Lily-of-the-valley
A beautifully scented plant, the arching stems and bell-shaped flowers of Lily-of-the-valley can be seen in many woodlands. Despite its delicate appearance, this plant is highly toxic.
A beautifully scented plant, the arching stems and bell-shaped flowers of Lily-of-the-valley can be seen in many woodlands. Despite its delicate appearance, this plant is highly toxic.
The distinctive spiky, or 'bearded', green flower heads of wall barley appear from June to July and are easy to spot in an urban environment as they push their way up through pavements…
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…
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…
The greylag goose can be easily spotted around parks, gravel pits and river valleys, but these populations tend to be semi-tame, having been reintroduced. Truly wild populations can be found in…
30 years ago, if Jeremy had fallen in the river then he’d have been more worried about being poisoned than drowned! A 1980s trawl survey found just one fish in the Billingham reach of the Tees,…
As its name suggests, the scarlet elfcup is a bright red, cup-shaped fungus. It is widespread, but scarce, and can be found on fallen twigs and branches, in shady, damp places.
As its name suggests, the ruby elfcup is a bright red, cup-shaped fungus. It is widespread, but scarce, and can be found on fallen twigs and branches, particularly in areas with higher rainfall.…
The lesser-black backed gull can be spotted around the coast in summer, with the biggest colony on Walney Island, Cumbria. Look for it over fields, landfill sites and reservoirs during winter.
The comma has distinctively ragged wing edges, which help to camouflage it - at rest, it looks just like a dead leaf! It prefers woodland edges, but can be spotted feeding on fallen fruit in…