You gain an entirely new type of love for a place when you put your sweat, blood and (on the odd occasion) tears into making sure it doesn’t just survive, but thrives.
Meet the Conservation Groups with a Vision for Moor Trees
I happen to live on the doorstep of one of Britain’s most southerly national parks. Dartmoor National Park is moorland resting on Britain’s largest granite outcrop and stretching across 954 km2 (368 sq mi). Once heavily forested it is now predominantly treeless, aside from some isolated ancient woodland and coniferous forestry, and carpeted in thick blanket bog.
The south east of Dorset is home to the Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch conurbation, the biggest population centre in the county. This urban environment is home to many people, but in between all the buildings, roads and humans, wildlife can still be found.
Over the past couple of years, the work being done to conserve wildlife on the Burry Inlet has increased dramatically. The Inlet itself is sandwiched between Carmarthenshire and West Glamorgan with each side now doing vital work. The majority of the work has been done via grants from wildlife organisations or through strategically funding these projects. WWT Llanelli has also played a great part on the Carmarthenshire side having altered a lot of the reserve to suit certain species of birds and mammals that are currently visiting the site. [Read More]
One cold November morning, a group of young Yorkshire Wildlife Trust volunteers found themselves crammed into a van on their way to begin work on a natural flood management project in Leeds. Our goal was to reinforce the banks of the river Aire through the process of willow spiling. [Read More]
Want To Generate Support For Conservation? Let Kids Play Outside!
I can’t remember when I first fell in love with the outdoors. One of my most vivid memories from primary school is rummaging for insects under the hedge at the back of the school playing field during a science lesson when I was 8. An earwig ended up crawling into a classmate’s shoe while he tried to manoeuvre it into a jar, which caused great amusement. I remember wishing that every lesson was like this. [Read More]
The undergrowth crunches beneath my feet as I trek through the scrubland of the Surrey heath; the sun blazing down – a rare treat for an English summer. A basking adder appears, motionless at the foot of a gorse bush. The striking eyes piercing, almost threatening, defying me to make another step. I couldn’t help but marvel at the menacing beauty of the UK’s only poisonous snake. [Read More]
When I first moved to a city from extremely rural Cumbria in early 2016, I was dubious about what I’d be able to do to help nature in my new home. My parent’s home in Cumbria was a nature haven – smack bang in the north Pennines, I’d watch kestrels hunting from my bedroom window, we had a resident sparrowhawk that sat round the back of the house and would hurtle around it to catch the birds feasting on the feeders at the front. Of course the feeders were always busy, house and hedge sparrows, many tit species – including long tailed tits, ever faithfully appeared in groups, the occasional family of great spotted woodpeckers, starlings, blackbirds, song thrushes – suffice to say it was awash with wildlife. [Read More]
Biological recording has long been one of my favourite things to do: getting out and writing down what you see, and then sharing your observations with everyone. The value of recording is immense. Your data can be used by anyone, anywhere. People can use it to piece together details on locations, phenology, habitats and much more for a particular species.