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…
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Chwilio
Bloody crane's-bill
Bloody crane's-bill has striking magenta flowers that pepper our rare limestone pavements, grasslands and sand dunes with summer colour. It is a favourite of all kinds of insects, including…
Little grebe
The little grebe is a fantastic diver, but to help it swim underwater, its feet are placed towards the back of its body, making it rather clumsy on land. It only really comes ashore to breed.
Gudgeon
The gudgeon is a bottom-dwelling fish, similar to the stone loach, but with only two whisker-like barbels near its mouth. These sensory organs help it to find its prey in the sand and gravel of…
Celebrating Seabirds and Inclusive Stories for World Book Day
Author Karen Owen shares how Skomer inspired her latest children’s book ‘Major and Mynah: Project Puffin’ and discusses the significance of her main character being hard of hearing.
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…
Sea-buckthorn
Sea-buckthorn is a spiny, thicket-forming shrub of sand dunes. It's native to the east coast of England but considered an invasive species elsewhere. It is most obvious in autumn when it is…
Biting stonecrop
Also known as 'Goldmoss' due to its dense, low-growing nature and yellow flowers, Biting stonecrop can be seen on well-drained ground like sand dunes, shingle, grasslands, walls and…
Pyramidal orchid
The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. It likes chalk grassland, sand dunes, roadside verges and quarries…
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…
Toasting the Swifts In Brecon!
The Brecon Swift Group are working on an exciting new project funded by the Brecon Beacons National Park Local Nature Partnership and supported by Pauline Hill, WTSWW's People and Wildlife…
Emperor moth
An unmistakeable insect of heaths, sand dunes and grasslands, the Emperor moth is fluffy, grey-brown, with big peacock-like eyespots on all four wings. Males can be seen during the day, but…