Melancholy thistle
As its name suggests, the Melancholy thistle was once used to treat 'melancholia' (depression). Today, it can be found in upland hay meadows showing off its single, purple, thistle-like…
Search
Chwilio
Pyramidal orchid
The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. It likes chalk grassland, sand dunes, roadside verges and quarries…
Common dog-violet
Our most familiar wild violet, the Common dog-violet can be spotted in a range of habitats from woodland to grassland, hedgerows to pastures. Its pansy-like, purple flowers appear from April to…
Spear thistle
A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…
Starling
The starling is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful purple-and-green sheen to its black feathers. It is famous for its wintry aerial displays - massive flocks can be seen wheeling over…
Saw-wort
Saw-wort gets its common name from the serrated, saw-like edges to its leaves. It is a plant of unimproved hay meadows and woodland edges, its purple, thistle-like flowers appearing over summer.…
My Early Days
I was appointed to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust on 20th July 2020, as Head of Nature Recovery South, after being interviewed on two Zoom meetings, a very odd experience in these strange…
Green Connections Powys
Green Connections Powys is a collaborative Wildlife Trusts project across Powys working with community groups, small businesses, landowners and local councils to take action to address climate change and biodiversity loss and create a nature recovery network across the county.
My close up
Once a month, Robert attends his local Wildlife Watch group in Nottinghamshire. He’s been going for over a year now and has made lots of new friends; most of all, though, he loves how much he has…
Is tree planting the best thing for wildlife and the climate?
Like most things, the answer is not black and white, as tree-planting has a lot of potential pitfalls! In this blog, Tammy urges us to think carefully about whether planting is needed, or if…
Surviving Winter
We tend to think of winter as a difficult time for our local wildlife but in reality, they have evolved to cope with it rather well. In this blog I consider how the different creatures in our…
Ambitious new Welsh-English project to restore nature and boost rural prosperity across unique Marches region
Today a group of Wildlife Trusts launch Wilder Marches – a ground-breaking nature recovery project across two countries, four counties and three major river catchments. Montgomeryshire,…