Sea beet
Sometimes called 'Wild spinach', Sea beet can be cooked and eaten. It grows wild on shingle beaches, cliffs and bare ground near to the sea, as well as in saltmarshes.
Sometimes called 'Wild spinach', Sea beet can be cooked and eaten. It grows wild on shingle beaches, cliffs and bare ground near to the sea, as well as in saltmarshes.
The English oak is, perhaps, our most iconic tree: the one that almost every child and adult alike could draw the lobed leaf of, or describe the acorn fruits of. A widespread tree, it is prized…
Red valerian was introduced in the 1600s from Europe, but is now naturalised in the UK. Its pinky-red flowers grow from old walls, roadside verges, railway cuttings and cliffs, and provide nectar…
The raven is famous for being the imposing, all-black bird that guards the Tower of London. Wild birds live in forests, and upland and coastal areas in the north and west of the UK.
Nora’s study of bird behaviour explores how small bird communities flock together to ward off larger predators. Nature has many things to teach us and is now widely acknowledged as a key…
Heather is also called 'ling'. Look for it on our heaths, moors and bogs, where its delicate, loosely arranged pink flowers attract all kinds of nectar-loving insects.
Sprinkled with diminutive, short-living flowers in spring and parched dry by July, this is a habitat of heathlands, coastal grasslands and ancient parkland.
Dittander is a herb of coastal saltmarshes and damp ground. Its waxy leaves and long roots help it to survive in this harsh environment. Due to its peppery taste, it has also become a popular…
A medium-sized diving duck, the goldeneye can mainly be spotted in winter when birds fly in from Northern Europe. Conservation efforts have helped small numbers of these birds to nest in Scotland…
Shag' is a very old name that means 'tufted' and refers to the small crest that this bird sports. Look out for it in spring and summer either diving for fish from the surface of the…
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.
The Yew is a well-known tree of churchyards, but also grows wild on chalky soils. Yew trees can live for hundreds of years, turning into a maze of hollow wood and fallen trunks beneath dense…