Spinning Stories at the Spinnies Aberogwen
For 30 Days Wild 2023, we invited those that love to write to join us at Spinnies Aberogwen Nature Reserve for a creative writing walk. Here is a selection of wonderful prose written by some of…
Chwilio
Speckled wood butterfly - Vicky Nall
Chwilio
Roesel's bush-cricket
The song of the Roesel's bush-cricket is very characteristic: long, monotonous and mechanical. It can be heard in rough grassland, scrub and damp meadows in the south of the UK, but it is…
Upland mixed ash wood
Beautiful displays of flowers spread under the gentle shade of unfurling ash leaves in spring, while in winter the abundant ferns and mosses mean these small, rocky woods retain a watery greenness…
Mysterious natural explosions …
If you go down to the woods today, you may be in for a big surprise!
Slow worm
Despite appearances, the slow worm is actually a legless lizard, not a worm or a snake! Look out for it basking in the sun on heathlands and grasslands, or even in the garden, where it favours…
Say No to Neonics
A pesticide known to kill bees has been authorised for farmers to use on sugar beet crops in England. The deadly neonicotinoid (or neonic), thiamethoxam, was banned EU-wide in 2018 because of the wide-spread harm it causes.
Smooth newt
You are likely to spot the smooth newt in your garden or local pond. It breeds in water in summer and spends the rest of the year in grassland and woodland, hibernating over winter.
Sea beet
Sometimes called 'Wild spinach', Sea beet can be cooked and eaten. It grows wild on shingle beaches, cliffs and bare ground near to the sea, as well as in saltmarshes.
Lesser celandine
Heralding spring, a carpet of sunshine-yellow lesser celandine flowers is a joy to see on a woodland walk. Look out for it along hedgerows, in parks and even in graveyards, too, from March onwards…
Stoat
The stoat is a small mustelid, related to the weasel and otter. It has an orange body, black-tipped tail and distinctive bounding gait. Spot it on grassland, heaths and in woodlands across the UK…
Northern hay meadow
These beautiful, herb-rich meadows are at their best between late-May and mid-July (after which they are cut for hay, weather permitting). Later, after the haycut, pale fields with geometric…
Field vole
With a population of 75 million, the field vole is one of the UK's most common mammals. Hidden among the vegetation of grassland, heathland and moorland, it is not as easily spotted as the…