On 12 August 2022, after weeks of dry, hot weather, the inevitable happened: there was a serious fire on Peartree Green local nature reserve. I was sitting in our garden when my partner came out around 5 pm and said, “Something’s on fire over there”. I turned to look and said, “Oh my god, thatContinue reading “Peartree Green: after the fire”
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Outdoor Learning: Noticing Nature
Not surprisingly for a nature-lover, one of my favourite parts of working in outdoor learning at Youth Options was when young people showed an interest in the natural world around them. Sometimes this was in the forest school area, and other times it was out on a walk around Itchen Valley Country Park, where weContinue reading “Outdoor Learning: Noticing Nature”
When is it lunchtime?
In my last blog post in January, 8 months ago, I was about to start a permanent post with Youth Options, after first volunteering, then working on a casual basis with them since October 2020. As a casual worker, a lot of my job was working at holiday club, so it’s fitting that my finalContinue reading “When is it lunchtime?”
Litter pick challenge
What you see above is probably a typical image that strangers in my area have of me. Rummaging in a hedge, pulling out litter! I find it hard to ignore rubbish, and even more so when it’s somewhere green, somewhere that wildlife should be finding food or a home. We’re fortunate to have several greenContinue reading “Litter pick challenge”
My year in the Nature Zone
As soon as I spent my first afternoon in the Nature Zone at Wordsworth Primary School on 24 September 2020, I was hooked. What an amazing place! It was set up by the children in 2014 under the guidance of Steve, the outdoor learning tutor. (He’s also a film-maker and has shared a series ofContinue reading “My year in the Nature Zone”
Helping Hedgehogs
One Sunday afternoon in August 2020, the day after we’d had this hole cut in the fence, we heard a commotion in the alley on the other side. The little girl who lives over the road had spotted a hedgehog. They shouldn’t be out in daylight, so we brought it into our garden, tucked itContinue reading “Helping Hedgehogs”
Wonderful Woodland
When I worked opposite Southampton’s Little Common, I’d often go for some ‘tree time’. If I was tired or stressed, I knew even a few minutes with trees would revive me. Sometimes I’d eat my lunch there – the only problem was motivating myself to go back into my office! I have a similar problemContinue reading “Wonderful Woodland”
Winter Treasures
I don’t know what this seedhead is. Normally that would be a source of anxiety for me, as I like to identify things. That’s been my usual pattern in the five years or so that I’ve been regularly exploring my local nature reserve, Peartree Green – taking photos then spending time looking up what I’veContinue reading “Winter Treasures”
Exploring Itchen Ferry shore
Until a few days ago, I didn’t know my limpets from my barnacles. Now though I can tell you a limpet is a mollusc whereas a barnacle is a crustacean, and I can recognise a barnacle because I found some on a rock at Itchen Ferry shore. Itchen Ferry was a village destroyed when theContinue reading “Exploring Itchen Ferry shore”
A wilder garden
Lunchtime today, and I glanced out of the window and spotted a wren hopping around in the front garden. What’s the connection with this photo? Well, ‘my’ wren might be paying me frequent visits because it’s finding food. Not the seeds and fatballs that are popular with the sparrows and starlings, but the insects itContinue reading “A wilder garden”
Dandelion Nature 