| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Contact: | |
| When: | On Tuesday afternoons 1:30 pm-3:30 pm 3rd Tuesday |
| Venue: | Winmarleigh House |
Group Leader is ANITA YOUNG
To contact Anita, either use the email link from the Monthly Natural History Newsletter or the link at the top of this page.
The Natural History Group has over 100 members and offers a mix of talks and outside visits relevant to the members' interests on many and varied topics drawn from the natural world – animal, vegetable and mineral.
There are talks by knowledgeable visiting speakers about individual species, natural processes and ecosystems, and about the people and theories that have influenced our understanding of the natural world.
We also tap into the rich seam of interests, knowledge and expertise of our group members for contributions in the form of talks, suggestions for future topics, speakers and sites of Natural History interest for visits and field trips.
Natural History Group Newsletter
Natural History Group members are notified of news and forthcoming Natural History Group events via our regular Newsletter which is sent out by email just prior to each meeting date.
If you are already a member of Warrington U3A and would like to be added to our Natural History Group mailing list for Newsletters and other email updates, please send a message using the "Contact" link at the top of this page.
MEETING VENUE and FORMAT
WARRINGTON U3A NATURAL HISTORY GROUP MEETS AT WINMARLEIGH HOUSE (MASONIC HALL) AT 1:30pm UNTIL APPROX 3:15pm ON THE THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH FROM SEPTEMBER TO JUNE UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED IN THE PROGRAMME
As many Natural History Group meetings through the year involve speakers on a given topic, we ask for a £1 donation at meeting registration from all members attending. This is used to supplement the WU3A Speaker Allowance to cover the cost of external speakers.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING CHANGE.
Thank you.
Refreshments
There will be an opportunity at the end of each Natural History Group meeting for group members to catch up with each other over tea/coffee and biscuits. If you would like refreshments, please order and pay (£1) at the registration desk on arrival.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING CHANGE.
Thank you.
FORTHCOMING NATURAL HISTORY TALKS
January to June 2026
January 20th
What you may not know about birds
February 17th
SIBERIA – as seen by a field zoologist
March 17th
OUR CHANGING PLANET – FILM & Discussion – PART 1 :
The dramatic re-awakening of polar life in “SPRING”
From David Attenborough’s “Frozen Planet”
April 21st
Darwin, Evolution and the Voyage of the Beagle
May 19th
OUR CHANGING PLANET – FILM & Discussion – PART 2 :
A view of the impact of climate change on polar regions in “ON THIN ICE”
From David Attenborough’s “Frozen Planet”
June 16th
Hob Hey Wood - Frodsham's ancient woodland
Click this link to download the latest NATURAL HISTORY GROUP Programme of Talks as a pdf.
Please CONTACT the Group Leader if you would like further information about the topics covered,
or wish to suggest a topic or speaker for future programmes
PAST NATURAL HISTORY TALK TOPICS
As an example of the wide range of topics covered by the group, see the summary below of recent Natural History Talks and Field Trips
January 2025
Caring For Hedgehogs : Working At The Sharp End
Irene Thomson
Lowton Hedgehog Rescue
February 2025
Introduction to British Spiders and Their Kin
Dr Dmitri Logunov
Honorary Research Fellow at the Manchester Museum
March 2025
Lynx Cave Denbighshire – 50 years of excavation 1962-2012
John Blore
Archaeologist and Natural Historian
April 2025
The Nature of Hedgerows
Julie Gould
Cheshire Wildlife Trust
May 2025
The Yellowstone Wolf Project : 30 Years On
(FILM and Talk)
Anita Young
WU3A Natural History Group
June 2025
Reptiles and reptile conservation UK
Anthony Brandreth
Natural Historian and Ecologist
SUMMER FIELD TRIP
July 2025
Guided Tour of Warrington's SKY GARDEN
September 2025
Loggerhead Sea Turtle Monitoring and Conservation in Greece
Gary Hedges
Tanyptera Regional Entomologist
World Museum Curatorial
October 2025
Fungi – Beyond the Beginning
Stephen Burgess
WU3A Natural History Group Member
November 2025
Naming Nature – How we try to understand the living world
Ian Lancaster
WU3A Natural History Group Member
December 2025
Australian Wildlife Wonders
Alan Osborne
WU3A Natural History Group Member
and previous Programmes have included . . . .
Falling Towards Autumn
The science and folklore behind the most beautiful time in the botanical year, a time of intense colour and renewal in the woodlands of the world
Warrington's Natural Curiosity
A history of Warrington's naturalists – sailing with Captain Cooke, growing the first pineapple in the North West, and many more fascinating stories
Alarms and Excursions with Wildlife in Frozen Britain
Experiences of photographing birds and wildlife during two harsh UK winters – incl. snow bunting in Cairngorm, mountain hares in the Peak District, bitterns at Moore
Coast to Coast in Search of THE LOST WORDS (online – ZOOM)
The story of a 200 Mile Coast to Coast Nature Walk to fundraise for “The Lost Words” nature books for 200 Cumbrian schools, visiting communities and schools along the way
Useful Natural History Links
- Link to Bolton & Bury Swifts
- Link to Butterfly Conservation
- Link to Cheshire Wildlife Trust
- Link to Lancashire Wildlife Trust
- Link to RSPB
- Link to The Carbon Landscape Project
- Link to Wolf Watch UK