Wildlife Wellbeing Walks CIC

Hazel – December’s species of the month

rosjones1979 — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 10:59:00 +0000

Hazel – Corylus avellana

Think that there is nothing to see in winter out in nature? Think again! The trees around you might appear to be taking a long nap (or even looking a bit dead), but they are just taking a breather, preparing for new life in the Spring.

Hazel is a great species to be looking out for at this time of the year, with its yellow-green catkins hanging, waiting to emerge. In fact, last year I saw the first open Hazel catkins on Christmas Day! This is quite early (due to the mild conditions) as the normal flowering time is from late January, so this is evidence of our changing climate. The female flowers are much smaller, a crown of red hair-like structures (the styles or pollen tubes). See the image below so you know what to look for.

Each tree has separate male and female flowers (known as monoecious) but cannot self-pollinate. The hazelnuts are a great favourite of many animals, including dormice, and the nuts were also prized by people (and continue to be so), with trees being managed specifically – there are varieties known as ‘cobnuts’ grown specially on the green sand ridge in Kent, which typically have longer nuts.

Hazel has a long association with us humans, being coppiced and used for all sorts of purposes including furniture. The long poles it produces are great for pea sticks in the garden! Typically a hazel tree has a relatively short life (about 80 years), but when coppiced can lives for hundreds of years. Coppiced woodland is wonderful for nature (if managed well), creating a mosaic of different habitats for wild flowers, insects and other animals.

So, next time you are out on a winter walk, have a look for some coppiced hazel and see if you can spot the male and female flowers. Happy winter walking!

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Beech – November’s species of the month

rosjones1979 — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 14:57:56 +0000

Beech – Fagus sylvatica

I love beech trees… I shouldn’t have favourites, but this is definitely in my top 5! From the elegant, sweeping limbs to the perfection of its canopy in spring, summer and autumn. From the beautiful catkins to its knobbly beech mast and long, delicate leaf buds. Not to mention that its trunk looks like an elephant’s foot (and who doesn’t love an elephant) this is a species that has me captivated year-round.

Did you know that copper beech is something which happens spontaneously, and can either be on one or two branches, or the whole tree. The genes are there in all beeches and sometimes just get switched on. It’s not something we breed in, it just happens naturally.

A year in which the tree produces vast quantities of seeds is known as a mast year. Weirdly, this can be seen to be coordinated across ‘all of northern and western Europe’ (including the UK) and no-one really knows how this happens (read more on the Woodland Trust’s page: ‘What is a mast year? How and why it happens’). I just love that there are still some natural mysteries, it makes nature seem even more magical!

There are many connections between people and Beech trees – the mast has been used for pannage for domesticated livestock (particularly pigs) and the seeds can be ground and used to make an alternative to coffee. The wood is used in a range of different ways from furniture to wooden spoons.

One of my favourite facts is that this is a species which (especially in hedges) may hang onto its dead leaves in winter. This phenomenon, known as marcescence, occurs in a few of our native species such as hornbeam and oak. Again, this is not fully understood, but there are a number of theories that have been put forward, as summarised on the Wikipedia page on marcescence.

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Robin red-breast – October’s species of the month

rosjones1979 — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:57:02 +0000

Robin – Erithacus rubecula

With migration firmly in my mind for this month, I thought I would share some information about a much-loved and familiar bird species that mostly stays close to home.

The robin (aka Robin red-breast) usually doesn’t move more than 5km from its territory at any time of the year, although some females will migrate to warmer areas of southern Europe ahead of the winter. Those which remain during the winter season are fiercely territorial and both sexes sing during this time of the year. The singing is intended to prevent physical disputes, but they have been known to fight to the death over territory!

In mainland Europe the robin can be quite a shy, forest-dwelling species. So why is it different in the UK? Much of our island has been deforested and converted to farmland. The robin is well-known as an insectivorous species, and in the colder months of the year may rely on other species to help it get at it’s food. Traditionally, it would have followed wild boar around as they turn over earth in search of food. This is particularly important in winter months when the ground is frozen. Back to the UK, where wild boar had been hunted to extinction… but humans were ploughing the land. The canny robin followed this instead, and this is one of the reasons they will follow gardeners as they turn the soil. We’ve replaced the wild boar and the robin has become less afraid of people because they associate them with food.

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Mute swan – September’s species of the month

rosjones1979 — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 09:54:03 +0000

Mute swan
Cygnus olor

Whilst my background is as a botanist, I also love birds and one constant in my time in Lancaster has been the remarkable mute swans that nest on the canal. These birds have consistently reared 6-9 cygnets a year (and as far as I can tell it has been the same pair) for 14 years. As a species which doesn’t start breeding until age 4, an average survival age of 10 years, and typically 4-7 eggs, these are remarkable birds indeed. If anyone knows whether these are the same birds, or a succession of different pairs, I would love to know!

These are resident birds, so don’t migrate very far, and in the summer you can often see ‘gangs’ (in the nicest possible way!) hanging around on the Lune. These are the non-breeding young adults who are working out who to pair up with. Find out more about the bird- (and plant-) life in Lancaster on one of my regular events.

As many of you will know, unmarked swans in the UK have traditionally been claimed by the monarchy, although King Charles III has changed this slightly to cover only certain areas of the Thames. They appear in folklore (such as Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘The Ugly Duckling’), and of course there is the usual warning not to get too close because ‘they can break your arm’. Rest assured that this is most unlikely (according to this article from Country Life), but you should still give them plenty of space, particularly when they are nesting or with their young. The males can (quite rightly!) become aggressive when defending their young. The same applies to dogs – please keep them on a lead, well away from any birds.

These magnificent birds are a common site in our waterways, but have recently come under some threat from avian flu. Devastatingly, the Lancaster canal pair lost all of their cygnets (which were almost fully grown) in autumn 2022 to the outbreak, but survived themselves. This resistance in the adults gives us some hope for the future, and it appears that population numbers are increasing. A few tips to stay safe (for both you and the birds):

If feeding birds, avoid doing so on hard surfaces (it can promote the spread of bird flu, and can damage the birds’ beaks). Instead, throw into the water.
Do not feed bread. This is like junk-food for the birds, and can cause dangerous algal blooms especially in stagnant water like the canal. Seeds are a good alternative, as are peas (although best to defrost them first!).
Avian flu is highly contagious, so be careful about any close contact. As with any wildlife, it’s probably best to observe from a distance so you don’t disturb them. If you do find any dead/dying birds, don’t touch them, and keep your dog away. If you do have any contact, don’t touch your face or eat anything, and wash your hands thoroughly as soon as possible. For all of the latest information, please visit the RSPB page on avian flu.

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Nature-based nurturing: A day retreat

rosjones1979 — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 10:07:58 +0000

A relaxing day of pampering

On Thursday 15th February we held our first Day Retreat in conjunction with Amy Gunawan Willow Weaving and Leah Dalby, independent Tropic Ambassador.

The theme for the day was the botanicals that featured throughout, we learned information about each species (see below), and used them in our willow-woven heart. The aromatic species (rosemary, lavender and eucalyptus) are all used in the Tropic Skincare products for their naturally beneficial properties (and they smell amazing, too!) and have been used for hundreds (if not thousands) of years by people for this reason.

Rosemary, Lavender and Eucalyptus (c) L Dalby

A taster of the day (c) L Dalby

Ros demonstrating the essential oils (c) A Gunawan

Amy showing us how to make our willow hearts (c) L Dalby

Amy with our completed hearts (c) L Dalby

Ros looking forward to her pampering facial (c) R Jones

Leah telling us about Tropic Skincare (c) R Jones

Completed willow heart (c) A Gunawan

All of our completed hearts (c) A Gunawan

Here is some more information about each of our featured species:

Black Maul Willow (Salix triandra).
All willows contain salicylic acid, which forms the basis of aspirin. It has been used either by chewing or boiling the bark to make a natural painkiller. There are many native species in the UK, which frequently hybridise with each other, making them hard to identify!
White Dogwood (Cornus alba).
An introduced species of Cornus, this one is grown ornamentally in parks and gardens. Our native species, Cornus sanguinea, grows in hedgerows and its high levels of tanins made it a good substitute for quinine in the treatment of malaria.
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus).
A member of the mint family, rosemary has recently been reclassified as a species of Salvia, closely related to sage and many plants grown in gardens. Native to the Mediterranean, it’s name means ‘sea mist’, and is adapted to hot, dry conditions and taking moisture from sea mists. Its many secondary compounds contribute to the aromatic smell that makes it a favourite in mediterranean cuisine, and it has excellent antioxidant properties when applied to the skin or taken internally.
Lavender (Lavandula sp.)
Also a member of the mint family, lavender has been used for thousands of years, and is best known for aiding sleep. Traces has been found in king Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt! In recent years it has been found to be useful in treating a number of neurological conditions including anxiety and Alzheimer’s although more robust studies are required to prove its efficacy.
Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.)
Eucalypts are native to Australia, where there are hundreds of species. Properties of these trees include wood that is ideal for making pulp (for making paper) and chemical components that are used as anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. The trees have also been grown in areas of high malaria to reduce the water table (the trees transpire vast quantities of water) and as an insect repellent to mosquitoes. Due to its high water-uptake, the species is controversial when grown commercially in some countries.

References:

Black maul willow
– Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_triandra)
White dogwood
– Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus_alba)
Rosemary
– Rosmarinus officinalis and Skin: Antioxidant Activity and Possible Therapeutical Role in Cutaneous Diseases. Pomi, FL, et al. (2023), Antioxidants (Basel), 12(3): 680. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10045493/)
Lavender
– Aromatherapy for the brain: Lavender’s healing effect on epilepsy, depression, anxiety and Alzheimer’s disease: A review article. Bavarsad, NH, et al. (2023), Heliyon 9, e18492 (https://www.cell.com/heliyon/pdf/S2405-8440(23)05700-6.pdf).
– Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavandula)
Eucaluptus
– Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus)

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Marsh Community Centre project

rosjones1979 — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 09:29:42 +0000

In December we received our first grant funding from the Pots of Possibility fund (part of the National Lottery Community Fund). This is for a joint project with the Marsh Community Centre where we will be working with local people to:

Cook healthy (and more sustainable) meals that are good value, given the cost of living crisis.
Provide family activities to encourage participation.
Work with cross-generational groups to reduce loneliness and isolation.
Use waste- and locally sourced-materials for craft activities.
Utilise the existing allotment to grow fruit and vegetables, encouraging groups to get involved and learn more about where food comes from and how to grow your own.

We have received a grant of £7,000 to deliver activities related to this project during 2024, and will be starting soon. If you are interested in finding out more, please email admin@wildlifewalk.co.uk

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The Wellbeing Hour – September

rosjones1979 — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 16:02:06 +0000

What is 'Wellbeing'?

For our 3 sessions in September we have explore what wellbeing actually is and what we can do to help improve it. We looked at the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and how these might relate to nature:

Connect – both with each other and with nature.
Learn – with the natural world there is always something we don’t already know. Every day is a school day!
Be Active – taking a walk in nature is a great way to do this.
Give – both monetary, time and even some lazy ways to help support nature.
Notice – really look at, listen to, and experience the natural world in all weathers and throughout the different seasons.

It has been interesting to listen to everyone’s experiences and see how we view things in different and similar ways. Poems and readings have featured as part of the sessions, and we’ve looked at some different plant species (both native and introduced) as part of our noticing, connecting and learning.

An introduction to mindfulness

Mindfulness can be a really beneficial way towards wellbeing because it can help us to connect, notice and learn – by being more present in each moment.

The image above was taken on our 17th September session, as part of our short walk. We noticed this beautiful beech tree growing behind the wall and that it was clearly old. But we also spotted the other plants growing out of the wall beneath it (including ivy-leaved toadflax), and a holly tree with unusually smooth leaves.

This, of course, led to the question ‘why are the leaves not spiky?’ Following some research, I discovered that the holly responds to predation by having leaves that are more spiky. This is intended to keep animals from munching the leaves – clearly in this high-up spot near the wall, there are no natural predators! But in other areas of town, where there are also no animals eating the holly, why are those leaves spiky? I suspect that us trimming our holly shrubs/hedges replicates the same sort of response (damage) in the plant as grazing by an animal, hence the spikier leaves.

Noticing, connecting and learning clearly came easily to us on this particular session, and I like to think it was because we were being mindfully aware of our natural surroundings.

Still to come...

If you’ve missed out on the September sessions of The Wellbeing Hour, but would like to come along, we will be running more in October, November and December. Details below:

October – Positive changes in Autumn
November – Bringing light into darker days
December – Embracing the turning of the year.

For more details and to book, please go to the Events page on the website.

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Claver Hill – 10th Anniversary

rosjones1979 — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 08:26:16 +0000

Sunday 27th August 2023

A community farm (in every sense)

When they talk about ‘community’ at Claver Hill, it means everything as well as everyone. What do I mean by this? Well, it was clear from our Wellbeing Walk around the space that it is very much managed with the natural community in mind.

All too often, we forget that we are part of nature: no matter how much we silo ourselves in buildings and (some) think that we are superior to it. Working with, rather than against, nature has clearly reaped a whole host of rewards at Claver Hill – plentiful crops, a thriving community of people, but also abundant wildlife.

In recent years we have seen how destructive it can be to produce food, but this is far from how it is at Claver Hill. If you want to find out more about their work, methods and how you can join in, please visit the Claver Hill Facebook page.

The walk

We did a tour around the Nature Trail, looking at the different plants (both native, and those planted within the farmed areas). We experienced the scents of different types of mint, the types of plants that bees were liking (and how we can plant for wildlife in our own spaces), and different methods of seed dispersal.

As we are approaching autumn, the fruits are clearly starting to ripen, and this was a good opportunity to discuss how birds eat and disperse seeds, as well as well as those which are dispersed by wind or unwitting animal vectors!

There was plenty of wildlife visible – bees, flies, butterflies, dragonflies and birds (including a buzzard over the hill at one point). This clearly is a great space for nature. Here’s to the next 10 years!

The hill above Claver Hill Farm

Nature trail

Ripening rose hips

Speckled Wood butterfly

Wild Rose with rose hips

Elder tree

Elder berries at different stages of ripening

Spear Thistle seed-heads

Ripening pears

Common Carder Bee on Zinnia

Water management pond

Common Carder Bee on Red Clover

Poetry Corner

On Claver Hill by Ros Jones

On Claver Hill I stood and watched
As people toiled, and cropped, and swapped
On Claver Hill I stopped and heard
People’s voices, the wind, insects, many-a-bird
On Claver Hill I stilled and felt
The hope of community; away my troubles began to melt
On Claver I swooped and stared
As I saw people working with land and wildlife, who really cared
On Claver Hill I stayed.
With joy I roared: people and planet connected,
Our voices soared

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Mindfulness and nature

rosjones1979 — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 09:28:16 +0000

A personal journey

Why do I have a photo of a cat here? Well, this was my lovely old Soots when he was in his prime, but I had to say goodbye to him this weekend. Aside from the obvious heart-wrenching grief of losing a precious member of my family, it has made me realise some things, and I wanted to share this in case it helps or inspires you.

Firstly, I am a massive worrier and have been for a large proportion of my life. And I overthink. I am saying this with kindness to myself, not judging: it is just how things have been for a long time. But what I am discovering is that this is not who I am, and these moments of worry and overthinking are only that: moments.

This too shall pass

I am sure most of us are aware of this adage (it is translated from a Persian fable… had to look that up!). It always seemed to me a bit of a banal and trite thing to say, perhaps even a little insensitive. But now I am really recognising its simple truth.

Even amidst the pain of discovering, suddenly, that Soots was never going to fully recover I was able to accept the situation (albeit with floods of tears) and have rational conversations about what the best thing would be for him. This gave me the courage (with the amazing support of friends, family and the vets) to make the hardest of decisions.

What has really surprised me since is that far from wallowing in the pain of loss 24-7, I am having some truly lovely experiences. This happened too after my mum died, but I did not realise it like I can now.

This is the power of mindfulness.

What is mindfulness?

It is an awareness of what is happening inside and outside, of being connected with the current moment and recognising when our brain takes us down a thinking path.

My thinking brain often involves going back over past events or what might happen in the future. And this is where the overthinking and worrying come in. This is natural, a throwback to our evolutionary past when we would be constantly looking for signs of danger and problem-solving ways of staying alive.

What mindfulness has taught me is to be so much more aware of that thinking brain. I can still go down a thinking spiral (with associated emotions), but now I (usually) see it happening. This doesn’t always mean that I can acknowledge and let it go, but this is progress and I am experiencing the benefits.

Nature and nurture

My big revelation of happy, contentedness came to me yesterday afternoon, barely 24 hours since Soots had died.

How was this possible? I felt light, alive, and there wasn’t even a trace of sadness for a short period of time.

I am certain that this was because I had been for a nature walk with a lovely friend. We weren’t just in nature and chattering (although we did that too!), but we really engaged with it: sights, sounds and smells and a curiosity about what we were experiencing. We spent over an hour talking over a hot drink or two after the walk, and that also really helped.

The point for me is that nature is soothing to our brains, and we are social beings, so the combination was a really powerful tonic and very much needed. It was a nurturing experience and that is why I felt happy.

Time & self-care

I will continue to experience waves of sadness, but I know that these will go, just as the happy feeling went when a small thing reminded me of how much I miss Soots.

Going forward, I will keep up my meditation and mindfulness practices, and I will continue to engage with nature. Most of all, I will give myself time and compassion whilst I come to terms with my loss (I will also cry buckets), and plenty of self-care.

Look after yourselves out there – and if you are experiencing grief or are struggling with anything else, please reach out (to anyone). You are not alone.

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The Storey Gardens

rosjones1979 — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 16:45:55 +0000

Talk & Walk - Saturday 1st July

A hidden gem in the heart of Lancaster

The Talk

The Talk portion of the day was delivered by Janet, a volunteer who has a wealth of knowledge about The Storey Institute and the Gardens.

Janet delivered a fascinating insight into the history of the site (the gardens only exist thanks to World War II evacuees being located in The Storey), and how the Tasting Garden came to be. I had no idea that it was a conceptual art installation!

The original sculptures from the installation are long gone (sadly, stolen for their scrap metal value), but The Friends of the Storey Garden have been raising funds to have them replaced. Two new sculptures of a plum and a pear have been created by local stonemason Alan Ward, who is based at Lancaster Castle.

If you ever get the opportunity to find out more about the gardens, I would encourage you to do so – there is far too much to include just here, but Janet delivered it in a witty and engaging manner.

The Walk

Volunteer Fiona (who can be found tending to the gardens most mornings of the week) gave us a wonderful guided tour of the gardens and, despite a pretty awful forecast, the weather was extremely kind to us!

It is clear that the gardens are loved and are cared for in a way that promotes wildlife as well as creating a relaxing space for people in the heart of the city. This is such a fantastic example of people and nature co-existing very happily! We were also provided with some interesting stories, particularly about the plant know as Giant Sea Holly but which is also given the name ‘Miss Wilmott’s Ghost’. The lady in question, a contemporary of Vita Sackville-West was not keen on overly neat, structured gardens, so would collect the seeds of this plant and scatter them liberally to break up the uniformity. Due to their grey-white colour, you can see how they got this nickname. One of the first guerrilla gardeners!

Fiona gave some top tips on gardening for wildlife:

Have a mixture of plants that flower throughout the year to provide food sources for insects.
Choose flowers which have flat heads (such as daisies, wild-type geraniums) and single (rather than double) flowers, or those which have many little flowers (florets) in a flowering head (inflorescence), such as buddleia.

From my own experience of gardening, I know that common herbs in the mint family (including rosemary, lavender, oregano, sage and other salvias) are also very popular with bees and hover flies when they flower.

We also discovered that ivy and holly are both necessary plants for the holly blue butterfly – the caterpillars feed on the young (tender) leaves of these plants.

The Wildlife

As you can see from the images above, the wildlife clearly love what volunteers like Fiona are doing with the space. The species we saw (or saw signs of) included:

Common carder bee
Red-tailed bumblebee
Buff- or white-tailed (or possibly both!) bumblebee
Early bumblebee
Leaf-cutter bee – evidenced by the semi-circular pieces missing from a rose
Hover fly (probably Eupiodes corollae the Migrant Hoverfly)
Pellucid fly (another species of hoverfly)

Poetry corner

In the garden, towards the back resides both a musk rose (there are stones in the border so you can carefully reach it to smell it) and sweet briar (also known as eglantine). Fiona reminded us of the following famous lines where they feature:

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
with sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
there sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Act 2, Scene 1,
by William Shakespeare

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