Category Archives: _News

Both fir and pine trees are conifers, bearing cones, and members of the same plant family, Pinaceae. This family is also joined by cedars and larch. It can be difficult to tell apart the different groups of fir trees, but the needles and cones … Continue reading →

The warm and sunny spells at the end of March were the perfect prompt to get insects more active in search of pollen and nectar. You will notice bumblebees, in particular (not just due to their size!), buzzing around your … Continue reading →

Our outdoor volunteering activities will be returning this April. Please join us to help us continue our habitat improvement work. We will be completing some simple and low-impact tasks, including wildflower seeding and installing stake-and-binder fences on sites.   We are … Continue reading →

Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus Ulmus. The English Elm was a very common sight in the UK, especially Wales, before the 70’s. It is instantly recognisable by the leaves, which have bristly hairs on … Continue reading →

February marks the end of the winter season and gives us a hint at the activity to come, in spring. Our followers reported seeing a lot more bird activity last month, with a number of you seeing large flocks of … Continue reading →

Dogwood or Cornel comes from a large family called Cornaceae. It ranges from low creeping shrubs to large trees. Some of the 60 species grow well in hedgerows and look similar to Privet. Many of us recognise it as the … Continue reading →

Catkins are small clusters of flowers and can be seen on some trees. My favourite of all catkins are found on the Goat Willow. Most of us know this tree as the pussy willow because its catkins look like cat’s … Continue reading →

I could not celebrate our volunteers without talking about their love of all things “cake”. As I mentioned, last week, you have to add in the mid-volunteering sweet treat (with a cuppa, of course!) to keep the momentum up. Continue reading →

You might be wondering, why the jump from “acorns” to “brambles”? Well, let’s first look at how the mighty oak gets off the ground, literally. There are many schools of thought about how to germinate an acorn. Some say you … Continue reading →