A Focus On Nature

A Focus On Nature

A Focus On Nature, A Vision For Nature, Now for Nature

Scottish Wildcat Adventure

Last year I took on the role of Team Leader in the Mammal Society’s University Mammal Challenge (UMAC), using a variety of survey techniques to record as many mammals as possible at Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst campus. With a grand total of 6529 observations of 24 mammal species, our team won a trip up to the Cairngorms in Scotland to spend a day learning about Scottish wildcats and current conservation efforts.
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A Focus On Nature, A Vision For Nature, Now for Nature

FSC BioLinks Project

In 2016 the Field Studies Council (FSC) were awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop a project to address the lack of people able to identify and record difficult species groups, with a focus on the West Midlands and South East regions of England. [Read More]

A Focus On Nature

New Nature: March 2018

Traditionally, March is the first month of Spring: a time of pleasant birdsong, early blooms and fresh, new life. This year, things appear somewhat different. Storm Emma and the ‘Beast from the East’ have collided and merged and Britain, for the most part, finds itself enduring what seems to many like a second Winter. Snow blankets the floor, ice our rivers and lakes and, generally, conditions outside seem rather horrid, both from a human perspective and from that of the wildlife set to suffer should such conditions continue. The only positive aspect of the latest bout of bad weather being that many of us, concealed in the relative warmth of our homes, now have ample time to catch up on reading… [Read More]

A Focus On Nature

We’re Recruiting!

We are currently recruiting for a new Administrator! Read on for details! [Read More]

A Focus On Nature, Now for Nature

Signs of Spring

“It is a moment of quickening, of rebirth. The old, lovely story: life surging back, despite everything, once again. However spring finds you – birdsong, blossom or spawn – it is a signal: the earth turning its ancient face back to the sun.”

Melissa Harrison – ‘Spring: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons’ [Read More]

A Focus On Nature

New Nature: February 2018

It’s been a very busy time lately with lots of interesting environmental news being released this month. Don’t worry if you missed any of it though, as in this issue of New Nature, Abby Condliffe gives us 10 easy ways to help the environment right now (p.26), and our own Emma Pereira recaps the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (p.41) looking at just how connected all of us are to the natural world! Later, Lucia Speroni rounds everything off by looking at the impact of plastic in the North Atlantic (p.30). [Read More]

A Focus On Nature

Best Blog and Pictures of the Week 2017

We need your votes! We have two amazing (albeit currently top secret) prizes available – one for the author of the best blog post of 2017, and one for the photographer/artist of the best Pictures of the Week 2017! [Read More]

A Focus On Nature

New Nature: January 2018

For those of you unfamiliar with New Nature, we are a natural history e-magazine dedicated to bringing the thoughts and views of young naturalists to the forefront of public consciousness. Providing environmentalists under the age of thirty with an outlet for their talents and a publication in which they can discuss everything from conservation and topical environmental issues to ecology, education, local wildlife and photography. Basically, anything which interests them on a personal level. Launched in January 2017, it has now been a full year since the publication of our first issue and, as you will soon see, things haven’t exactly slowed down. [Read More]

A Focus On Nature

BTO Conference 2017

Did you know that brent geese often hang around with the same ‘friends’? Or that golden eagles hunt buzzards in the Hebrides? How about that Manx shearwaters lay eggs that are 15% of their body mass? That would be like a human giving birth to a baby the size of a 4 year old! These intriguing facts didn’t come from a bird guide or nature documentary, but from one of the hottest events in the birdwatching calendar – the BTO Conference. Back in December, I joined the flock of enthusiastic birders, scientists and conservationists attending the weekend to find out exactly why the BTO remains one of the most important nature NGOs in the country. [Read More]