“The State of Nature Report is an assessment of how nature is doing across the UK…The report pools data and expertise from more than 60 nature conservation and research organisations, a partnership unparalleled in UK conservation.” https://www.bto.org/our-work/science/publications/reports/state-of-nature Our latest project, ‘Nature Calling!’ has been kindly funded by Charlotte Holloway, the local councillor of Drake WardContinue reading “Nature Calling!”
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Pasley Street Chalking
Pasley Street (pronounced paisley) is a very long urban road in the heart of Stoke, Plymouth. Join us on our walk and chalk, with Sophie from Green Communities, to identify wildlife on the walls and in the cracks of pavements, serving as valuable green corridors for nature. πΆββοΈπΆββοΈπΆHere we go π… Firedot crustose lichens canContinue reading “Pasley Street Chalking”
Searching for the Real Wild Tulip
It’s fair to say the Dutch people seem really wild about tulips! π· They are everywhere, in every colour and composition imaginable, through a hybridisation process that has lasted over 400 years and still continues.Β There is even a book called Tulipomania explaining the fad that took hold regarding this flower. Each genetically modified design hasContinue reading “Searching for the Real Wild Tulip”
The French Connection
Whilst walking and chalking on Plymouth’s Hoe, we met a lovely French lady and her two young daughters visiting from Paris. They joined in, chalking flowers on the path, and commended our work for raising attention to urban wildflowers, which are key to the survival of pollinators in cities. We explained how this consciousness raisingContinue reading “The French Connection”
Criminal Damage or Ecocide: a right to life
The men responsible for chainsawing the Sycamore Gap tree “were each given sentences of four years and three months”, stated The Guardian on 16th July, 2025. Although the charge was one of criminal damage, “the attack… was met with sadness, disbelief and anger that rippled around the world…the felling caused widespread distress”. Generally, acts ofContinue reading “Criminal Damage or Ecocide: a right to life”
A One Street Wander/Wonder
Did you know that Durnford Street, Plymouth was once the location of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the great fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes? In 1882 he practiced medicine for a short time here. Well, we went on our own investigation to see what urban wild plants we could find on this famous street.Continue reading “A One Street Wander/Wonder”
Let’s Keep Talking
On Friday, 16th May we turned up to a site in Plympton, Plymouth responding to an urgent plea that lots of trees were being chopped down and nesting birds were possibly in danger. Could we stop it?Β Well, we knew nothing about this and neither did anyone else we contacted in our ‘tree caring’ community.Continue reading “Let’s Keep Talking”
Sprightly Stepping into 2025: ‘Cos We’re “Born to be Alive”
A new year can sometimes seem negative: another year older, political, economic and climatic problems; however, it can be an opportunity that represents a liminal threshold to positive change. I don’t just mean those new year’s resolutions that last a few weeks until old habits kick in again, what I mean is real change, aContinue reading “Sprightly Stepping into 2025: ‘Cos We’re “Born to be Alive””
A Puzzling Christmas Chalking
We meet at the City Puzzle Garden in Plymouth. It’s situated next to a busy shopping centre; but why, we wondered, is it so named…A puzzle indeed, until we read the sign. That bottom left red piece tells the tale. This little urban green space is only temporary and earmarked for development, it seems. TheContinue reading “A Puzzling Christmas Chalking”
The Dizzying Spectacle of Dizzard π³π³π³
After our visit to Cabilla, Guy Shrubsole, author of the Lost Rainforests of Britain book, said: “Have you been to Dizzard yet, it’s even bigger?”Β Dizzard…? Where’s Dizzard…? And so the investigation began on this North Cornwall temperate rainforest. We headed for our destination, on the coastline, near Millook, with its stunning chevron rock formations,whichContinue reading “The Dizzying Spectacle of Dizzard π³π³π³”