My classroom
Passionate about the oceans and the diverse life that they hold, Bex is lucky enough to be able to teach scuba diving to university students at Plymouth University. This provides her with the…
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Passionate about the oceans and the diverse life that they hold, Bex is lucky enough to be able to teach scuba diving to university students at Plymouth University. This provides her with the…
The tightly packed, thistle-like purple flower heads of common knapweed bloom on all kinds of grasslands. Also regularly called black knapweed, this plant attracts clouds of butterflies.
Greater burdock is familiar to us as the sticky plant that children delight in, frequently throwing the burs at each other. It actually uses these hooked seed heads to help disperse its seeds.
An introduced plant, vervain is widely naturalised in the UK. It is a great source of nectar for all kinds of insects and can be seen on rough grassland, waste ground, coastal cliffs and roadside…
The delicate, tube-like, violet-blue flowers of Skullcap bloom from June to September in damp places, such as marshes, fens, riverbanks and pond margins.
A plant of chalk and limestone grasslands and sand dunes, Yellow-wort has butter-yellow flowers. Its distinctive leaves sit opposite each other, but are fused together around the stem.
The drooping, tubular, pink flowers of Common comfrey are a familiar sight to many gardeners. Sometimes considered a 'weed', this hairy plant can be used as an organic fertiliser and a…
Living up to its name, the common blue damselfly is both very common and very blue. It regularly visits gardens - try digging a wildlife-friendly pond to attract damselflies and dragonflies.
Also known as 'Scorpion-grass' because of the curved 'tail' at the end of its stems, Water forget-me-not is a distinctive plant of damp habitats. Over summer, it produces…
Chamomile releases a beautiful, apple-like scent when crushed. For this reason, it was used in Elizabethan times as a plant for lawns and seats! Today, it is scarce in the wild, its grassland…
Yr wylan gefnddu fwyaf yw’r wylan fwyaf yn y byd! Oherwydd ei maint, ychydig o ysglyfaethwyr sy’n ceisio ymosod arni, ond gall fod yn fyrbryd blasus o dro i dro i eryrod cynffon gwyn, siarcod a…
Water-soldier grows submerged in ponds and open water, and pops up over summer, looking like the top of a pineapple! This rare plant displays white flowers and shelters many aquatic insects.