Soft rush
As its name suggests, the smooth stems of soft rush are thinner and more flexible than those of hard rush. It forms tufts in wetland habitats like wet woodlands, marshes, ditches and grasslands.…
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
How to make a woodland edge garden for wildlife
Few of us can contemplate having a wood in our back gardens, but just a few metres is enough to establish this mini-habitat!
Freshwater and wet places
Our wetlands range from small ponds and tiny streams to lengthy rivers like the Severn and huge wetlands like the Somerset Levels, East Anglian Fens and the Norfolk Broads.
My gateway
John has been attending the Recovery Project at Idle Valley Nature Reserve for three years. After being diagnosed with dyslexia and getting bullied for several years at school, he was left with…
How to grow a wildlife- friendly vegetable garden
Learn about companion planting, friendly pest control, organic repellents and how wildlife and growing vegetables can go hand in hand.
Weird noses
Discover 7 of nature's oddest noses
Natterer's bat
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.
My therapy
Albie has had a love of nature from a young age. He first started getting out in nature as a Scout. He became a Scout leader and outward bound instructor, mostly working as a volunteer youth…
My reward
Carole has been volunteering at Idle Valley for seven years now; whilst she used to get involved with the heavy work out on the reserve, the garden is now her domain, working with the Recovery…
My jump leads
Ann and her husband nurture and cultivate specialist sphagnum mosses and vascular plants like bog cranberry for a community area of the moss: they’re kickstarting the vegetation growth on Little…
My rock gig
Peter is fanning the flames of his love for geology, as he burns the bramble they have cleared to reveal rock formations on Portway Hill. He is a geologist, with the Black Country Geological…
My wellbeing
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…