Appeals

Mike Scott, a woodworker, cutting grooves into a large piece of elm burr using an electric chainsaw mounted on to a lathe: the result, a 36in-diameter ceremonial bowl, will be on display at 'Trees', an exhibition which opens tomorrow in aid of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (RSNC) and the Woodland Trust.

The exhibition, which is being held at the New Ashgate Gallery, in Farnham, Surrey, continues until 24 October. The New Ashgate Gallery, a charity in its own right, has chosen this theme in response to the threats trees face: Dutch elm disease, storms, acid rain, and 'dieback', a disease affecting the British oak. Other exhibitors include Sir Hugh Casson, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Anthony Gross, Jim Partridge, Nina Choudhuri, Jane Allison and Frederick Gore: prices start at pounds 130. For further information, contact: New Ashgate Gallery, Wagon Yard, Downing Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7PS, telephone 0252 713208.

Mike Scott (b. 1943) was an accountant for 15 years before taking a creative arts degree and changing direction into applied arts. He has been working principally in wood since 1984. He concentrates on elm and oak burrs - sometimes carving, scorching or polishing the surfaces.

The RSNC campaigns to protect endangered wildlife and its habitat; it links together 47 local wildlife trusts, 50 urban wildlife groups and WATCH, a junior wing. It protects over 2,000 rural and urban nature reserves in Britain and has a membership of 250,000 people. For further information, contact: RSNC, The Green, Witham Park, Waterside South, Lincoln LN5 7JR, telephone 0522 544400.

The Woodland Trust is Britain's largest national charity working to conserve woods: it has acquired 511 woods in Britain, most of which are open to the public. It has just launched the Cambridgeshire Woodland Fund which will buy land to create woods: with only 2 per cent of wood covering, the county is the least wooded in Britain. For further information, contact: The Woodland Trust, Autumn Park, Dysart Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL, telephone 0476 74297.

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Historic Churches Trust, which was formed last year, is holding a fund-raising Four Choirs Festival on Saturday 17 October, at St Peter's Church, Berkhamsted. The Trust, which is interdenominational, is raising money to help churches of historic interest in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire by giving small grants for building conservation and restoration work: so far St George's, Anstey, and St Edmund's, Blunham, have received help. The choirs taking part are from St Francis, Welwyn Garden City; St Mary's, Luton; St Peter's, St Albans, and Dunstable Priory. There will also be a brass ensemble and the programme will include pieces by Bach, Elgar, Schutz, Parry, Vaughan Williams and Gabrieli. Tickets, priced pounds 6 and including wine, from:

Mrs J. Martin, St John's Vicarage, 5 St John's Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 1DJ, telephone 0582 712776.

Breckenbrough School, near York, is a small boarding secondary school for boys of good intelligence but disturbed behaviour. The fees are paid by local authorities and the school provides small classes where the boys can grow in self-esteem and develop their gifts in academic, creative and personal ways. The aim is to help the boys so that when they leave, at the age of 17, they will fit into the wider world. The school's After-Care Committee was formed in 1961 with an endowment to provide an after-care officer who keeps in contact with old boys having difficulties coping with their new life - this may mean telephone calls, letters or even a home visit. The officer's work is essential and highly valued by those who use it. The committee is appealing for pounds 1,500 to top up the officer's salary as the endowment fund is dwindling.

J. Pickard, Chairman, After Care Committee, 18 Saville Grove, York, YO3 6NY telephone 0904 621179.