The New Year Plant Hunt takes place this year from 30th December to 2nd January. It is an annual event run by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland when people – whether absolute beginners or experienced naturalists – across Britain and Ireland head out to see how many wild or naturalised plants (not garden plants) they can find in bloom in their local area at midwinter.-
Perhaps surprisingly, many plants are still flowering in midwinter, with nearly 500 different species recorded during last year’s Hunt. Many of these are widespread, common and easy to identify, but BSBI will provide help with identification for everyone, including total beginners.
It’s easy to take part. During the four days around New Year, 30th December – 2nd January, take a short, leisurely walk outdoors, noting wild flowers in bloom. Submit your finds via our online form and you’ll be contributing to vital climate research. There is a recording app you are encouraged to use, either on your mobile or on your computer
More information, including how to register, can be found here:
https://bsbi.org/new-year-plant-hunt
Get ready for 26-28 Jan. Sign-up today to request a FREE postal pack, or take part online and get access to Big Garden Extra. Here you can access exclusive articles, downloads and celebrity interviews.
Bees’ Needs Week 2018 Bees’ Needs Week is an annual event coordinated by Defra, working alongside and involving a number of charities, businesses, conservation groups and academic institutions to help …
By a quirk of the calendar, this year’s May Day bank holiday falls as late as it could – on the 7th. Thanks in part to The Beast From The East, everything is a week or two late this year so the bluebells will still be at their peak by next Monday. Even the forecast is now looking great, after the final sting in winter’s tail this weekend!
Skokholm is a small island off the coast of Wales with internationally important breeding populations of seabirds. The island houses the third largest colony of Manx Shearwaters in the world (15% of the global population) and holds 20% of Europe’s population of storm petrels. Rightly so, these species, and other nesting seabirds, have been the focus of conservation action on the island and Skokholm is a National Nature Reserve for this reason. However, the smaller landbirds of the island have often been overlooked, yet the island has a remarkable long-term historical record of such birds. This talk presents some of the findings of recent research into the landbirds of Skokholm and the lessons they hold for ecological theory and conservation more generally.
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