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Entrance Charge £2.00 (cash only please)
19th November 2025 -
Purbeck Heathland, an archaeological perspective
Purbeck and surrounding areas of east Dorset have (or had) large areas of lowland heathland, but nationally and internationally it is a very rare habitat. In this talk Ben Buxton, archaeologist and former heathland ranger, will show how heathland has evolved as a result of human intervention over the last 4,000 years. Heathland can preserve evidence of thousands of years of human activity, because it has not suffered the destructive effects of ploughing.
Formerly regarded as wasteland, heathland is now protected by various nature conservation designations. Ben will outline the ecology, wildlife (including many rare and protected species), and management of heathland.
Ben Buxton is a graduate in archaeology and has worked as a field archaeologist, a tutor in archaeology in adult education, and has worked in museums and other cultural heritage fields. He is a former honorary curator of Wareham Museum. He gave a talk “British prehistory, the scientific evidence” to the S&T group in 2009. He has also worked as a heathland ranger and thus sees heathland from both natural heritage and cultural heritage viewpoints.
10th December 2025 -
The Unbelievable Truth -
Wildlife stories that have to be seen to be believed!
Sometimes you have to see something to believe it. Over many years photographing and filming wildlife Stephen has been fortunate enough to observe and capture wildlife antics that he would not have believed possible had he not seen the story unfold in front of his own eyes. A rabbit that buried her offspring under his vegetable patch, a robin that bathed before turning in for the night and a population of elephants that travel deep underground to mine salt are a few of the characters that will surely amaze you as they did Stephen.
Formerly a vet, Stephen Powles changed career to pursue a lifelong passion for wildlife, wildlife photography, filming and conservation. His photography concentrates on interesting and challenging wildlife subjects, many of which are in and close to his home.
15th October 2025 -
The Future of Low Carbon Transport
During his talk Richard will discuss all aspects of how vehicle technology is developing and look into the future of vehicle design and propulsion systems. He will cover electric vehicles, hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells and advanced internal combustion engines.
This will include consideration of self-
Although covering many areas of engineering and technology the talk is aimed equally
at a non-
Prof Richard Folkson spent thirty years working for Ford Motor Company Ltd in all areas of Product Development and has also lectured extensively at several universities on vehicle design, engineering and propulsion systems.
He has edited two editions of an authoritative text book titled Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Technologies for improved environmental performance: Towards zero emissions.
This presentation will be given remotely to Harman’s Cross via Zoom
