Projects

HOME	HISTORY	NEWS	PROJECTS	VOLUNTEER	TRAINING	GROUP BOOKINGS	BEES IN THE BOROUGH	GALLERY	DIRECTIONS	CONTACTS	LINKS

Projects

The following projects are currently being delivered by Offshoots and our partners:

	Bees in the Borough Offshoots has been awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the John Paul Getty Foundation to focus on the re-introduction of the indigenous Black honey bee to the Borough of Burnley and surrounding areas. We have kept bees and delivered beekeeping training here on site for 9 years. During that period, an alarming decline in honey bee colonies has been reported widely in the international press. Although no conclusive evidence has yet been published to establish the cause of this decline, there is a growing body of scientific opinion supporting the reduced genetic variation in bee colonies worldwide as a key factor.
We believe that this is critically important to provide a local heritage solution to the serious threats faced by honey bee colonies. Bees in the Borough is a practical and educational programme of reintroduction of our native honey bee and will highlight the heritage of this highly threatened indigenous bee species. The Project will aim to establish a thriving population of British Black Bee, expand the forage acreage for honey bees, train people in the skills of beekeeping, raise awareness of the plight of honey bees in general, establish nucleus colonies of Black Honey Bees for local people and create and establish a nursery production of bee forage plants. If you are interested and would like to be involved, or just for more information, please contact us. Details on the CONTACTS link. For further information on the project, please see our BEES IN THE BOROUGH page link.

Black honey bee

Bees in the Borough

Offshoots has been awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the John Paul Getty Foundation to focus on the re-introduction of the indigenous Black honey bee to the Borough of Burnley and surrounding areas.

We have kept bees and delivered beekeeping training here on site for 9 years. During that period, an alarming decline in honey bee colonies has been reported widely in the international press. Although no conclusive evidence has yet been published to establish the cause of this decline, there is a growing body of scientific opinion supporting the reduced genetic variation in bee colonies worldwide as a key factor.

We believe that this is critically important to provide a local heritage solution to the serious threats faced by honey bee colonies. Bees in the Borough is a practical and educational programme of reintroduction of our native honey bee and will highlight the heritage of this highly threatened indigenous bee species.

The Project will aim to establish a thriving population of British Black Bee, expand the forage acreage for honey bees, train people in the skills of beekeeping, raise awareness of the plight of honey bees in general, establish nucleus colonies of Black Honey Bees for local people and create and establish a nursery production of bee forage plants.

If you are interested and would like to be involved, or just for more information, please contact us. Details on the CONTACTS link. For further information on the project, please see our BEES IN THE BOROUGH page link.

Branching Out Project and Offshoots

Offshoots has teamed up with Pennine Lancashire Community Farm, statutory health and social care services and third sector organisations, to create a consortium to deliver a wide range of eco therapy activities to people suffering from mental health issues.

These therapies include:

Grow Your Own
Woodland Management
Art courses
Beekeeping
Local Food - cooking, selection and foraging
Willow Weaving
Rustic Furniture making

Eco therapies are recognised as a beneficial way of improving an individual's mental and physical wellbeing.

To find out more information about how to be referred to this project, please contact Edward Milne at the Farm on 01282 421690

Joe Willow Weaving

Bach flower Centaury

Bach Flower Remedy Garden

Offshoots has received an 'Awards for All' grant to set up a Bach Flower Remedy Garden. The Bach Flower Remedies are 38 natural remedies made from trees, wild flowers and a few cultivated plants that we'll be growing at Offshoots. We believe Offshoots will be the world's first site growing all the Bach Flower Remedy plants together.

We are offering workshops about how the Bach Flower Remedies can be used for health and wellbeing. Join us to make your own Bach Flower Remedies and discover which Bach Flower Remedies are used to treat stress, anxiety, depression, anger, relationship problems and more.

Visit the Bach flower remedy garden blog for news and photographs - CLICK HERE

Watershed Landscapes

United Utilities have requested the help of Offshoots in providing them with 9,000 plugs of cotton grass which will be used to help regenerate Calderdale Moor.

The project will involve children from local schools, and volunteers , planting these plugs from April onwards; this could be a springboard for larger scale restoration programmes.

The Watershed Landscape Project, to give it its umbrella title, is managed by Pennine Prospects and delivered in partnership with United Utilities, Groundwork Pennine Lancashire, Moors for the Future and Yorkshire Water amongst others.

The photo opposite was taken by Peter Nijenhuis


Offshoots Symphony Project 2010/11 This is the first instalment of the Lee J Gregory Offshoots Symphony Project 2010/11 blog. Lee is a sound artist/acousmatic musician working alongside the staff and volunteers here at Offshoots. The Offshoots Symphony Project is a sound art/acousmatic project running over the course of one year from March 2010 to March 2011. Over this period Lee will make sound recordings at and around the Offshoots Permaculture site which will be used to create acousmatic compositions which showcase the diversity of life and human interaction with that life in order to promote the site and Permaculture. You can experience Lee's recordings by clicking on the following link: Offshoots Symphony Project 2010/11
This photo was taken by Chris Barber, Vantage Photography

Offshoots Symphony Project 2010/11

This is the first instalment of the Lee J Gregory Offshoots Symphony Project 2010/11 blog. Lee is a sound artist/acousmatic musician working alongside the staff and volunteers here at Offshoots.

The Offshoots Symphony Project is a sound art/acousmatic project running over the course of one year from March 2010 to March 2011. Over this period Lee will make sound recordings at and around the Offshoots Permaculture site which will be used to create acousmatic compositions which showcase the diversity of life and human interaction with that life in order to promote the site and Permaculture.

You can experience Lee's recordings by clicking on the following link:

Offshoots Symphony Project 2010/11

This photo was taken by Chris Barber, Vantage Photography

Offshoots Tree Nursery

With thanks to Sir Simon Towneley, our longest running project is now in a position to provide locally, organically grown exotic and native trees into landscaping projects across the region.

The Nursery began in 1998 and was set up in order to grow trees for the Forest of Burnley Arboretum plantings across the Borough. The Forest of Burnley was a Millennium Commission Project that ran for five years during which time, 2700 large specimen arboretum trees were planted in the parks and green spaces in the Borough, and a further 1 million native trees planted in woodlands.

We have several hundred trees of varying age, genus and species, available for sale. We are in the process of creating a comprehensive database to allow us to market our trees.

Once the database is completed, we will be able to offer trees through this website. Watch this space for the BIG launch.

The Yurt Factory

Glen Roberts, our resident Bodger (green woodworker), continues to develop and expand the yurt building activities on site and has recently added a new product to the range - the Mini Yurt! - which is proving to be very popular.

All the Yurts are made from timber sourced within Lancashire and the covers are made from top quality cordura, again sourced locally. The covers are designed, produced and fitted here at Offshoots.

If you would like to get involved and learn more about yurts and green woodworking, please contact Offshoots.

Yurt with willow weaving


back to top

Offshoots is supported by:

Offshoots is managed by Groundwork Pennine Lancashire