St Nicks Ecotherapy Assistant Hannah Kenter talks about the benefits of Nature Arts

In times of stress Nature Art can bring us closer to nature with all the associated benefits of feeling more connected and relaxed. Collecting materials from nature such as petals, stones, leaves and seed cones can be a mindfulness practice of its own and we can use these materials to make and create. Here Ecotherapy […]

The key factor to bear in mind when sorting your waste is to check locally what you are able to put into your recycling bin. Many people assume the system is obvious, or the same as their previous address. Sometimes what you can recycle at the kerbside does change, hopefully your local authority will inform […]

This blog is part of a series. Catch up on part one if you missed it. Being in nature has many benefits to our mental health and in this month’s blog, inspired by Decorative Aggregates and their infographic about how gardening can benefit our mental wellbeing, we are going to be focusing on the stress […]

The wildlife of St Nicks buzzed and bloomed in May as always, regardless of human troubles. The regular group of Wildwatch volunteers could not, of course, meet up as usual for their weekly walk around the reserve. But a few of us could enjoy St Nicks during our legally-sanctioned local walks. We recorded what wildlife […]

While many of our community based natural habitats projects are on hold, we have been able to restart some ecological survey work such as the plant monitoring Maria has been doing on the nature reserve. Thanks to funding from City of York Council we have also been conducting surveys on Osbaldwick Beck to gather as much baseline information as possible before proposed engineering projects take place […]

This is the first in a series of blogs about Ecotherapy – a method of promoting good mental health and physical wellbeing through outdoor activity in the natural environment. With the current situation in the world, many people have been seeing and feeling the benefits of being in nature and rediscovering or fully appreciating their […]

Wildlife at St Nicks has been flourishing this spring. Wildwatch volunteers would normally be meeting every week to record – and enjoy – this. Alas, this is impossible right now. However, several Wildwatchers have been able to visit individually and share their sightings with us all. And of course staff members continue to do essential […]

New life sprung forth this March at St Nicks – as always. Despite inevitable difficulties, the Wildwatch team was still able to enjoy some great wildlife sightings. Wildwatch groups met as usual on the Wednesday mornings of the 4th and 11th of March – seventeen of us on the latter date. (What a long time ago this […]

The Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva) and the Bee Fly (Bombylius major) have a story to tell. The first is a solitary bee while the second is not a bee but a fly impersonating one. Both can be seen on the reserve at St Nicks from April to June. The Bee Fly tries to stay as […]

With the recent panic buying and reports of food waste increasing I asked what impact the members of Zero Waste York (ZWY) thought the current situation we all find ourselves living in would have on the zero waste movement. We appreciate that this is a tough time, but in the spirit of pulling together I’d […]