#606: Stephen Collins on Beaver reintroduction

A super cartoon from Stephen Collins who has a lovely style and tackles cultural and everyday issues in a creative way.

Prints can also be purchased from his shop.

Check out Instagram and other locations to find his work.

Copyright: Stephen Collins.

#600: Spoonbill Cam

“By making the best use of technology, we are able to bring unseen nature directly into people’s homes, allowing them to witness the secret lives of some of our most iconic wetland birds. Following a wide range of species through the breeding season promises to provide truly compelling viewing.”

Jake Fiennes

Holkham Estate, and the work of Jake Fiennes (as featured in his book 'Land Healer') will be the focus for a resource that I'm planning as part of a suite of resources to support teachers when the draft specification launches.

The estate has a range of habitats and some of those have webcams to track the wildlife.

This one is a first: a spoonbill cam.

#107: Can you see the wood for the trees?

The latest in a series of posts on organisations which aim to protect some aspect of Natural History, and may be involved in the creation of teaching materials for the specification.

The Woodland Trust was created in 1972, so 2022 marked its 50th anniversary. 

In that time it has planted over 50 million trees, and also undergone some changes in its strategy over which trees it should planting in specific locations. 

The Woodland Trust has produced a range of resources that would be of interest for those preparing materials for the new specification. 

Temperature deciduous woodland is the climax vegetation for the UK, although most of the country is held in plagioclimax by humans. 

Ancient woodlands are very few and far between, with tiny remote pockets such as Wistman's Wood on Dartmoor. I shall post about Guy Shrubsole's excellent, and award-winning book separately.

Recent research has pointed out the importance of mature trees. It is important to keep them in place. A few saplings in plastic tubes do not perform the same function.

We also need far more trees in urban areas to provide shade on the hottest of days.

Urban trees are #biodiversity heroes in concrete jungles, reducing energy use, improving water quality, and increasing property values.

🌳🏙️🌳

Via @FAO pic.twitter.com/khEZRFBry1

— UN Biodiversity (@UNBiodiversity) June 29, 2023

There is also Woodland Trust's work in Scotland, who also produce learning materials. I am a fan of their Primary pack for Learning Outdoors which has lots of nice activities in an attractive downloadable pack.

Their work on saving Scotland's temperate forests is outlined here.

I've visited several of these locations, including Uig wood on the Isle of Skye.