My muse
Mark suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia, meaning that in bustling areas the voices he can hear become overwhelming. They are his muses, but can get overpowering. When he’s outside in the garden,…
Mark suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia, meaning that in bustling areas the voices he can hear become overwhelming. They are his muses, but can get overpowering. When he’s outside in the garden,…
The rare Adonis blue can be spotted on sunny chalk grasslands throughout summer. Males are a dazzling sky-blue in colour, while females are duller brown.
Golden banks of common rock-rose make a spectacular sight on our chalk and limestone grasslands in summer. A creeping shrub, it is good for bees, moths and butterflies.
The shiny, translucent porcelain fungus certainly lives up to its name in appearance. It can be seen growing on beech trees and dead wood in summer and autumn.
This tiny gamebird is rarely seen, but its distinctive "wet my lips" call can be heard ringing out over areas of farmland on summer evenings.
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.
Use your botany skills to help us assess the condition of our nature reserves this summer.
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…
Passionate about the oceans and the diverse life that they hold, Bex is lucky enough to be able to teach scuba diving to university students at Plymouth University. This provides her with the…
The common clubtail is on the wing in spring and summer. It is an elusive dragonfly that is easiest to see when it first emerges. It can be found along rivers in Southern England and Wales.
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…
In spring and summer, look out for 'cuckoo-spit' - the frothy mass of bubbles that appears on plant stems everywhere. This is actually the protective covering for the nymphs of the tiny…