My vocation
Elaine has spent her life surrounded by wild places; when she started to volunteer with BBOWT she realised that nature conservation was the job of her dreams. As well as looking after nine nature…
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Elaine has spent her life surrounded by wild places; when she started to volunteer with BBOWT she realised that nature conservation was the job of her dreams. As well as looking after nine nature…
My wild life started before I was old enough to walk, being regularly taken by my mother across the Epsom Downs to enjoy fresh air. Moving to rural Staffordshire aged 3, I was incredibly lucky to…
Learn a tradition with its roots in the Iron Age and build your own mini dry stone wall to attract wildlife.
A familiar 'weed' of gardens, roadsides, meadows and parks, red clover has trefoil leaves and red, rounded flower heads. It is often used as fodder for livestock.
Bladder campion is so-called for the bladder-like bulge that sites just behind the five-petalled flower - this is actually the fused sepals. Look for it on grasslands, farmland and along hedgerows…
One of the joys of a spring day is watching a fluttering, lemon-yellow brimstone alight on a flower - an early sign that the seasons are changing. It is commonly spotted in gardens, woodland and…
The upright, blue flower spikes of Viper's-bugloss can be spotted on chalk grassland, sand dunes, cliffs and banks. Its spotted stem is thought to resemble a viper.
Wavy hair-grass lives up to its name: its fine, hair-like leaves and delicate flower heads can be seen shaking in the breeze of a windswept moorland or heathland.
A tussocky sedge, Greater pond sedge has stout, upright flower spikes, strap-like leaves and triangular stems. It prefers lowland wetland habitats on heavy soils.
Yarrow can be found in many grasslands, from lawns to meadows, its flat-topped clusters of flower heads appearing from June. Cultivated varieties are garden favourites.