Latest news with #Ballaugh
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Tree that stood for two centuries to be felled due to disease
A giant tree planted more than 200 years ago on the Isle of Man is set to be felled in a park after it was discovered to have Dutch elm disease. Ballaugh Parish Commissioners confirmed the elm tree in the village play park would be cut down "at some stage in the near future".Chairman of the local authority Steve Curphey said many generations had "played under, around and on this tree and have fond memories" of it. The commissioners also confirmed it would explore plans to make a carving out of the tree's stump or replant a native tree honouring a nominated local hero. Dutch elm disease is a fungal infection spread by tiny bark beetles that can rapidly wither and kill healthy trees. The local authority said the tree was thought to be between 200 to 250 years said due to its location, it had "witnessed the first and last trains into the village" between 1879 and the late 1960s, the building of a new church, a parish hall, and a playpark. Following the announcement on the authority's Facebook page, local residents said they would be sad to see the tree described it as being a "big part of my childhood", while another said they had always viewed the tree as being "the heart of Ballaugh". The commissioners confirmed it had been liaising with the Department of Food, Environment and Agriculture (Defa) to confirm the diseased tree would need to be department said no licence was required for the authority to do so, but it would need to be disposed of "in line with biosecurity measures".That means it must either be burnt on site, stay on site with all branches being chipped and the bark being removed, or be transported under a secure cover to Defa's disease timber burn site at Ballaugh Plantation, a spokesman said. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scout group facing closure calls for volunteers
A scout group facing closure is calling for a new team of volunteers to keep it going. The current cohort of four leaders at Ballaugh Scouts, which is one of 12 groups across the island, are set to leave at the end of July. Lead volunteer for Scouts Isle of Man Will Nelson said the current team felt they had "done their time and they would like to step down". The group in the north, which provides activities to children aged between six and 14 in the local area, is now looking for new volunteers by September. Mr Nelson said a shortage of volunteers in Ramsey, which is in need of a further two lead members, could also lead to services being stripped back in the north. Scouts Isle of Man was currently holding a four week challenge to provide an opportunity for potential volunteers to find out more about what the role involves. Mr Nelson said the groups "help to bring the community together and gives the children something to do for an evening a week". The Ballaugh group runs Beavers, which is for children aged six to eight, Cubs for those aged eight to 10, and Scouts for 10 to 14-year-olds. The group also "puts things back into the community, whether that is helping out with Remembrance Sunday or the village fair", he said. "Volunteering with organisation on the Isle of Man is one of the most rewarding things you can do, as those in the roles help young people to "build confidence, resilience and a sense of adventure", he said. He said the group was looking for people of all ages, backgrounds and it does not matter how much time people could commit. "If you remove the scouts, the beavers and the cubs, it is another thing in the community that would disappear", he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Manx scouts expand additional needs programme Manx scouts first to earn biosphere badge Manx Scouts
BBC News
05-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Scout group facing closure in Ballaugh calls for volunteers
A scout group facing closure is calling for a new team of volunteers to keep it going. The current cohort of four leaders at Ballaugh Scouts, which is one of 12 groups across the island, are set to leave at the end of volunteer for Scouts Isle of Man Will Nelson said the current team felt they had "done their time and they would like to step down". The group in the north, which provides activities to children aged between six and 14 in the local area, is now looking for new volunteers by September. Mr Nelson said a shortage of volunteers in Ramsey, which is in need of a further two lead members, could also lead to services being stripped back in the north. 'Sense of adventure' Scouts Isle of Man was currently holding a four week challenge to provide an opportunity for potential volunteers to find out more about what the role Nelson said the groups "help to bring the community together and gives the children something to do for an evening a week".The Ballaugh group runs Beavers, which is for children aged six to eight, Cubs for those aged eight to 10, and Scouts for 10 to group also "puts things back into the community, whether that is helping out with Remembrance Sunday or the village fair", he said."Volunteering with organisation on the Isle of Man is one of the most rewarding things you can do, as those in the roles help young people to "build confidence, resilience and a sense of adventure", he said the group was looking for people of all ages, backgrounds and it does not matter how much time people could commit."If you remove the scouts, the beavers and the cubs, it is another thing in the community that would disappear", he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Visitors 'fully explore' Manx wildlife park on mobility scooters
Supporters of a wildlife park have said the donation of two new scooters enable visitors with mobility challenges to "fully explore" its Supporters of the Curraghs Wildlife Park was granted £4,500 by the Manx Lottery Trust to buy the equipment.A spokesman for the SCWP said replacing one aging machine and introducing another new one would mean "anyone needing to use one should be able to do so",The machines can be pre-booked for free ahead of planned visits to the Ballaugh park. Established in 1963, the sanctuary is home to more than 60 species of birds and animals, many of which are of the supporters Kim Etherton said the group had secured the funding after a request by staff members at the park to help supply some new scooters."We know that people with mobility challenges love coming to the Wildlife Park and that the scooters will be well used," she manager Kathleen Graham said the scooters would expand a "valued service" for guests and would enable people to "explore the site" and "observe our wonderful animals""Getting out and about in nature is known to benefit health and well-being, but can be a challenge for those who cannot easily walk," she added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Escaped Manx mongoose Gef recaptured at brewery 17 miles from home
A missing yellow mongoose has been caught at a brewery 17 miles from its home at a wildlife park on the Isle of small carnivorous mammal, nicknamed Gef in a nod to Manx folklore, disappeared last month from Curraghs Wildlife Park in Ballaugh and was found in the grounds of Heron & Brearley brewery on the Old Castletown Road in will now spend time in the sanctuary's quarantine facility, ahead of plans to find the nine-month-old mongoose a female mate at another said they were "very relieved" that Gef was "safe and looked well" after his adventure. The wildlife park's manager, Kathleen Graham, said Gef had burrowed out of the northern wildlife park "before TT began" in late MayWildlife officers "looked everywhere and there was no sight of him" at the enclosure, she were then "surprised" to receive a tip-off from a resident in Union Mills who had spotted a mongoose in their to southern Africa and sometimes nicknamed the red meerkat, mongooses can "cover distance and move very fast", Ms Graham said."Animals will escape, if they have the motivations to... I think he was highly motivated to go and find a female." Gef was next spotted in the National Sport Centre car park in Douglas, before being recaptured using traps at the brewery, the park manager said."You couldn't make it up," she joked."Some people have said 'keep him here', but we think he wants to go", Ms Graham said."In all honestly there's a lot of dangers out there and we'll find him a nice home and a nice female, so he will have a happy ending." Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
