AS part of the celebrations for its 60th birthday the Wharfedale Naturalists Society is mounting a winter programme of talks, all by members of the Society.

Last Thursday's opening event was no exception, as President Peter Riley pointed out in his introduction. Alan Titchmarsh had been a junior member in the 1970s and was still on the roll.

Alan's theme was 'Gardening with Wildlife' and the capacity audience clearly revelled in the mixture of reminiscences, advice, jokes and stories which made up this Evening with Titchmarsh. He had fond memories of the King's Hall as a performer on stage in Oklahoma and The Quaker Girl, attending local dances and in his work for the Parks Department, filling the balcony with chrysanthemums.

He shared happy memories, too, of his days as a Wharfedale Naturalist, his Observer Book of Birds carrying the signature of at least two naturalists (speakers at WNS meetings) who became media figures - our own Walter Flesher (from Burley) and George Cansdale, the 'Zoo Man' on TV, always in a three-piece suit and with a collection of exotic animals, usually including a snake in a bag!

Alan had clearly enjoyed the countryside around Ilkley, moors, river and woodland - especially Middleton Woods, one of the best bluebell sites in the country. Some of the botany he acquired in these early years led on naturally to his first job as apprentice gardener, working in the huge Victorian glass houses on Little Lane, where he learned about growing things - for example taking 5,000 geranium cuttings.

In these early years organic gardening had not been an option. He explained how greenhouse hygiene had involved setting fire to a pile of shredded nicotine in the greenhouse and then making a dash for the door as the fumes spread; a hilarious mime then illustrated how, in the event of a flare up, the unfortunate apprentice had to dart back, handkerchief over his mouth, douse the flames and escape, coughing and retching. No wonder this procedure killed greenfly - it had been used to kill soldiers.

Modern gardeners were not blameless either, tossing slug-pellets about like blue rain, when one pellet every 18 inches is sufficient.

Better still - work with nature by gardening organically. It may take time to be effective but is worth it. Gardening for wildlife involves compromise: tolerating some pests, encouraging natural predators like song thrushes, perhaps introducing others, like nematodes to deal with slugs, and leaving untidy corners, piles of logs and stands of nettles.

It's important to choose flowering plants for the butterflies and moths (single rather than double flowered forms are best for nectar) and not to forget the food plants for the larva - hence the nettles.

After the interval Alan deftly handled a quick-fire question and answer session with the audience, ranging from advice about whether to prune a hydrangea - answer 'No' - to what to do about a neighbour's Japanese Knotweed - short answer 'Move'!.

The classic conundrum was from a lady who'd just watched her visiting heron eat one of her frogs. Should she preserve the frog or the heron? All gardening for wildlife is a matter of compromise!

The climax to the WNS 60th anniversary celebrations this week took the form of an open day with an exhibition in the Clarke-Foley Centre in Ilkley.

The event was well publicised around Ilkley in the morning by the town-crier and a steady stream of interested visitors enjoyed the displays illustrating the flora and fauna of Wharfedale and the history of the Society.

Young visitors particularly enjoyed

the collection of animal skulls, the chance to examine specimens

through a microscope, and the fascinating soil section, detailing "Life in a Cow-pat".