. This lake has some of the richest water plant life in and around it, including White Water Lily and Cuckooflower. The reed fringes are becoming well established and hold some of the largest populations of birds on site. The islands provide safe roosting and breeding areas, we keep the vegetation short so the birds can watch out for predators.
Boilton Marsh
This area is part of our newly created wet grassland habitat. We remodelled 17,000 cubic metres of quarry spoil to create 10 hectares of wet grassland with nearly 2km of channels and five pools. This is the ideal habitat for breeding wading birds such as Lapwing, Redshank and Snipe. We now graze traditional breeds of cattle and sheep that thrive on the coarse grasses and rushes and provide the low grassland sward that encourages wading birds to nest.
The channels and pools are kept topped up by using a high-level reservoir, filled from Number One Pit by way of a solar pump.
Woodland
Brockholes is fringed by the ancient woodland of Boilton, Red Scar and Tunbrook Woods. Woodland has grown here for thousands of years and developed a very rich variety of wildlife. Looking after our trees and paths will help the woodland to thrive and enable you to see the wildlife safely.
Reedbeds
Reedbeds are home to Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings and Water Rail. We protect the new reed from grazing birds like Coot, Mute Swan and Canada Goose, by erecting chicken wire fences and baling string barriers. It will take several years before our lak fringes start to look like reedbeds. You might notice that the Visitor Village has been nestled in reedbed. This helps it to blend into the reserve and allows you to hear the song and chatter of the birds that nest there.
www.brockholes.org/brockholes-partners-and-funders
Brockholes partners and funders
For the past ten years, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside have been working to secure this site of national environmental importance, and restore habitats to their full potential.
The £8.6 million of regeneration funding was provided for the Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Reserve project has been granted under 'Newlands' - a £59 million, Northwest Regional Development Agency and Forestry Commission programme to transform brownfield land into durable community woodland, which act as catalysts for economic, social and environmental gain.
The Lancashire Environmental Fund awarded £446,000 for the development of the education facilities, hides and infrastructure on the site. Tubney Charitable Trust granted £350,000 for Biodiversity and Natural England DEFRA's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund awarded circa. £300,000. The Environment Agency granted £50,000 for the continued development of Brockholes.
The support of these funders helped make Brockholes a reality, as did the amazing support from our public appeal, which raised an amazing £63,000 - the most successful public appeal the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has ever run!
Volunteering at Brockholes
Around 200 volunteers have now been recruited, inducted and trained to begin volunteering at Brockholes, so we offer an enormous thank you to all who are helping it make such a big impact on our visitors... Volunteers truly are the face of Brockholes.
There are currently some exciting opportunities to be had volunteering here at Brockholes. Please have a look below at roles (you can click on the titles to download a full role description) which might suit you and click here to register, mentioning Brockholes and the role on the form.
Seasonal Activities Volunteer
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
Running throughout all school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
The Seasonal Activities Volunteer role is ideal for friendly, outgoing people who want to utilise their creative skills and help visitors – in particular children – enjoy the reserve. You will work alongside other volunteers to plan and deliver a variety of activities including pond dipping, guided walks, bird watching. The role will also include assisting with larger events such as our Extreme Adventure Weekend and Craft Fayres. Support will be given to you by the Events & Communications Manager.
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
For full details on the role and what it entails, click here.
Seasonal Retail & Visitor Services
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
As a volunteer for Retail & Visitor Services you will provide a warm welcome for visitors, helping to ensure that their Brockholes experience is a positive one. You will help visitors by providing them with information about products on sale in our gift stores and help them plan their visit by telling them about the various events and activities we have on offer.
The role suits a friendly, outgoing person who has an interest in wildlife and conservation.
Running throughout the school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
Each volunteer will be required to undergo a minimum of 1 and a half days training before they start. If you’d like to find out more or ask questions about any of these roles do not hesitate to get in touch with Catherine Haddon, Volunteering Support Officer on 01772 324 129 or email volunteer@lancswt.org.uk
Awards
Brockholes has scooped many high profile awards since opening in April 2011:
2013 Lancashire Tourism Award for Best Conference/Meeting venue
VisitEngland's Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) 'Excellent'
Green Tourism Gold Award
Customer at the Heart Award
Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards 'Marketing Campaign of the Year'
National Wood Award
BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ for the interim design stage
Chartered Institute of Building Services – Building of the Year 2011
Civic Trust Award
Civic Trust Special Award for Sustainability
Highly Commended in portfolio of Newlands sites in Landscape Awards
CIWEM Living Wetlands award
Greenbuilds award
Green Apple Awards for the Visitor Centre
Sustainable Project of the year – 2012 Building Awards
RICS North West – Overall award
RICS North West – Tourism and Leisure
RICS NW – Design & Innovation
RIBA North West Building of the Year
RIBA North West Sustainability Award
RIBA Award for top 50 new buildings in the UK
Brockholes is an award winning-venue, which floats on one of our lakes - the only one of its kind in the UK.
Combine this unique design with access straight off the M6, a beautiful nature reserve, ample parking and on site catering, and you have found yourself the perfect venue for your next event. View our Conference Brochure here.
We think Brockholes is the natural place to do business, our dedicated centre can cater for 50 to 130 delegates.
We have a choice of two conference rooms and a reception/break-out area.
www.brockholes.org/conference-packages
At Brockholes we want you to be in control of your event as much as possible. This is why we have created these basic packages, enabling you to tweak each element to build an individual event.
Alternatively, we can cater to your specific requests if you require half day, early morning or evening hire.
Here is an overview of our conference packages, please contact us for a quote.
Our Conference brochure can be viewed in digi-book format here.
Day Delegate Package
Private room hire from 9am - 5pm
Tea and coffee served on arrival with bacon rolls
Mineral water for each guest
Tea and coffee served mid-morning
Buffet lunch served with tea, coffee and fresh fruit platter
Tea, coffee and biscuits served mid-afternoon
Use of a flip chart, screen and projector
Recycled pen and notepad for each delegate
Dedicated co-ordinator to assist you throughout the planning to delivery of your meeting
24 Hour Delegate Package
All of the above plus;
Three course dinner
Full breakfast
Accommodation in a standard bedroom at our recommended accommodation supplier
Accommodation
Preferential rates are available on request from a local hotel when booking through the Brockholes Sales Team.
We can tailor our packages to suit your needs. Make the UK's first floating venue your next choice
Please contact us for more information or to arrange a meeting or showround with our Conference Sales Co-ordinator
Call us on 01772 872005 or enter your details below and we will contact you to discuss your requirements.
www.brockholes.org/sponsorship-opportunities
Sponsorship Opportunities
Brockholes is an award winning nature reserve owned and manages by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, which was opened in 2011. The 250 acre reserve is already attracting record numbers of breeding birds and around 170,000 visitors each year. Brockholes runs a wide range of events throughout the year and has a particularly strong offer for families. Events include wild families, school holiday clubs, school and community group visits, self led trails and larger festivals during the summer holidays.
The key marketing campaigns run targeting families include Christmas, Summer and Easter. Each campaign targets a series of family focused publications across the North West, with a monthly average reach online of over 40,000 people through the website and social media. Advertising and direct marketing campaigns have an average reach of 70% of the total North West population.
Sponsorship and Partnership Opportunities
Summer at Brockholes sees a host of family events each year, from school holiday clubs to open air theatre, guided walks to family fun. Over the Summer period, Brockholes expects to welcome over 60,000 visitors. The marketing campaign is multi channel and will reach a wide audience of families across the North West. Brockholes has also been featured in the National Press for some of the unique events run. We have some new opportunities for sponsorship and partnership, which will allow your business to raise brand awareness and fulfill part of your Corporate Social Responsibility by supporting Brockholes and The Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
Summer at Brockholes Headline Sponsorship £4500
Expose your brand to thousands of families across the North West.
- Logo on all Summer promotional material
- Inclusion in all four of the Summer e-news and Lancashire Wildlife Trust e-news
- Sponsor Feature on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
- Temporary use of Brockholes logo on promotional material directly related to the partnership
Wild Families Sponsorship £4000 per year
Our Wild Families events are always fully booked. With themes ranging from scarecrow hunts to nature detectives, each event provides quality family time for family members of all ages. Events are run throughout school holidays.
-Logo on marketing materials for Wild Families
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity
-Inclusion in Brockholes e-news
Seasonal Trail Sponsorship £500 per trail
Each visitor to Brockholes can collect their free seasonal trail on arrival. The trail helps visitors to explore the reserve, learn more about what to see and how the reserve changes with the season and challenges them to spot things.
-Logo on sponsorship trail
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity around the trail
Half term at Brockholes £1500
-Logo on all marketing materials
-Inclusion in launch PR
-Social media promotion
Annual Headline Sponsorship £10,000
- Logo inclusion on all Promotional Material
- Dedicated web page on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Dedicated stand area on key event days
- Promotion through Brockholes and LWT e-news, member magazine
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
-Discounted delegate rate on our conference facilities
Children's Corner £500
Would you like to help brighten up the children's corner in our restuarant for our younger visitors?
-Inclusion in PR activity
-Recognition in the children's area
-Inclusion in activity to our database promoting the new area
To talk to us more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Ruth Gaskell rgaskell@lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129.
www.brockholes.org/commercial-opportunities
Commercial Opportunities
Make Brockholes your business
Businesses are being offered an opportunity to become partners in a North West tourism and wildlife success story.
Brockholes nature reserve is entering the second phase of development which will provide commercial opportunities for other businesses and boost local employment.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust attraction attracted 185,000 people to its nature reserve and the first ever floating visitor village in the UK, last year. It is looking to top that visitor figure this year.
Just off the M6 at Preston and easily accessible from anywhere in the UK, Brockholes has received more than 30 regional and national awards despite only opening in 2011. Visitors continue to pour in despite the reserve being surrounded by the attractions of Manchester, Blackpool and Liverpool.
The business has shown year-on-year growth and, as a result, is seeking commercial partners for the next phase of development.
Anne Selby, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trust said “Brockholes has performed incredibly well despite being launched in a recession. We have steered the business through the stormy weather and achieved fantastic results.
“We are now looking to move into the next phase of development. As a conservation charity, we want to ensure our focus remains on the nature conservation of the reserve, whilst ensuring the commercial income supports this work. We are looking for expressions of interest at this stage and asking businesses to be creative with their proposals.”
The Visitor Village has a restaurant, shops, conference centre, welcome centre and education centre. Major companies have made use of the conference centre including RBS and Aldi. The surrounding nature reserve is continuing to grow, with an increasing population of resident creatures and rare visitors like red kite, bittern and otter.
Anne continued: “Brockholes received funding for the initial start up and development phases but it was always designed to be a self-sustaining model. By making the most of the commercial opportunities and keeping these balanced carefully with the needs of nature, we believe we can continue to success of Brockholes into the future and achieve even more fantastic results for wildlife, our wide range of visitors and the tourism economy”.
Opportunities include retail, water sports (non-motorised), indoor play provision, events partners and mobile food concessions. However, the Trust is open to hear if any investors would wish to develop sympathetic commercial facilities on the site.
An opportunity information pack is available by request from:
Karen Williams Karen.Williams@brockholes.org
Expressions of interest should initially be made to
Lindsey Poole, Commercial Development Manager lpoole@lancswt.org.uk
Group Visits
Whether it’s a full day out or just a quick stop off on the way to your destination, Brockholes is the ideal place for groups to visit.
There's so much for all ages to see and learn about at Brockholes. Everyone from toddlers to seniors will find something to fascinate them, whether through our exciting range of organised events, or by just wandering around the site.
We are passionately committed to lifelong learning for all – our belief is that everyone should leave knowing something they didn't when they arrived! The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has over a decade of experience in delivering environmental education, so you can relax, enjoy the surroundings and be sure to come away both enchanted and enlightened...
We have several options for various groups, each with a variety of benefits. For more information click on the relevant link below…
Coach Groups
School Groups
Community Groups
To enquire about group visits please call 01772 872000 or email info@brockholes.org. Or leave your details on the form below and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Coach Groups
Situated next to Junction 31 on the M6, we are the ideal stop for coach trips, whether it is for a short stop, as a green motorway services, or as part of a full day visit.
Free entry for coaches and convenient coach drop-off point
We have a variety of walking trails for your group to explore, ranging from half an hour to 2 hours in length.
We have our floating visitor village that features a stunning waterside restaurant, 2 unique gift shops and a welcome centre with exhibits, which are ideal should your guests decide for something less active (or if the weather lets you down)!
All our buildings are fully accessible, while the vast majority of our paths are well surfaced, level and suitable for wheelchairs.
We now have a more convenient drop-off point exclusively for coaches and in addition have a number of benefits for coach groups:
• Free entry to the reserve and visitor centre
• Free coach parking
• Refreshment voucher for the coach driver
• Free familiarisation visit for group organisers
• Free meet and greet at the coach (on request)
• Free Brockholes welcome leaflet and trail guide
• Free events and activities throughout the year (visit our events calendar for details)
• Free play area
• Pre-booked guided tours (available at an extra charge)
• Adapted toilets available at the visitor centre
Please note that there is a 4 metre high bridge on the entrance to Brockholes. We also advise all coaches to let us know of their visit in advance by calling us on 01772 872000.
For any further information please just call 01772 872000, email info@brockholes.org
School Groups
Our 250 acre nature reserve and Visitor Village is a great place for school groups to visit. Children can learn about the geological history and how the quarrying has shaped the land today. And because we are a new nature reserve, you can watch it grow! It is also home to the UK's first floating Visitor Village.
Most importantly of all, the children will be able to see that Brockholes is home to a host of wildlife, with many different species of bird popping by throughout the year, along with brown hare, dragonfly and deer to name a few!
Facilities
Your school will have use of the education centre on our floating visitor village and you will have at least one Education Officer dedicated to your group throughout the day.
Plus... NEW FOR 2014!
Next year your school will be able to get even closer to nature at Brockholes by booking an education session in our new purpose-built bird hide classroom, right on the edge of the lake!
The hide will overlook No 1 Pit Lake which is home to many different species of birds and you'll also be able to look across to the new sand martin wall, which will provide valuable breeding habitat when they arrive in spring.
Why not your details below if you'd like us to keep to informed of these exciting new developments!
Programmes
We offer a wide range of programmes including:
Big Adventure in a Miniature World
Life Cycles
Migration and Hibernation
Environmental Art
Geography and Geology
Forest School
You can read more about the education programmes available at Brockholes here.
Education Team
Our Education Team are based at Brockholes and have a huge amount of experience in inspiring young people about the natural world. They are a lively bunch and pride themselves on creating an exciting and memorable experience for your school. You can read about how great our team is here: Meet the Education Team.
Outreach
Can't get to us? Then we can come to you! Our outreach education programme is very popular and offers a wide range of programmes for those who are unable to reach Brockholes.You can view our Outreach Programmes here.
For any information just call us on 01772 872000 for more information, email eduadmin@lancswt.org.uk
Community Groups
Brockholes is a great place to bring your community group, whether it's the Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies or Beavers or a rambling or photography group, there is something for everyone!
As well as exploring our stunning nature reserve you can enjoy an activity such as a guided walk, a mini-beast hunt or an environmental art session.
You can visit Brockholes during the day or we have special community group evenings when the reserve is open beyond our usual opening hours. Group activities usually take place between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.
Forest Schools
Forest Schools is a unique outdoor learning experience that improves children's self-esteem, confidence and abilities.
Brockholes provides an inspirational setting for Forest Schools sessions and training, and is conveniently located just off junction 31 of the M6 at Preston.
Our Forest School sessions are designed and delivered by our experienced and fully qualified Education Team including our Level 3 Trained Forest Schools Practioner.
Our next Forest Schools adult training session will be running in October. To find out more about Forest School sessions at Brockholes please call 01772 872017 or email kphillips@lancswt.org.uk
Shop til you flock
Why not drop into our two on-site shops, The Nest and Village Store, which are packed with all sorts of goodies. We've a variety of products from local beverages and food, to cards and books and crafts and jewellery. They are the perfect place to pick up a unique gift... and there's plenty of treats for the little ones too!
The Nest
The Nest is home to an inspiring collection of gifts, jewellery, books, toys, arts & crafts. Discover what's inside The Nest here.
The Village Store
The Village Store stocks a wide range of products, from locally sourced food and drink treats to bird food, garden accessories and wildlife books. Come and look inside here.
Membership of the Wildlife Trust
Brockholes is a Lancashire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. You can become a member today or talk to our friendly staff members and volunteers on your next visit to Brockholes. Gift membership is available in The Nest or you can buy it online here.
Our restaurant is the perfect place to stop and watch the world go by with panoramic views of our lake. Scrumptious homemade dishes and a taste bud tingling selection of Lancashire's finest local produce are all here to tempt you, along with fair trade tea and coffee.
Our restaurant is open from 10am to 5pm.
www.brockholes.org/very-special-occasions
Brockholes is a fantastic place for your very special occasions.
Our floating venue is one of the newest and most unique in Lancashire and promises you and your guests an unforgetable event whatever the occasion.
We have a dedicated function centre that can accomodate weddings, christenings and all sort of functions.
The clean, contemporary finish of our venue means that you have the perfect opportunity to put your own stamp on your event, with a flexible range of catering available from our on-site restaurant.
We have a dedicated Conference and Events Co-ordinator that will be available to help you plan your special occasion.
Very Special Weddings
We had our first wedding celebration September 2011 and since then it's been all go with Wedding Fayres and lots more bookings for this year and next. Find out more about weddings at Brockholes here.
Very Special Christenings
Brockholes is a real family friendly venue for a Christening celebration that you will remember for years to come. Find out more here.
For general enquiries about holding a function at Brockholes please call 01772 872005 or email philip.dunn@brockholes.org.
Brockholes is a new kind of nature reserve, an unreserved reserve owned and managed by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.
There's lots to see and do at Brockholes, you can hunt out our floating Visitor Village with a restaurant, shops and Welcome Centre or explore our family-friendly hides, walking trails and play area.
At Brockholes you can explore our beautiful reserve, see the wildlife that call it ‘home’ or hunt out our Visitor Village with restaurant and shops, all of which float (yes really!) on one of our lakes.
Our floating Visitor Village features a gift shop and a restaurant providing stunning views across the lake. You can also discover our interactive Welcome Centre and learn all about the wildlife that you could see on-site. Be sure to call in to pick up a welcome leaflet that will help you plan your day. You can view the reserve map in our Welcome Leaflet here to help you plan your first visit.
2013/14 Opening Times:
4th November 2013 to 31 March 2014 10am-4pm
1st April 2014 to 31st October 2014 10am-5pm
Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day only
Car Park Charges
We don't charge for entry and any profits made here go back into looking after the reserve. So every time you pay for parking, treat yourself in the shop or enjoy some lunch, you are helping look after the reserve and the wildlife that visits us!
Sorry no dogs allowed!
There is a good reason! Dogs can disturb wildlife, especially nesting birds. If your dog was to get too close to a nesting bird it would cause the mother to leave the nest. So to avoid any accidents we ask that you don’t bring your dog. (Assistance dogs are welcome.)
Explore the reserve
Brockholes is one of the best sites in the UK for many species of bird and has one of the largest strips of ancient woodland in the county. You can take a stroll by the River Ribble, explore our woods or enjoy the lakes on site, which have all been specially designed to attract all kinds of wildlife for you to see!
Walks around Brockholes
What can I see at Brockholes?
Read about the happy habitats we've been working hard to create at Brockholes.
Watch out!
The Visitor Village floats on water and there are lots of areas of open water on the reserve. Take care in these areas and keep an eye on any children with you. The following activities are not allowed on the reserve:
Barbecues and fires
Fishing
Swimming
Please do not feed the birds
Big gulls know it’s much easier to find food when we leave it lying around rather than finding their own lunch. Here at Brockholes we have lots of species breeding with us, little ringed and ringed plover, lapwing, oystercatcher and redshank. Unfortunately the big gulls will eat the chicks of these special birds so if we feed the gulls and encourage them to stay there is a big chance that they will eat our important chicks, so please do not feed the birds and take your leftover picnic away with you.
www.brockholes.org/our-journey
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has been working on developing Brockholes for nearly 20 years, here is an overview of our journey.
1992 Lancashire Wildlife Trust first contests the quarrying of Brockholes.
27 November 2006 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has four weeks to raise £50,000 to buy the Brockholes site, near Preston, and protect it from development. Brockholes sits next to J31 of the M6 and is the size of 120 football pitches.
15 January 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust makes the biggest land purchase in its history - thanks to donations from Wildlife Trust members, and an investment of £800,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) under the Newlands scheme. The project to buy and develop Brockholes is also supported by The Tubney Charitable Trust.
3 May 2007 Ian Selby is appointed as Brockholes project manager. Ian has 20 years' experience of managing the North West's canal network for British Waterways, followed by environmental regeneration work. Sophie Leadsom, Brockholes' new reserve manager, has worked in conservation for 14 years.
July 2007 The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the launch of a new open competition to design new visitor facilities.
5 October 2007 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the shortlist for the new multi-million pound visitor centre. 61 architects from all over Europe submitted designs. The five were Adam Khan Architects, Arca, Architecture 2B, AY Architects, McDowell + Benedetti.
25 February 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) and partners announce the winner of its competition to design a visitor facility. Adam Khan Architects was selected for its inspirational design concept: "A Floating World". Designed as a cluster of buildings constructed largely of wood and other sustainable materials, it resembles an ancient marshland village.
April 2008 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust announced the completion of its first phase of preparatory work, including the restoration of the wetlands, creation of ponds, seeding of meadows, planting new hedgerows and trees, making access paths and building proper bird watching hides.
March 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust secured £8million of funding from the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The investment was made under ‘Newlands’, a NWDA and Forestry Commission programme that is regenerating brownfield land across the Northwest into economically viable community woodland.
Summer 2009 Volunteers gave us 134 hours of their time to help propagate our own reed seedlings on-site. We ended up with 20,000 new redd seedlings ready to plant out around our new visitor centre, creating two hecatres of brand new reedbed.
August 2009 The Lancashire Wildlife Trust were granted detailed planning permission for the site.
December 2009 Contractors first day of work as they begin to construct the iconic floating visitors centre. Press conference being held with a ‘cutting of the first sod’
November 2010 A herd of longhorn cattle move into Brockholes to graze the reserve.
December 2010 BBC Countryfile fronted by Julia Bradbury visit Brockholes to film a feature that airs in January 2011.
March 2011 Brockholes makes history as the Visitor Village is floated for the first time.
Easter Sunday 2011 Brockholes opens its doors to the public for the first time!
www.brockholes.org/happy-habitats-brockholes
Happy habitats at Brockholes
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust are using their expertise to create habitats that will encourage lots of different species to visit the site, read more about the work we are doing on the reserve...
Number 1 Pit
Uniform and steep, the edges around the original gravel pit used to look very different. The island looked different too – an egg-shaped piece of land sticking out of the water by three metres. These land profiles weren’t great for the bird species and aquatic invertebrates we wanted to attract. So, with bulldozer and digger we pushed earth into the lake to create shallow, underwater ledges and peninsulas where birds can roost and feed, safe from predators. Diving ducks, such as Great Crested Grebe, now hunt for fish in the deep water.
Nook Pool
The edge of this pool has been planted with reed to create places for small fish and aquatic invertebrates like dragonfly larvae to hide and grow, away from predator fish. The shelter provided by the vegetation provides an ideal hunting ground for lots of species of dragonfly including the impressive Brown Hawker and Emperor Dragonfly.
Meadow Lake
This shallow lake is great for bird watching: when the water level is down, wading birds feed on small invertebrates in the exposed mud. This lake has some of the richest water plant life in and around it, including White Water Lily and Cuckooflower. The reed fringes are becoming well established and hold some of the largest populations of birds on site. The islands provide safe roosting and breeding areas, we keep the vegetation short so the birds can watch out for predators.
Boilton Marsh
This area is part of our newly created wet grassland habitat. We remodelled 17,000 cubic metres of quarry spoil to create 10 hectares of wet grassland with nearly 2km of channels and five pools. This is the ideal habitat for breeding wading birds such as Lapwing, Redshank and Snipe. We now graze traditional breeds of cattle and sheep that thrive on the coarse grasses and rushes and provide the low grassland sward that encourages wading birds to nest.
The channels and pools are kept topped up by using a high-level reservoir, filled from Number One Pit by way of a solar pump.
Woodland
Brockholes is fringed by the ancient woodland of Boilton, Red Scar and Tunbrook Woods. Woodland has grown here for thousands of years and developed a very rich variety of wildlife. Looking after our trees and paths will help the woodland to thrive and enable you to see the wildlife safely.
Reedbeds
Reedbeds are home to Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings and Water Rail. We protect the new reed from grazing birds like Coot, Mute Swan and Canada Goose, by erecting chicken wire fences and baling string barriers. It will take several years before our lak fringes start to look like reedbeds. You might notice that the Visitor Village has been nestled in reedbed. This helps it to blend into the reserve and allows you to hear the song and chatter of the birds that nest there.
www.brockholes.org/brockholes-partners-and-funders
Brockholes partners and funders
For the past ten years, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside have been working to secure this site of national environmental importance, and restore habitats to their full potential.
The £8.6 million of regeneration funding was provided for the Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Reserve project has been granted under 'Newlands' - a £59 million, Northwest Regional Development Agency and Forestry Commission programme to transform brownfield land into durable community woodland, which act as catalysts for economic, social and environmental gain.
The Lancashire Environmental Fund awarded £446,000 for the development of the education facilities, hides and infrastructure on the site. Tubney Charitable Trust granted £350,000 for Biodiversity and Natural England DEFRA's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund awarded circa. £300,000. The Environment Agency granted £50,000 for the continued development of Brockholes.
The support of these funders helped make Brockholes a reality, as did the amazing support from our public appeal, which raised an amazing £63,000 - the most successful public appeal the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has ever run!
Volunteering at Brockholes
Around 200 volunteers have now been recruited, inducted and trained to begin volunteering at Brockholes, so we offer an enormous thank you to all who are helping it make such a big impact on our visitors... Volunteers truly are the face of Brockholes.
There are currently some exciting opportunities to be had volunteering here at Brockholes. Please have a look below at roles (you can click on the titles to download a full role description) which might suit you and click here to register, mentioning Brockholes and the role on the form.
Seasonal Activities Volunteer
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
Running throughout all school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
The Seasonal Activities Volunteer role is ideal for friendly, outgoing people who want to utilise their creative skills and help visitors – in particular children – enjoy the reserve. You will work alongside other volunteers to plan and deliver a variety of activities including pond dipping, guided walks, bird watching. The role will also include assisting with larger events such as our Extreme Adventure Weekend and Craft Fayres. Support will be given to you by the Events & Communications Manager.
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
For full details on the role and what it entails, click here.
Seasonal Retail & Visitor Services
Our seasonal activities program is the ideal opportunity for young people aged 16-23 to get involved here at Brockholes.
As a volunteer for Retail & Visitor Services you will provide a warm welcome for visitors, helping to ensure that their Brockholes experience is a positive one. You will help visitors by providing them with information about products on sale in our gift stores and help them plan their visit by telling them about the various events and activities we have on offer.
The role suits a friendly, outgoing person who has an interest in wildlife and conservation.
Running throughout the school holiday periods, you are expected to volunteer for 7 hours per week (normally one full day).
This placement is perfect for those undertaking various award schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, as over the course of the summer you have the opportunity to gain upto 50 volunteering hours.
Each volunteer will be required to undergo a minimum of 1 and a half days training before they start. If you’d like to find out more or ask questions about any of these roles do not hesitate to get in touch with Catherine Haddon, Volunteering Support Officer on 01772 324 129 or email volunteer@lancswt.org.uk
Awards
Brockholes has scooped many high profile awards since opening in April 2011:
2013 Lancashire Tourism Award for Best Conference/Meeting venue
VisitEngland's Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) 'Excellent'
Green Tourism Gold Award
Customer at the Heart Award
Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards 'Marketing Campaign of the Year'
National Wood Award
BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ for the interim design stage
Chartered Institute of Building Services – Building of the Year 2011
Civic Trust Award
Civic Trust Special Award for Sustainability
Highly Commended in portfolio of Newlands sites in Landscape Awards
CIWEM Living Wetlands award
Greenbuilds award
Green Apple Awards for the Visitor Centre
Sustainable Project of the year – 2012 Building Awards
RICS North West – Overall award
RICS North West – Tourism and Leisure
RICS NW – Design & Innovation
RIBA North West Building of the Year
RIBA North West Sustainability Award
RIBA Award for top 50 new buildings in the UK
Brockholes is an award winning-venue, which floats on one of our lakes - the only one of its kind in the UK.
Combine this unique design with access straight off the M6, a beautiful nature reserve, ample parking and on site catering, and you have found yourself the perfect venue for your next event. View our Conference Brochure here.
We think Brockholes is the natural place to do business, our dedicated centre can cater for 50 to 130 delegates.
We have a choice of two conference rooms and a reception/break-out area.
www.brockholes.org/conference-packages
At Brockholes we want you to be in control of your event as much as possible. This is why we have created these basic packages, enabling you to tweak each element to build an individual event.
Alternatively, we can cater to your specific requests if you require half day, early morning or evening hire.
Here is an overview of our conference packages, please contact us for a quote.
Our Conference brochure can be viewed in digi-book format here.
Day Delegate Package
Private room hire from 9am - 5pm
Tea and coffee served on arrival with bacon rolls
Mineral water for each guest
Tea and coffee served mid-morning
Buffet lunch served with tea, coffee and fresh fruit platter
Tea, coffee and biscuits served mid-afternoon
Use of a flip chart, screen and projector
Recycled pen and notepad for each delegate
Dedicated co-ordinator to assist you throughout the planning to delivery of your meeting
24 Hour Delegate Package
All of the above plus;
Three course dinner
Full breakfast
Accommodation in a standard bedroom at our recommended accommodation supplier
Accommodation
Preferential rates are available on request from a local hotel when booking through the Brockholes Sales Team.
We can tailor our packages to suit your needs. Make the UK's first floating venue your next choice
Please contact us for more information or to arrange a meeting or showround with our Conference Sales Co-ordinator
Call us on 01772 872005 or enter your details below and we will contact you to discuss your requirements.
www.brockholes.org/sponsorship-opportunities
Sponsorship Opportunities
Brockholes is an award winning nature reserve owned and manages by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, which was opened in 2011. The 250 acre reserve is already attracting record numbers of breeding birds and around 170,000 visitors each year. Brockholes runs a wide range of events throughout the year and has a particularly strong offer for families. Events include wild families, school holiday clubs, school and community group visits, self led trails and larger festivals during the summer holidays.
The key marketing campaigns run targeting families include Christmas, Summer and Easter. Each campaign targets a series of family focused publications across the North West, with a monthly average reach online of over 40,000 people through the website and social media. Advertising and direct marketing campaigns have an average reach of 70% of the total North West population.
Sponsorship and Partnership Opportunities
Summer at Brockholes sees a host of family events each year, from school holiday clubs to open air theatre, guided walks to family fun. Over the Summer period, Brockholes expects to welcome over 60,000 visitors. The marketing campaign is multi channel and will reach a wide audience of families across the North West. Brockholes has also been featured in the National Press for some of the unique events run. We have some new opportunities for sponsorship and partnership, which will allow your business to raise brand awareness and fulfill part of your Corporate Social Responsibility by supporting Brockholes and The Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
Summer at Brockholes Headline Sponsorship £4500
Expose your brand to thousands of families across the North West.
- Logo on all Summer promotional material
- Inclusion in all four of the Summer e-news and Lancashire Wildlife Trust e-news
- Sponsor Feature on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
- Temporary use of Brockholes logo on promotional material directly related to the partnership
Wild Families Sponsorship £4000 per year
Our Wild Families events are always fully booked. With themes ranging from scarecrow hunts to nature detectives, each event provides quality family time for family members of all ages. Events are run throughout school holidays.
-Logo on marketing materials for Wild Families
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity
-Inclusion in Brockholes e-news
Seasonal Trail Sponsorship £500 per trail
Each visitor to Brockholes can collect their free seasonal trail on arrival. The trail helps visitors to explore the reserve, learn more about what to see and how the reserve changes with the season and challenges them to spot things.
-Logo on sponsorship trail
-Inclusion in PR for trail launch
-Inclusion in social media activity around the trail
Half term at Brockholes £1500
-Logo on all marketing materials
-Inclusion in launch PR
-Social media promotion
Annual Headline Sponsorship £10,000
- Logo inclusion on all Promotional Material
- Dedicated web page on Brockholes.org
- On site promotion
- Dedicated stand area on key event days
- Promotion through Brockholes and LWT e-news, member magazine
- Promotion through social media channels
- Inclusion in all PR activity
-Discounted delegate rate on our conference facilities
Children's Corner £500
Would you like to help brighten up the children's corner in our restuarant for our younger visitors?
-Inclusion in PR activity
-Recognition in the children's area
-Inclusion in activity to our database promoting the new area
To talk to us more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Ruth Gaskell rgaskell@lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129.
www.brockholes.org/commercial-opportunities
Commercial Opportunities
Make Brockholes your business
Businesses are being offered an opportunity to become partners in a North West tourism and wildlife success story.
Brockholes nature reserve is entering the second phase of development which will provide commercial opportunities for other businesses and boost local employment.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust attraction attracted 185,000 people to its nature reserve and the first ever floating visitor village in the UK, last year. It is looking to top that visitor figure this year.
Just off the M6 at Preston and easily accessible from anywhere in the UK, Brockholes has received more than 30 regional and national awards despite only opening in 2011. Visitors continue to pour in despite the reserve being surrounded by the attractions of Manchester, Blackpool and Liverpool.
The business has shown year-on-year growth and, as a result, is seeking commercial partners for the next phase of development.
Anne Selby, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trust said “Brockholes has performed incredibly well despite being launched in a recession. We have steered the business through the stormy weather and achieved fantastic results.
“We are now looking to move into the next phase of development. As a conservation charity, we want to ensure our focus remains on the nature conservation of the reserve, whilst ensuring the commercial income supports this work. We are looking for expressions of interest at this stage and asking businesses to be creative with their proposals.”
The Visitor Village has a restaurant, shops, conference centre, welcome centre and education centre. Major companies have made use of the conference centre including RBS and Aldi. The surrounding nature reserve is continuing to grow, with an increasing population of resident creatures and rare visitors like red kite, bittern and otter.
Anne continued: “Brockholes received funding for the initial start up and development phases but it was always designed to be a self-sustaining model. By making the most of the commercial opportunities and keeping these balanced carefully with the needs of nature, we believe we can continue to success of Brockholes into the future and achieve even more fantastic results for wildlife, our wide range of visitors and the tourism economy”.
Opportunities include retail, water sports (non-motorised), indoor play provision, events partners and mobile food concessions. However, the Trust is open to hear if any investors would wish to develop sympathetic commercial facilities on the site.
An opportunity information pack is available by request from:
Karen Williams Karen.Williams@brockholes.org
Expressions of interest should initially be made to
Lindsey Poole, Commercial Development Manager lpoole@lancswt.org.uk
Group Visits
Whether it’s a full day out or just a quick stop off on the way to your destination, Brockholes is the ideal place for groups to visit.
There's so much for all ages to see and learn about at Brockholes. Everyone from toddlers to seniors will find something to fascinate them, whether through our exciting range of organised events, or by just wandering around the site.
We are passionately committed to lifelong learning for all – our belief is that everyone should leave knowing something they didn't when they arrived! The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has over a decade of experience in delivering environmental education, so you can relax, enjoy the surroundings and be sure to come away both enchanted and enlightened...
We have several options for various groups, each with a variety of benefits. For more information click on the relevant link below…
Coach Groups
School Groups
Community Groups
To enquire about group visits please call 01772 872000 or email info@brockholes.org. Or leave your details on the form below and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Coach Groups
Situated next to Junction 31 on the M6, we are the ideal stop for coach trips, whether it is for a short stop, as a green motorway services, or as part of a full day visit.
Free entry for coaches and convenient coach drop-off point
We have a variety of walking trails for your group to explore, ranging from half an hour to 2 hours in length.
We have our floating visitor village that features a stunning waterside restaurant, 2 unique gift shops and a welcome centre with exhibits, which are ideal should your guests decide for something less active (or if the weather lets you down)!
All our buildings are fully accessible, while the vast majority of our paths are well surfaced, level and suitable for wheelchairs.
We now have a more convenient drop-off point exclusively for coaches and in addition have a number of benefits for coach groups:
• Free entry to the reserve and visitor centre
• Free coach parking
• Refreshment voucher for the coach driver
• Free familiarisation visit for group organisers
• Free meet and greet at the coach (on request)
• Free Brockholes welcome leaflet and trail guide
• Free events and activities throughout the year (visit our events calendar for details)
• Free play area
• Pre-booked guided tours (available at an extra charge)
• Adapted toilets available at the visitor centre
Please note that there is a 4 metre high bridge on the entrance to Brockholes. We also advise all coaches to let us know of their visit in advance by calling us on 01772 872000.
For any further information please just call 01772 872000, email info@brockholes.org
School Groups
Our 250 acre nature reserve and Visitor Village is a great place for school groups to visit. Children can learn about the geological history and how the quarrying has shaped the land today. And because we are a new nature reserve, you can watch it grow! It is also home to the UK's first floating Visitor Village.
Most importantly of all, the children will be able to see that Brockholes is home to a host of wildlife, with many different species of bird popping by throughout the year, along with brown hare, dragonfly and deer to name a few!
Facilities
Your school will have use of the education centre on our floating visitor village and you will have at least one Education Officer dedicated to your group throughout the day.
Plus... NEW FOR 2014!
Next year your school will be able to get even closer to nature at Brockholes by booking an education session in our new purpose-built bird hide classroom, right on the edge of the lake!
The hide will overlook No 1 Pit Lake which is home to many different species of birds and you'll also be able to look across to the new sand martin wall, which will provide valuable breeding habitat when they arrive in spring.
Why not your details below if you'd like us to keep to informed of these exciting new developments!
Programmes
We offer a wide range of programmes including:
Big Adventure in a Miniature World
Life Cycles
Migration and Hibernation
Environmental Art
Geography and Geology
Forest School
You can read more about the education programmes available at Brockholes here.
Education Team
Our Education Team are based at Brockholes and have a huge amount of experience in inspiring young people about the natural world. They are a lively bunch and pride themselves on creating an exciting and memorable experience for your school. You can read about how great our team is here: Meet the Education Team.
Outreach
Can't get to us? Then we can come to you! Our outreach education programme is very popular and offers a wide range of programmes for those who are unable to reach Brockholes.You can view our Outreach Programmes here.
For any information just call us on 01772 872000 for more information, email eduadmin@lancswt.org.uk
Community Groups
Brockholes is a great place to bring your community group, whether it's the Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies or Beavers or a rambling or photography group, there is something for everyone!
As well as exploring our stunning nature reserve you can enjoy an activity such as a guided walk, a mini-beast hunt or an environmental art session.
You can visit Brockholes during the day or we have special community group evenings when the reserve is open beyond our usual opening hours. Group activities usually take place between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.
Forest Schools
Forest Schools is a unique outdoor learning experience that improves children's self-esteem, confidence and abilities.
Brockholes provides an inspirational setting for Forest Schools sessions and training, and is conveniently located just off junction 31 of the M6 at Preston.
Our Forest School sessions are designed and delivered by our experienced and fully qualified Education Team including our Level 3 Trained Forest Schools Practioner.
Our next Forest Schools adult training session will be running in October. To find out more about Forest School sessions at Brockholes please call 01772 872017 or email kphillips@lancswt.org.uk
Shop til you flock
Why not drop into our two on-site shops, The Nest and Village Store, which are packed with all sorts of goodies. We've a variety of products from local beverages and food, to cards and books and crafts and jewellery. They are the perfect place to pick up a unique gift... and there's plenty of treats for the little ones too!
The Nest
The Nest is home to an inspiring collection of gifts, jewellery, books, toys, arts & crafts. Discover what's inside The Nest here.
The Village Store
The Village Store stocks a wide range of products, from locally sourced food and drink treats to bird food, garden accessories and wildlife books. Come and look inside here.
Membership of the Wildlife Trust
Brockholes is a Lancashire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. You can become a member today or talk to our friendly staff members and volunteers on your next visit to Brockholes. Gift membership is available in The Nest or you can buy it online here.
Our restaurant is the perfect place to stop and watch the world go by with panoramic views of our lake. Scrumptious homemade dishes and a taste bud tingling selection of Lancashire's finest local produce are all here to tempt you, along with fair trade tea and coffee.
Our restaurant is open from 10am to 5pm.
www.brockholes.org/very-special-occasions
Brockholes is a fantastic place for your very special occasions.
Our floating venue is one of the newest and most unique in Lancashire and promises you and your guests an unforgetable event whatever the occasion.
We have a dedicated function centre that can accomodate weddings, christenings and all sort of functions.
The clean, contemporary finish of our venue means that you have the perfect opportunity to put your own stamp on your event, with a flexible range of catering available from our on-site restaurant.
We have a dedicated Conference and Events Co-ordinator that will be available to help you plan your special occasion.
Very Special Weddings
We had our first wedding celebration September 2011 and since then it's been all go with Wedding Fayres and lots more bookings for this year and next. Find out more about weddings at Brockholes here.
Very Special Christenings
Brockholes is a real family friendly venue for a Christening celebration that you will remember for years to come. Find out more here.
For general enquiries about holding a function at Brockholes please call 01772 872005 or email philip.dunn@brockholes.org.
WASHINGTON—Twenty one federal employees who had been working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency resigned, writing in a letter that they wouldn’t offer their expertise to overhaul the government if it meant undermining essential services.
“We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” the former employees wrote on Tuesday in a letter addressed to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. “We will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimize DOGE’s actions.”
The employees had worked at the U.S. Digital Service, which the Trump administration renamed the U.S. DOGE Service. Musk, the Tesla chief executive who is guiding DOGE, has sought to overhaul the federal government with cuts to the workforce, the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and the closure of agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The letter was earlier reported by the Associated Press. It followed Musk’s push to require federal workers to submit weekly progress reports—in five bullet points. The White House said Tuesday that one million workers responded to the email, or more than 40% of the federal workforce of roughly 2.3 million.
The ex-employees, who didn’t list their names, criticized the DOGE process, saying a day after President Trump’s inauguration they completed interviews with “individuals wearing White House visitor badges” who declined to identify themselves.
“This process created significant security risks,” they wrote. They said that the firing of one-third of the USDS colleagues on Feb. 14 endangered millions of Americans who rely on their services to modernize Social Security, veterans’ services and tax filing.
“DOGE’s actions—firing technical experts, mishandling sensitive data, and breaking critical systems—contradict their stated mission of ‘modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity,’” they wrote.
Many of the employees who resigned had previously worked for tech companies, said one of the employees who resigned. The employees had served in roles such as engineers, data scientists, project managers and designers. Their work had spanned the first Trump administration, the Biden administration and the current White House, the employee said.
Write to Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com
I had such an exciting journey with this particular client of mine. They put their full trust in my expertise to create that punch. The property is located in Warrnambool along Logans Beach, a well-known location to go whale watching. As I do with all my clients, I strive to create mood, depth, and volume in a home. The brief was quite an eclectic perse, along with New York vibrancy (Client's origin relocated from America to Australia) paired back and toned down for a Modern contemp with a touch of coastal to suit location. From paper, to mood-board concepts to reality. Just memorable and, one of many clients I will cherish a rewarding rapport with. The client's have relocated back to Melbourne to pursue their careers however, the property has been AirBnBéd for most of the year. The overall project totaled just under $18,000 with Freedom alone - Top range Sealy Mattress's, comforting the best night's sleep for a generalized guest, Mombas & Wesports, Mia Benches & Cobbles, Convenient Dreams with removable covers, & Helsinkis to flow the mood. I wanted to showcase snippets of the entire project in sections so you can get a glimpse of the Interior with our iconic Freedom products shaping the home throughout the personality of the space.
I have learned a lot by doing these large-scale projects, time is one of the huge factors and it equates to everything. Delays can be a reality with both parties, but reassuring clients with less tension helps to create a dynamic where they can see the bigger picture, and it's all just worth it in the end.
Number: CT-4554/1606
Name: Sakana
Rank: Sergeant
Expertise: Tactics, melee weapons
Weapons: DC-17m, beskade (mandalorian sword)
Equipment: Katarn armor, macrobinoculars, EMP grenades, kama, pauldron, riot control energy shield
The campaign on Vandos Prime did prove to be more of a challenge than I expected before. Those 253rd boys are really giving it their all. I am not sure I have integrated well yet, but I am still alive, which means I can’t have done too bad. Yet, there’s always something to improve. As a first step, I requested some extra gear. EMP grenades have proven to be useful against the droids on Vandos, so I’ll be carrying more of them now. The new mission briefing states that we’ll be deployed for crowd control on Corellia, so I ordered an energy shield, too. You can never know what these protestors are up to and I’d rather not have them scratch my armor. We’ve been instructed to use none-lethal weapons primarily, but I’m not giving up my DC, no matter what. If push comes to shove, I can use it as a baton or use my sword to keep these protestors at arms length.
........................................................................................................................
Number: CT-7007/2828
Name: Koi
Rank: Private
Expertise: Explosives, lock picking, stand up comedy
Weapons: DC-15, energy pike
Koi has proven to be a capable fighter and loyal comrade on Vandos Prime. He does not question direct orders, but still has enough of a brain not to get himself killed right away. I said whoever survived this hell out there was worth fighting by my side and I am keeping this promise. That’s why I requested for Koi to be transferred to Mizu Squad, the newly formed unit under my command. And with his new armor, he has some signature blue stripes to show for it. For this mission he has traded his trusty DC for an energy pike. Wouldn’t be my weapon of choice, but he demonstrated some impressive skill in our short training session. I’m sure he’ll do well.
_________________________
My squad for mission 17 of the 253rd Elite Legion. I gotta get some more of these half blue arms for additional troopers now…
Explored on September 11, 2010 | topped at #153
LORD V; on flickr is a master Macro Photographer. He has inspired me to try my hand at this refraction style of shooting. I still have a ways to get to his level of expertise, but I am pleasantly happy with the results of my first attempt.
Enjoy and remember to comment and critique.
Strobist Info: SB-800 @ 50mm @ 1/32 in DIY Takeout Softbox
Camera Info: Nikon D100 | 60mm(ƒ/2.8) 60mm | ƒ/10.0| ISO 200 | 1/80s
Number: CT-4554/1606
Name: Sakana
Rank: Lieutenant
Expertise: Tactics, melee weapons
Weapons: DC-17m, beskade (mandalorian sword)
Equipment: Katarn armor, macrobinoculars, EMP grenades, kama, half cape
It was a miracle that we did survive the fight with Durge on Corellia. I can’t even remember much, despite running very, very fast and trowing as many EMPs as possible, to confuse this monster. We made it, but this battle has shown that we are in need of much, much more man- and firepower. Other than that, Corellia was a battlefield just to my taste. Cities, factories, urban warfare. That’s what an ARC is made for. Apparently, we managed to bring that across to our superiors, as I was promoted and all my requests for gear and a new recruit were granted. I’ll do my best to fill my new role as Lieutenant properly and be a good example for the men that now form Mizu Squad. And I’ll keep them alive, no matter the threat of monsters like Durge.
Number: CT-7007/2828
Name: Koi
Rank: Private
Expertise: Scouting, explosives, lock picking, stand up comedy
Weapons: DC-15, E-60R rocket launcher
Koi’s sharp eye and quick thinking have proven to be a life saving asset on Corellia for both, me and the civilians around. He’s a capable scout as well as demolitions expert with more intellect behind both those skills than I first imagined. By now, I put a lot of trust in him. After our mission on Corellia, his request for a personal rocket launcher, which he handed in when we came back from Vandos, was finally granted. We could have used it against Durge, for sure. Koi cares for it like it is his baby and I am sure we can expect the next mission to be much more explosive than the previous ones.
Number: CT-9004/7755
Name: Mag’ro
Rank: Private
Expertise:
Weapons: T-21B Target Rifle, tactical headlamp
Mag’ro is our newest addition to the squad, after we rescued him from the minefield inside the foundry complex. He is a silent fellow, but careful in his movements and a surprisingly fast runner, considering he escaped a crab droid on foot. And, by the Force, running has proven to be essential on Corellia. Mag’ro had no chance to prove his abilities to me, yet, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. If only half of what I heard is true, he’ll serve the squad well. His weapon of choice tells a lot about his mindset: Focused on the target and ready to throw a big punch. I like it.
_______________________
Here's my updated squad for mission 18 of the 253rd Elite Legion.