My vocation
Always fascinated by wildlife, Sophie has pursued a career in nature conservation through formal education and traineeships.
She now works as an ecologist, working to conserve Herefordshire’…
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Always fascinated by wildlife, Sophie has pursued a career in nature conservation through formal education and traineeships.
She now works as an ecologist, working to conserve Herefordshire’…
Growing up and living in the countryside for much of her life, Helen is used to big wide open spaces and loves being outside. She enjoys coming to the Centre for Wildlife Gardening, as it’s like…
Look out for the small, yellow flowers of Celery-leaved buttercup in wet meadows and at the edges of ponds and ditches. It flowers from May to September.
Growing in tufts, Crested dog's-tail is a stiff-looking grass, with a tightly packed, rectangular flower spike. Look for it in lowland meadows and grasslands.
The whinchat is a summer visitor to UK heathlands, moorlands and open meadows. It looks similar to the stonechat, but is lighter in colour and has a distinctive pale eyestripe.
One of our most familiar spring flowers, the cowslip brightens up ancient meadows and woodlands with its egg-yolk-yellow, nodding blooms.
Water figwort is a tall plant of riverbanks, pond margins, damp meadows and wet woodlands. Its maroon flowers are pollinated by the Common wasp.
In summer, the 'frothy' flowers of lady's bedstraw can carpet the grasses of meadows, heaths and coasts with yellow and fill the air with a sweet, honey-like scent.
As its name suggests, Meadowsweet is a sweet-smelling flower of damp meadows, ditches and riverbanks. Look for frothy clusters of cream flowers on tall stems.
The Natterer's bat can found across the UK, although it is a scarce species. It prefers to forage low down among trees, often taking prey directly from the foliage.
Instead of draining, make the waterlogged or boggy bits of garden work for nature, and provide a valuable habitat.
Playing tig, hide-and-seek, splashing in muddy puddles, kicking through leaves and seeing what’s under that rock or in that tree – Emma and Ruby love heading to nature reserves at the weekend…