A cause for celebration

Two Burrows plans go ahead!

By the time members read this the Trust will have acquired the Two Burrows site adjacent to its headquarters at Five Acres and work should be well underway to convert the buildings to provide office accommodation. Plans for conservation projects on the land, 5 acres of wetland SSSI and 5 acres of former plant nursery/ will be put in place shortly.

For many years now the Trust has operated from split sites and even then accommodation at Five Acres

has been cramped. As well as the problems posed for staff this has also meant that/ unlike in the early days when we moved to Five Acres/ there has been limited space to accommodate membership and volunteer activities. We have been seeking to remedy these problems for some time and when the Two Burrows site came up for sale, almost two years ago, it provided the ideal opportunity.

Negotiations with the owners/ and gaining planning consent took a significant period and we are very grateful for the help given to us by Tim Atkins of Stephens & Scown, our

solicitors/ Greg Oldrieve at Vickery

Holman who advised on property matters/ Chris Bowring at Lloyds TSB/ our bankers/ and Mike Hicks and David Hancock at the Charity Aid Foundation.

The move to Five Acres in 1989 proved to be a significant milestone in the development of Cornwall Wildlife Trust/ greatly enhancing its ability to develop key conservation programmes. It is anticipated that this new venture will provide a further springboard for the development of the Trust and its work to safeguard Cornwall's natural environment. Trevor Edwards

Beauty and the Beast

Amongst the splendour of the Chelsea Flower Show 2003; the Cornwall Knotweed Forum won a prestigious gold medal with their presentation of the spectre of the ever-spreading Japanese knotweed. The general public flocked to hear what steps were being taken to combat the Beauty turned Beast/ and to learn what led to this fall from grace for what is/ after all, in springtime a very beautiful plant.

Brought into Britain in the mid-19th century, it rapidly reached its zenith

When in the 1840s it won a gold medal at Utrecht

Cornwall has more than 2,000 known sites and currently devotes more than £100/000 annually in trying to bring it under control. With the government currently spending in excess of £1-5 billion on control measures it is clearly recognised as a huge problem.

The Chairman of the Awards committee said the presentation of the Cornish exhibit was of an

extremely high standard and the material was stimulating and thought-provoking : ... 'Very professional! Well done! Our committee had no hesitation whatsoever in awarding you a gold medal.' Ironic really that the Beast of the Show should receive the same accolade as at Utrecht all those years ago when it was the Beauty of that Show.

Howard Curnow
Chairman
Cornwall Wildlife Trust