St Nicks

Wednesday afternoons throughout July were generally overcast yet it was still very warm with temperatures around 20 degrees most weeks, though the 26th was slightly cooler at 17 degrees. Still, we had a very successful month and came across lots of exciting species. Birds Around the pond this month, we were not disappointed by our […]

Recycling Coordinator Sam Taylor looks at the  factors you may not think about when you buy coffee… Whenever we buy anything we are telling manufacturers and producers we are OK with how they package it, how they market it and even how they produce it. You may have heard the term “voting with your pennies” […]

Most of us go up and down steps and slopes without stopping to think about it, unless an injury or advancing age turns it into a conscious effort. Some of us enjoy the physical challenges and rewards of hill walking. A few serious mountaineers get kicks out of trying to get up sheer rock faces. […]

May brought us varying temperatures from 12 degrees on a particularly wet afternoon to 23 degrees on a particularly sunny afternoon. Still, there was plenty to see around the site throughout the month with some old, familiar species being spotted along with some new arrivals as well. June was a slightly warmer month with temperatures […]

You asked for it, so here it is! We hope you find this blog a useful resource for busting common misconceptions about being or going green. If there’s something you’ve heard conflicting things about, please let us know and we will do our best to clear it up for you. And if this blog does […]

Highlights More breeding bird evidence, including juvenile Blackcaps.. 10 butterfly and 18 hoverfly species.. meadow now carpeted with colourful flowers (and the flower that looks like a bee!) Weather Temperatures stayed below 20C on all the Wildwatch Wednesdays. Sunny intervals and light breezes for the first two Wednesdays. The final Wildwatch of June – the […]

On Friday 16th June we launched our Scything for Grassland Management Project, Tim attended and wrote up this brilliant blog (originally posted here) that summarises the project and the day really well. The Grasslands Management Project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. A bit about Tim: I work in ecology and biodiversity in North […]

The story of the Painted Lady Butterfly Vanessa cardui is full of surprises, and some facts about its life have only recently been discovered. We don’t see them every year on the reserve at St Nicholas Fields, but when they do appear, as they did in 2013, 2015 and 2016, they charm us with their […]

As part of our work towards Zero Waste, four of St Nicks staff undertook a Zero Plastic Fantastic Challenge over the 2 months of April and May 2017. You can read up on the rules and what motivated us to avoid single use plastic and use as little non-recyclable plastic as possible over the time […]

Carrying on with our volunteer interviews, Volunteer Co-ordinator Maria Gill has caught up with one of St Nicks wonderful placement students to find out more about why he chose St Nicks for his placement and what keeps him coming back. Keep an eye out for more volunteer insights over the next few weeks! One of […]