Spaces on events are limited to non-members. If you are not a member, please book on both indoor and outdoor events by emailing our secretary or contacting us through our website. All indoor talks meet for 7.30pm start at the Kirkgate Community Centre (BD18 3EH) refreshments are provided at the interval. Indoor talk fees help cover room hire: £2.50 for members, £4 for non-members (children under 16 are free). Outdoor events are free of charge. We are a volunteer group and donations are welcome. All outdoor events are weather dependent so please dress appropriately, and please check our website or Facebook for any updates or cancellations the day before every event. It is important to note that BUWG takes no responsibility for children, all children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

​

​

Indoor Talk: "Fungi Show & Tell" by Mid Yorkshire Fungi Group

Thu 16th Oct, 19:30-21:15 – Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley (W3W – dust.flops.libraries)

If you are not a member then you must book a place by emailing the secretary (buwg.secretary@gmail.com). Mid Yorkshire Fungus Group (MYFG) will be showing off collected fungi while helping identify and answer questions. You are welcome to bring along any specimens found recently to learn more about these wonderful organisms. If you attended our walk earlier in the week you may have some specimens from that event.

​

Outdoor Event: Shipley Butterfly Meadow Annual Cut *MEMBERS ONLY*

Sun 16th Nov, 10:00-13:00 – Shipley Railway Station (W3W – sweat.stem.actors)

Many hands make light work so please come along and help Matt Barker, our Conservation Officer, manage the meadow. The Shipley Station Butterfly Meadow needs to be cut and raked every year to try to maintain the diversity of flora. Over recent years this alone has proved to be not enough. In the spring of 2025, some committee members took measures to reduce the bramble and moss, and it appears to have made some difference. *Please note, this event is limited to members only*

​

Indoor Talk: "Yorkshire’s Butterflies: Past, Present & Future" by Nick Hall from Butterfly Conservation

Thu 20th Nov, 19:30-21:15 – Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley (W3W – dust.flops.libraries)

We will trace butterflies’ place in our lives, their beauty, life cycles, and migration, alongside the rise of conservation and the losses from a changing countryside. Focusing on Yorkshire, we review species shifts over the past 30–40 years, their northward movement, the impact of climate, those declining or thriving, new arrivals, and how we can help.

​

Indoor talk: Annual Christmas Photo Competition

Thu 18th Dec, 19:30-21:15 – Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley (W3W – dust.flops.libraries)

This always proves to be a very popular evening as we get to see some beautiful photos submitted by our members. The emphasis is not necessarily on quality, more on entries that emphasise the nature that we can find in our local area. It is nice to hear the back story behind each one and also, there is a chance for the audience to have their say. Please make sure that you get your photos submitted before the deadline on 30th November 2025 by emailing them to photocompetition@btinternet.com.

​

Indoor Talk: "Wildlife Gardening: Making a Difference for Nature Recovery on Your Doorstep" by Sarah Goldsmith from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Thu 15th Jan, 19:30-21:15 – Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley (W3W – dust.flops.libraries)

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust plays a key role in nature recovery and Sarah is going to deliver a talk on how we can help this recovery closer to home. Don’t have a big garden? There is still much that you can do, come along and find out how.

​

Indoor Talk: "Beavers and Small Mammals" by Ann Hanson, Field Studies Advisor for
Yorkshire Mammal Group

Thu 19th Feb, 19:30-21:15 – Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley (W3W – dust.flops.libraries)

Ann organises the annual fieldwork programme. Her day job is with Yorkshire Farming and Wildlife Partnership and works with farmers to help them conserve wildlife on their farms. Her talk will focus on small mammal surveys carried out as part of the enclosed beaver release in Cropton Forest from 2019 to 2024. This was to monitor the effects of habitat changes due to the beavers’ activities on small mammal populations in the enclosure.

​

Indoor Talk: "Brackenhall: Connecting with Nature in the New National Nature Reserve" by Julia Babbit, Manager of the Brackenhall Countryside Centre

Thu 19th Mar, 19:30-21:15 – Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley (W3W – dust.flops.libraries)

Julia is a Forest School Leader and Woodcraft for Wellbeing practitioner. She’ll share her experience of helping people connect with nature and tell us more about the work at Bracken Hall in the new Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve.

​

Indoor Talk: AGM followed by "From Aire Miles" by Wendy Robinson, Chair of The Aire Rivers Trust

Thu 16th Apr, 19:30-21:15 – Kirkgate Community Centre, Shipley (W3W – dust.flops.libraries)

Our Annual General Meeting consists of the usual statutory agenda but this year our Secretary, Harry, is standing down so we are looking for someone to step up to the role. Anyone who is interested in joining our small friendly committee needs to contact the chair (buwg.chair@gmail.com) no later than midnight on the 12th of Apr 2026.

After the AGM we will welcome Wendy who is going to deliver a talk about her ongoing project to walk the length of the River Aire, all 92 miles of it, over 12 months, taking a photo at every pre-measured mile. ‘Is a river alive?’ asks Robert McFarlane in his best-selling book. It certainly feels like that, as Wendy walks from its birth, above Malham to its mouth near Goole.

​

​