An exciting new area for The Swallowfield Show this year, an area of fun and interaction with a variety of stall holders giving you the opportunity to observe and have a go if you fancy trying something new.
Within learning zone, we also have a presentation area, where you can enjoy short 15mins presentations from an array of people with interesting and varied subjects from local professionals, hobbyists, and charities. They all have a great story to tell and will give you an awareness of their subject which we’re sure you’ll find stimulating.
See below for details of the stall holders in the zone followed by details of those who are running 15min presentations.
The Newbury and District Beekeepers Association.
The Newbury District Beekeepers Association are proud to be attending Swallowfield Show, to get an opportunity to talk to our visitors and to give them the chance to learn about honeybees, beekeeping and pollinators.
- Come and see the bees in their observation hives, you might even find the queen!!
- Take the opportunity to see how honey is made, the variety of different honeys and why it is so diverse.
- Discover how beeswax is made and all of the uses it has, it might just surprise you.
- Meet the Chairman of the Newbury Beekeepers association Adrian Doyle and the beekeepers and ask them questions about the species that has populated our planet for over 7 million years !!
- Learn how to encourage bees into your garden, the work they do in helping with the pollination of your flowers, fruit and veg.
Anvil metal works
Ever wondered how some of the metal items in and around your home and garden are made, the metal gates, railings, garden arches, fire pokers, etc?
Here you will have the chance to watch the blacksmiths at work making a range of these items, plus, for a small charge, you can have a go to make something for yourself to take away, ( under the close supervision of the blacksmiths of course).
Ask about their 6 specialised courses for aspiring blacksmiths, blade-smiths & artists, hands on classes, creating knifes, dragons or sculpture metalwork.
The Spencers Wood Repair Café
(make your own bird box, bird table or squirrel picnic table )
The Repair Cafe at Lambs Lane Primary School Spencers Wood.
An opportunity to make your own birdbox, birdfeeder, bug hotels, and squirrel picnic tables.
Member of the Repair Cafe will be available to guide adults and children step by step to build birdboxes, birdfeeders and squirrel picnic tables. All safety equipment is provided and advice given on the best place to site the birdboxe.
Children are very welcome to fill a bug hotel to their own design! We provide the bug furniture (cones, bamboo sticks, twigs, leaves, and bits of wood)Come to the learning zone and have fun with us and hopefully come next spring your garden will have become home to some new birds.
All the wood used to make these items is reclaimed, reused, or donated. If you can help provide wood to help continue our free workshops for young people please have a chat with the helpers on the stall. This might be your very own contribution to increasing the population of our garden birds – maybe all from some spare wood you have wasting away at home !!
Wokingham Borough Council (Waste and Recycling)
Confused about what items can be recycled and where? We have Wokingham Borough Council coming along to help you to build on your awareness and to challenge you to sort out everyday items as to what is recyclable. You may be surprised!! Our new wheelie bins on display and you will be able to get answers to any of the niggling recycling questions you might have.
Bringing Science to life!
An interactive and educational experience especially for children aged five to eleven and the young at heart. With lots of things to discover, there will be an opportunity to dress up as a scientist in the photo-booth, find out how to pass a needle through a giant bubble in the bubble workshop or maybe get your hands on some ooey-gooey slime!
First Impressions Theatre
First impressions Theatre provide a fun, safe and inspiring theatre training experience for children and young people throughout Reading Berkshire, with a variety of classes creating a high-energy, inspirational, and safe environment for your children.Emily will be in the Learning Zone between 12md and 3.30pm welcoming you to find out about all the wonderful things they are able to offer, with a couple of short 10min Musical Theatre Dance workshops at 2.30pm and 3pm. suitable for children and young adults aged 4yrs to 18yrs, no need to book just come over to the learning zone and chat to Emily or one of the experienced teachers.
Then at 4.45pm you can enjoy a performance by the first impressions theatre in the village green.
The Presentation area
An area within the learning zone where a variety of people will give short 15 minute talks, So far the following speakers have been confirmed with more to follow:-
- SAFE ( Saving Abandoned Fly-Grazing Equines ), founded in the winter of 2014, SAFE was established in response to a local crisis when 38 horses and ponies were left abandoned in a field in Binfield, Berkshire. SAFE is run by a small group of horse- loving volunteers across Berkshire and Surrey. www.safe-horses.co.uk
- Reading Scottish Pipe Band, ( on Sunday only). You may have seen them in the main arena, now listen to a short presentation about the great Scottish bagpipes, and an opportunity to ask any burning questions you might have.
- The Newbury and District Bee Association, a beekeeper giving a presentation on all thing’s bees, pollinators, honey etc.
- Royal Berkshire Hospital Charity. The Royal Berks Charity pride themselves on being able to help improve and enhance the experience of patients and staff across their sites.
- Be kind rescue. Founded in August 2018, we are a foster-based dog and cat re-homing rescue run entirely by volunteers.
- BIBS ( Babies in Buscot Support) is a registered charity that supports babies and their families in the special care baby unit (Buscot Ward) at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
- Happy Hedgehogs. A small, self-funded, local animal rescue, all hedgehogs are released back into the wild, normally as close to where they were found as possible.
- Forget me not Rescue. Working Towards a Brighter Future for Romanian Rescue Dogs, aiming to find them loving families and the very best homes.
- SSAFA. (Soldiers’, Sailors’ & Airmen’s Families Association ) Supporting both regular and reserves in the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force and their families, including anyone who has completed National Service. www.ssafa.org.uk/
- Thrive. Thrive has been using social therapeutic horticulture and gardening to change people’s lives since 1979. Passionate about the health benefits that gardening and spending time in nature can bring. www.thrive.org.uk
- BSARD ( Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs ), A fully qualified Lowland Rescue team of volunteers on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support the police search for, locate and reunite high risk vulnerable missing people with their loved ones. www.bsard.org.uk
Other speakers to be confirmed – a full list of speakers with a demonstration schedule will be announced shortly.
If you have a skill you would like to bring to the learning zone, We would like to hear from you. The subject should be something that you feel would be of interest to our visitors and ideally interactive, growing an awareness on the subject. Not sure if what you have in mind would be appropriate then please email me and we can discuss the possibilities.
If you would like to join us, for more information, please email me at:- foodanddrink@swallowfieldshow.co.uk