All lead designers and any other team members who want to help at this stage are to meet at
- New Carnival Company Centre
13 Union Road
Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 2ER - Time 18:15 to 20.15
The session is to present the costume and hand held feature for final approval.
We will also agree the required adjustments to the Komodo Dragon.
Materials already purchased need to be taken as the team will start to make elements of the costume and hand held feature.
Bouldnor Forest is the focus of the Equals IW involvement with the 2019 Isle of Wight Mardi Gras event. Our Mardi Gras entry within the 'Woodlands' section of the parade has to reflect the biosphere of the reserve especially in the costumes.
About the Reserve
Bouldnor Forest nature reserve is full to the brim with exciting wildlife. Red Squirrels leap from branch to branch and unusual birds such as Tree Creepers and Bullfinches flit between the trees. Why not download a wildlife spotter sheet before you go and see how many species you can identify?
Unusual birds such as Crossbills and Goldcrests are abundant, and during the spring a host of heathland rarities brighten the restored clay heaths, you will see Pale Dog-Violet, Heath Dog-Violet and Cyperus sedge blooming along the coastal path. Down on the beach you can uncover the Isle of Wight’s prehistoric past. Look closely and you may find small fossils among the pebbles. Once you’ve finished your archaeological activities, you can look out across the Solent and take in the stunning views of the New Forest coast.
Discover exciting wildlife in this fascinating reserve with a prehistoric past. The Pine Forest, Heathland, Cliffs and Sea Grass beds provide homes for plentiful wildlife. Buildings remain from the site’s former use as a naval training base, are evident among the trees and are now used as an Education Centre. Wander along the forest tracks between the Pine trees to look and listen for unusual birds such as Crossbill, Goldcrest and Raven. You may glimpse the iconic Red Squirrel leaping from branch to branch. With no introduced grey squirrels on the Island, their smaller cousin thrives here.
In spring along the coast path, discover Heathland rarities that brighten the restored Clay Heaths, such as Pale Dog-Violet, Heath Dog-Violet and Cyperus Sedge. By summer, Bell Heather is in its full glory. Look out for the strange parasitic Dodder, it has no leaves, only pink thread-like stems and dense heads of white and pink flowers.
The reserve is 38 hectares in size. The surfaced Forestry tracks are usually dry. Unsurfaced public footpaths can be muddy when wet. The coastal path is on a gentle slope. There is one wide gate to enter the reserve and one within the reserve.
Bouldnor Forest is one of our most important Flagship Pond sites. It is the only known site on the Isle of Wight for the delicate aquatic fern Pillwort Pilularia Globulifera. This small endangered fern loves the muddy edges of grazed ponds which dry down over the summer and fill in the winter. Unfortunately, pillwort has not been recorded on the site for some years and re-establishing and preserving what could potentially be the last stronghold for this plant on the island is of high importance.
The ponds at Bouldnor are also known to host other species of interest including protected Great Crested Newts Triturus Cristatus, Common Toads Bufo Bufo, numbers of which are thought to be declining across the UK, and several freshwater green algae known as Stoneworts.
Further Information
Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust
List of Species
Reptiles
- Slow Worm
- Adder
- Grass Snake
- Common Lizard
Amphibians
- Frog
- Toad
- Newts: Smooth, Palmate and Great Crested
Mammals
- Fox
- Badger
- Bat
- Rat
- Mouse
- Vole including Dormouse
- Rabbit
- Red Squirrel.
Birds
- Nightjar
- Nightingale
- Raven
- Kestrel
- Jay
- Dartford Warbler
- Linnet
- Goldcrest
- Crossbill
- Barn Owl
- Long Eared Owl
- and more, the list goes on and on.
Butterflies
- Small Heath
- Common Blue
- Holly Blue
- Green Veined White
- Large White
- Small White
- Brimstone
- Wall Brown
- Green Hairstreak
- White Admiral
- Silver Washed Fritillary
- Dark Green Fritillary
- Purple Hairstreak.
Damselflies
- Common Blue
- Large Red
- Azure
- Emerald
- Blue Tailed
Dragonflies
- Broad Bodied Chaser
- Southern Hawker
- Migrant Hawker
- Hairy
- Black Tailed Skimmer
- Ruddy Darter
- Common Darter
- Emperor
- Four-Spot Chaser
Key Habitat Plants
- Heather
- Gorse
- Tormentil
- Violets
- Heath Milkwort
- Oak
- Pine
- Hazelnut.
International Nurses Day was this year celebrated around the world on Sunday 12th May. The Royal College of Nursing invited healthcare professionals to organise their own get-togethers with colleagues.
The Equals IW Friendship Group joined an event at the St Mary's Hospital to celebrate Happy Nurse Day on the Friday before. Niviera attended the event and met the Director of Nursing, Midwifery, AHP's and Community Services, St Mary's catering manager and many other wonderful Nurses and staff.
Tuti and Arum volunteered to make bala bala, spring rolls and pukis cake for the occasion. Obviously these delicious Indonesian snacks were gone in no time. Thanks to Arum and Tuti.
The Equals IW Mardi Gras team is currently numbers 20 this year with female, male and children taking part. If you want to join the team please
Base Costume
All team members are now required to purchase the following and wear it on the day.
- Footwear: White trainers, or any type of white flat footwear
- Lower Body: White long shorts or white slim line trousers or white tracksuit bottoms or white jogging bottoms or white leggings
- Upper Body: White short or long sleeved T-shirt
Costume Design
Each team member in the parade will be holding something in their hand to wave in the air to attract the eyes of the crowd. We will be re-using the Komodo Dragon from last year as he has survived the rain but needs some tender care.
We are now looking for Lead Designers to work with Sandra
- Four people to lead on the main costume design
- Two people to lead on the design of a hand held item
- Two people to lead the Komodo Dragon re-design
One design from the last meeting has a style and colours representing woodlands, ponds and wildlife to match our Bouldnor Forest theme. The lead costume team designers may include a backpack in the costume.
The Annual General Meeting and Committee Meeting will take place on
- Saturday 23rd March 2019
- 10am to 1pm with tea and coffee at 11.30am
- Riverside Centre, Newport, Isle of Wight
If anybody would like to make and bring refreshments to eat please do let Mark know what you are bringing so he can organise some plates and so on.
If you would like a new exciting challenge for 2019 then come and join the Equals IW Committee.
We are looking for people to volunteer and develop the work of Equals IW:
- Secretary – work includes typing committee minutes, organising committee meetings, taking meeting minutes, organising meeting venues, replying to Website and Facebook enquiries, sending official correspondence on behalf of Equals IW.
- Press Secretary – work includes promoting Equals IW's local meetings, activities and events in the local press, local magazine publications, online and on the local radio. Also prepare and issue statements about relevant affairs on behalf of Equals IW.
- Grants and Funding Co-ordinators – to work in a team to seek out and propose funding sources and make funding applications.
- Education and Training Co-ordinators – to work in a team to promote equality and diversity in the community and the work of Equals IW. Deliver awareness training of equality and diversity, facilitate and deliver talks and presentations on equality and diversity in the community. Delivery of formal and informal programmes involving equality and diversity activities to schools, colleges, community groups, adult learners and staff associated with businesses.
- Fundraising Co-ordinators – work in a team to plan, organise, facilitate and run fund raising activities and events for Equals IW.
- Equals Development Co-ordinators – work in a team to develop new opportunities for Equals IW, develop partnership working opportunities, identify, suggest and co-ordinate events for Equals IW to be involved in.
To find out more contact us or visit our Facebook page.
You can download and display our flyer.
The meeting discussed many points converning how Equals IW should attract members and form links to other island organisations
Main Points of General Interest
- Committee Member Recruitment. Equals IW plans to approach the Isle of Wight College and other Six Form Colleges on the island to provide an opportunity ideal for students or volunteers looking to develop their career by gaining practical experience within a charity as a volunteer in these exciting roles.
- There is to be an account on iwight.com where all Equals IW activities can be advertised including flyers and information. This site is idea for advertising events such as Asian Day, Diversity Day and Friendship Groups Activities and so on.
- The Friendship group plan to hold a photo shoot in spring with members wearing a National Costume with landscape backgrounds from various island locations. The photos taken could then be used for a future calendar celebrating diversity on the island.
- The Friendship group supported Black History Month at St Mary's Hospital on 19th October 2019
The next meeting is scheduled to take place in February 2019.
This is a very brief abstract from the minutes of the meeting.
A copy of the minutes is available on
The next Equals IW Committee meeting below was cancelled:
- Saturday 26th January 2019
- 10.00am to 12.00 Noon
- Riverside Centre, The Quay Street, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 2QR
- Room To Be Confirmed
To gain access to The Riverside Centre free parking
- Turn Left at the Fairlee Petrol Station Traffic Lights if travelling out of Newport towards Ryde or Right if travelling into Newport.
- Drive down past the Skate Park, Car Park and Council Planning Office on your right driving as far as you can go reaching the Travel Lodge.
- Then turn left to drive right along the Quay heading towards Newport to the Riverside Centre Car Park.
The next committee meeting will be on Thursday 29th November 2018. 6pm to 8.30pm.
The venue is the Riverside Centre, Newport in the Medina Room.
If travelling out of Newport towards Ryde turn Left at the Fairlee Petrol Station Traffic Lights Turn Right if travelling into Newport. Drive down past the Skate Park, Car Park and Council Planning Office as far as the Travel Lodge. Then turn left along the Quay towards Newport to the Riverside Centre Car Park where parking is free.
An earthquake followed by a tsunami caused devastation for Palu in Indonesia leaving hundreds and thousands of people in urgent need of clean water, food and shelter.
You can make a donation by visiting the Disasters Emergency Committee website.