Skullcap
The delicate, tube-like, violet-blue flowers of Skullcap bloom from June to September in damp places, such as marshes, fens, riverbanks and pond margins.
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Chwilio
Maritime cliff
Whether they are tumbles of soft rock home to a variety of invertebrates, or hard, soaring rock faces bustling with huge seabird colonies, maritime cliffs may be challenging to explore but are…
Come on your very own island retreat!
Nestled at the very heart of Skomer Island lies an old converted farm building. Those of you who have visited Skomer will be familiar with the courtyard – complete with large picnic benches, and a…
Great fen-sedge
A tall and robust species of sedge, the Great fen-sedge has long leaves with sawtooth edges. It forms dense stands in lowland fens and around lakes.
Alder
Common alder can be found along riversides, and in fens and wet woodlands. Its exposed roots provide shelter for fish, and its rounded leaves are food for aquatic insects.
Bogbean
Look for the star-like, feathery, white flowers of Bogbean in ponds, fens, bogs and marshes. It is so-named because its leaves look like those of broad beans.
Common osier
The common osier is a small willow tree that is found in fens and ditches, and on riverbanks. It has been widely cultivated and coppiced for its twigs, which are used in traditional basket-making…
Yellow iris
The large, sunshine-yellow flowers of the yellow iris brighten up the margins of our waterways, ponds, wet woods, fens and marshes. Also called the 'flag iris', its outer petals have a…
Lowland fen
Water-logged and thick with reeds and robust tall-herbs or tussocky sedges, fens are evocative reminders of the extensive wet wildlands that once covered far more of the lowlands than they do…
Norfolk hawker
The rare Norfolk hawker is a pale brown dragonfly, with a distinctive yellow triangle on its body. Until recently, it was only found in unpolluted fens, marshes and ditches of the Broads National…
My Early Days
I was appointed to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust on 20th July 2020, as Head of Nature Recovery South, after being interviewed on two Zoom meetings, a very odd experience in these strange…