The inescapable hedgerow blossom and emerging fresh, vivid green leaves make for rewarding hedgerow walks. Watching a hedge slowly wake up is a great way to notice how many species it holds. Honeysuckle is often first to emerge, joining the ever-steady holly in leaf. Next come the thorns. One easy way of telling hawthorn and …

…the barks, screams, snorts, and chatter of our wild neighbours, says David Wembridge In the roundup of local crime figures in St Elwick’s Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast, Mike Wozniak reports a case of mistaken identity: ‘On the night of the twelfth, at about two AM, police received several reports of a fight between an old …

50 nationwide events are set to mark Orchard Blossom Day 2023 This April traditional orchards across the country are marking Orchard Blossom Day 2023 by welcoming nature lovers, families and groups of friends to their sites in celebration of fruit trees, flowers and food. Orchard Blossom Day falls on the last Friday in April, and …

Survey hedgerows The lengthening days bring with them temperamental weather, swinging from showers to glorious sunshine that sparkles on waterways and bounces off fresh green growth. They also announce the start of People’s Trust for Endangered Species’ survey season. This time of year offers the chance for people across the UK to get involved in …

Mid-Cornwall Moors span some 1650 hectares of wet and dry heaths, mires and broad-leaved woodland, between Bodmin and Indian Queens. Although the area’s on the western edge of the dormouse range in England, it’s home to several National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP) sites and several incidental records have also been reported from the area. Monitoring …

Celia Carter has been monitoring dormice in Marden Park, a large area of Woodland Trust land, on North Downs in Woldingham, Surrey since 2005. She tells us how What3Words (W3W) has made searching for dormouse boxes, and hopefully dormice, easier. Searching for dormouse nest boxes The woodland here is dense and in summer there’s quite …

The Wood Pasture and Parkland Network (WPPN) is a working group of conservation professionals from a number of different organisations who meet quarterly to share information, promote a wider understanding of the habitat and provide advice on its protection. We usually meet virtually, but once a year we meet in person at an exemplary or …

Volunteers needed to record garden wildlife for nationwide ‘Living with Mammals’ survey This spring, volunteers across the UK are being asked to record sightings of mammals spotted in their gardens, local parks and other green spaces, in a bid to understand our changing environment better and encourage urban wildlife to flourish. The annual ‘Living with …

Countryside specialists Countryside Jobs Service (CJS) is an ethical business working in harmony with environmental professionals to conserve the British countryside and natural world. They’re motivated by conservation success not profits, and their website provides a one-stop shop for everyone in the countryside, conservation, ecology and wildlife sectors. We’re delighted to have been chosen as CJS’s featured …

Without Biodiversity, There is No Net Zero Dec. 6, London: Nature is under grave threat. We estimate one million species are at risk of extinction by 2030 and populations of wildlife have declined 70 percent in 50 years. Global action has never been more urgent, as world leaders prepare for the COP15 UN biodiversity summit …

Restoring Broadwater Warren Broadwater Warren – a 180ha nature reserve – was acquired by the RSPB in 2007. It’s a remnant of Waterdown Forest, a medieval hunting forest in the High Weald where, historically, the landscape would have been open heath with pockets of woodland. RSPB’s aim was to restore rare lowland heath and woodland …

Earlier this month, with the dormouse monitoring season almost over, I excitedly packed my wet weather gear and travelled to northern Germany. I was joining Björn Schulz, Sven Büchner and their families and friends to look for evidence of hazel dormice on the German/Danish border. Finding evidence of dormouse in Germany Germany, like all EU …