Three photographs have been selected as joint winners of the Cotswolds Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 competition following a public vote online and at the recent Cotswolds Inspired Art Exhibition.

As part of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the Cotswolds Conservation Board were looking for the most captivating local landscape images.

The three joint winners are:

Autumn Eye of the Cotswolds by Anthony Paul Inwood from Bourton on the Water
	Broadway Tower, by Andrew Caley from Bourton on the Water	Naunton, by Andy Prior from Witney

Over 170 photographs were entered into the completion with 10 selected by judges in December. Judges were: Andrew Grahame (CEO – Farncombe Estate, Dormy House Hotel & Spa, Foxhill Manor, The Fish Hotel); Nick Holliday (Vice Chair, Cotswolds Conservation Board); Sarah Howard (landscape photographer); Nick Turner (photographer/filmmaker) and Nicky Price from BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

The 10 finalist’s photographs then went to the public vote online during December and at the Cotswolds Inspired Art Exhibition at the Corinium Museum in Cirencester throughout January.

Nick Holliday Vice Chair of the Cotswolds Conservation Board and one of the judges said: “It was extremely tough selecting the final 10 photographs from the 170 that were entered into the competition. Many were of a very high standard. Congratulations to the final 10 that made it to the public vote and to our joint winners!”

Sponsors of the photography competition; the Dormy House Hotel and Seen Image will be awarding the joint winners with their prizes.
 

Hedgelayers from across the country will battle it out against each other in the new look Cotswolds Hedgelaying Championship this Saturday at Daylesford Farm near Kingham in Gloucestershire.

The annual event organised by the Cotswolds Conservation Board will see competitors tasked with transforming a 15ft high wild hedge into an agricultural work of art!

It’s your chance to watch this traditional countryside craft at its very best. Witness the skills and craftmanship of our competitors.

The new look event which will have ‘hands on’ rural skills activities for visitors, coincides with the 50^th anniversary of the Cotswolds as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).


While the hedgelayers compete there is chance for you to grab a hot drink and have a go at rural skills such as dry-stone walling, wooden spoon carving, wool weaving and cider making and of course hedgelaying.

Entry is free, event starts at 9:30am with winners announced at around 4pm at the Greedy Goose Pub where the awards ceremony is being held.

For more information about the event and rural skills courses and workshops across the Cotswolds AONB visit www.cotswoldsruralskills.org.uk

Full-time 37 hours per week, £29,332 – £31,048

We are currently seeking to appoint a LEADER Programme Manager to join our hardworking and friendly team at the Cotswolds Conservation Board.

For further details, go to www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/jobs

Saturday 3rd December – 10am – 4pm
Cotswolds Discovery Centre, The Old Prison, Northleach

Visit our festive market to purchase locally made food, unique handmade gifts and artwork.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board is proud to be holding its first ever Living Landscape Festival, marking the 50^th anniversary of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

National Trust’s stunning 17th-century Lodge Park in the Cotswold country estate of Sherborne in Gloucestershire will play host to the Cotswolds Living Landscape Festival on Sunday 18 September from 10:30am to 4pm. Adults £4 and children £1.

The festival part funded by the Big Lottery Fund marks the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Cotswolds as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, one of England’s largest protected landscapes.

Visitors will be treated to a wide choice of stalls, from independent local food and craft producers to some of the Cotswold’s best crafts men and women, providing an array of options for the public to find the perfect take home item.

The Cotswolds Living Landscape Festival aims to be a great day out for families, those who enjoy the countryside, walking and rural crafts. See hedgelaying, stone and wood carving, dry-stone walling, flax making, spinning and weaving demonstrations throughout the day.

Wallers from the Cotswolds, Cumbria and Yorkshire will battle it out against each other in the annual Cotswolds Dry-Stone Walling Competition sponsored by Smiths of Bletchington, showcasing the best of their skills at the traditional rural craft to claim the award of ‘Best Cotswolds Dry-Stone Wall 2016’ and £500 cash prize.

In the very tasty Edible Cotswolds area, food and drink producers include: FWP Matthews, Craft Drinks Company, The Tewkesbury Mustard Company, Larder & Tuck Box, The Little Pickle and Jonathan Crump Cheese, representing produce from across the Cotswolds AONB.

Cotswold artists Rupert Aker, Alexandra Woods, Trudi Hayden, Ronny Loxton, photographers Craig Churchill, Jo Dixon, ceramicist Pamela Shellard and glass artist Beverly Todd will be exhibiting their works inspired by the Cotswolds landscape along our very own Arts & Crafts Way. Lechlade Craft Barn will be running crafty activities for kids including making your very own Cotswold Lion sheep.

Down on The Farm meet the Cotswold Lion sheep and alpacas and see a collection of vintage tractors that have worked the Cotswold landscape and then why not pop into The Ebrington Arms for a refreshing pint of Yubby Bitter. 

In the Wild Cotswolds zone meet teams from the Gloucestershire and Worcestershire Wildlife Trusts, and see displays by the Cirencester & District Beekeepers, Chipping Norton Amateur Astronomy Group and Gloucestershire Geology Trust.

Local music acts will take to the stage celebrating the heritage and culture of the Cotswolds. Performances by Oxfordshire’s Rufus Goodlove, Wiltshire’s Talis Kimberley and Gloucestershire’s Brimstone, FolkLaw, Edd Donavan, Ragged & Old Morris and Nathan Jones Allstars Big Band.

While you sit and enjoy the performances; Hook Norton Brewery, Cotswolds Distillery and the Woodchester Valley Vineyard will be ready to take your drinks order. Hook Norton Brewery will be selling their Cotswold Lion and the Cotswolds Distillery with their famous Cotswold gin, both products raising funds for the Cotswolds AONB in this 50^th anniversary year.

Northleach’s Cotswold Lion Café will be serving tea and homemade cake throughout the day, Seven Mile with be serving up homemade gourmet local beef burgers, Nolan Brook with their famous pulled Cotswold hogget wraps from their farm near Mickleton and a rare breed pig roast from Hill Top Farm with their reared Middle White pigs.

After eating you might want to try and walk it all off again, so why not join the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens on their free guided taster walks through the beautiful setting of Lodge Park and into the stunning Cotswold landscape. There are also three walking routes from Lodge Park for visitors to explore. You could also try out a TerrainHopper, an electrically powered off road scooter with its extreme off-road capabilities.

Cotswold Electric Bike Tours will be running short tours from the festival site for visitors to experience their state of the art electric bikes that will help power you through the beautiful Cotswold countryside and villages. Go Cotswolds will be running short excursions by mini-bus through the Cotswolds landscape exploring ‘the hidden Cotswolds’. Both relaxing ways to explore this area of outstanding natural beauty.

Launching at the festival is a new book titled ‘The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ written by Sian Ellis, photographed by Nick Turner and designed by Nick Darien-Jones. Marking the 50^th anniversary of the AONB the book celebrates the landscape of the Cotswolds, its architecture, customs and culture. Available to purchase for £14.99 from the Cotswolds AONB stall.

Entrance to the festival is £4 for adults and £1 for children available to purchase online prior to the event or on the gate on the day. Entry fee also applies to National Trust members. There is an additional fee to enter the Lodge Park building. Proceeds from the festival will help the Cotswolds Conservation Board conserve and enhance the Cotswolds AONB. Dogs are welcome as long as they are kept on a lead. A non-smoking festival site, however there will be a designated smoking area.

Free on-site parking available. Entrance to the festival site from the A40 between Northleach and Burford only.

To book tickets online and for more information please visit www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/festival  or on social media: www.facebook.com/cotswoldslivinglandscapefestival or www.twitter.com/cotswoldsfest

Part-time 22 hours per week, £26,464 – £28,214 pro rata

We are currently seeking to appoint a Trails and Access Officer to join our hardworking and friendly team at the Cotswolds Conservation Board.

For further details, go to www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/jobs

Cotswolds Conservation Board’s Annual Forum and Management Plan Review Workshop.

Outline of Natural Capital thinking to inform the Management Plan
AONBs have a statutory duty to produce a Management Plan under the CRoW Act 2000. The Review of the Cotswolds AONB Management Plan to cover the period 2018- 2023 has begun. Management Plans ought to be the single articulation of the public agenda for the protected landscape, integrating national and local policies.   The Management Plan review process coincides with the Government’s approval to support the Natural Capital Committee’s emerging 25 year plan for a healthy natural economy. The review process of the Cotswolds AONB Management Plan therefore is a test bed for the introduction of the concept of Natural Capital and the 25 year plan into the future management of nationally protected landscapes.

Wednesday 7th September 2016, 2:30pm
The New Beaconsfield Hall
Station Road, Shipton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, OX7 6BQ.

Programme:
2.30 pm Registration and Refreshments
3.00 pm Chair’s Welcome and Opening Remarks
3.05 pm Presentations

Getachew Engida, MBA FCA FRSA – Deputy Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
A global perspective from UNESCO.  The key issues to consider and address at the start of the Cotswolds AONB Management Plan Review. 

Professor Dieter Helm CBE – Chair of the Natural Capital Committee
Natural Capital, the 25 Year Plan & Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  Putting the environment at the heart of the Government’s post “Brexit” decision making process.

Merrick Denton-Thompson OBE – President of the Landscape Institute
A landscape perspective of the 25 Year Plan, the role of AONBs and their Management Plans. How do you put a “value” on the intrinsic qualities of landscapes.

4.00 pm Questions
4.10 pm Break for Refreshments
4.20 pm Management Plan Review Facilitated Workshop – John Myers from Optimy.
6.20 pm Chair’s Summary and Closing Remarks
6.30 pm Close

Getachew ENGIDA, MBA FCA FRSA
Mr Engida has spent the last 20 years leading and managing international organizations advancing the cause of poverty eradication, peace building and, sustainable development. He has extensively worked on rural and agricultural developments, water and climate challenges, education, sciences, technology and innovation, intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity, communication and information with emphasis on freedom of expression and the free flow information on and offline as well as good governance. Mr. Engida joined UNESCO as Deputy Assistant Director-General for Administration and Comptroller in June 2004. He has served as Deputy Director-General since July 2010, and from January 2014, has taken on the added responsibility of managing the Communication and Information Programme of UNESCO. He also serves in a number of not-for-profit international boards.

Professor Dieter Helm CBE
Professor Dieter Helm is an economist specialising in utilities, infrastructure, regulation and the environment, and concentrating on the energy, water, communications and transport sectors primarily in Britain and Europe. He is a Professor at the University of Oxford, Fellow of New College, Oxford, and a Professorial Research Fellow of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. In December 2015, Dieter was reappointed as Independent Chair of the Natural Capital Committee. Dieter’s recent books include The Carbon crunch: Revised and Updated – and Natural Capital: Valuing the Planet . Yale University Press published both books in 2015. Nature in the Balance, edited with Cameron Hepburn, was published in early 2014 by Oxford University Press.

Merrick Denton-Thompson OBE FLI
Merrick is the President of the Landscape Institute (President for 2016-2018), Chair of the Policy Committee, and both a Trustee and Fellow of the Landscape Institute. He is a founding Trustee of Learning Through Landscapes (LTL); as a Landscape Architect Merrick developed a unique vision for the potential of school grounds to give children a positive experience of the natural world and benefit from experiential learning. Before retiring Merrick was Assistant Director of Hampshire’s Environment Department, he is a Trustee and Chairs Marwell Zoo’s Conservation and Education Committee, and was a founding Board member of Natural England.

If you would like to attend the Annual Forum please email info@cotswolds-nl.org.uk or call 01451 862000.