Have you ever wondered what salad plants you can pick and eat on your walks in the countryside? Have you ever prepared and tasted succulent rabbit-burgers grilled on a barbecue in the woods or smoked your own trout fillets in a back-woods smoker? Dan Watson (North of England Agent), Rob Pickering and Liz Murphy ran three two-day courses in preparing and eating Read more...

Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 6th August are the dates for Europe's biggest Green Gathering which takes place at Fernhill Farm on the Mendip Hills in North Somerset close to Bristol. The Big Green Gathering lasts for 5 days and is a camping event. It grew out of the original Green Gatherings of the 1980's, as well as the Green Fields of Glastonbury Music Read more...

This week is Save Our Butterflies Week (22nd-30th July). Like much of our wildlife, butterflies and moth populations have been challenged by the changes in agricultural and forestry practice over the last fifty to sixty years. Loss of pasture & hay meadows, drainage of wetlands and marshes, the destruction & mismanagement of hedgerows and the increasing use of herbicides and pesticides have all contributed to the decline in numbers of many species. However, there are still some fifty plus Read more...

Recently some five hundred water voles were released into the River Dore (on the Herefordshire/Wales border). This release (under the supervision of Dr J Reynolds of the Game Conservancy Trust) is part of a larger project affecting the River Monnow. Restoration work has been carried out on the four tributaries of the river, which has already resulted in the reversal of the decline in brown trout and grayling. The water vole was once common on Read more...

In the 1970’s, the house sparrow population of the UK was estimated at 12 million, but over the last 25 years it has fallen dramatically. So much so that the sparrow has now been added to the Red Data List (August 2002). Sparrows do not generally fly far - rarely more than 2 miles from the point where they hatch and can produce 3 or 4 clutches of eggs per year. Many different reasons for their decline have been suggested. Read more...

Dead and decaying wood forms an important part of any tree or woodland. In the past, dead branches and trees in woodland might have been taken for a sign of neglect or a poorly managed wood; it was regarded as a possible source of disease or ‘rubbish’ that needed to be tidied away. However, dead wood, whether it is part of a living tree or lying on the woodland floor, should be regarded as a resource that contributes to the diversity of the flora and fauna. As wood decays, it offers a series of different microhabitats. It has been estimated that dead and decaying wood can offer a home to some 1800 species. Read more...

Editor's note: Hallvord used to study contemporary dance in London, he now lives in Norway and still occasionally does web development for Woodlands.co.uk. In the Norwegian forests, every seven to ten years the dark Norway Spruce trees bloom. The exact year depends on both weather and the resting period of the trees, but somehow all trees know Read more...