St Nicks

Written by Wildwatch volunteer Sean Garvey in the summer 2019, as an update to our page on climate change at St Nicks This heatwave seems as good a time as any to consider climate change. Extreme weather events of all kinds are set to become more frequent as global warming affects us all. Here in […]

This blog was written by our Projects Assistant Esther Smith. The average UK wedding produces a third of a metric tonne of solid waste and 14.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s a whole extra UK resident’s average carbon footprint for a year and a half, in one day. Probably the most environmentally conscious way to […]

Our 24-hour BioBlitz in Heworth Holme revealed signs of over 200 types of wildlife, including otters, bats, frogs, owls, foxes, mice, beetles and water scorpions as well as trees, grasses and other plants. We have been working at Heworth Holme for three years to improve its habitat for wildlife after many years of neglect. The […]

Highlights Summer migrant warblers put on a good show while Red Kite surprised everyone. Beetles, Hoverflies and Bees were the stars of the insect world. St Nicks’ trees sprung into leaf and flowered as beautifully as ever, whilst cowslips and fritillaries led the way in brightening up the meadows.   Weather After an exceptionally warm […]

You probably know that charities have “trustees” or a “board” but do you know why and what that actually entails? Could YOU or someone you know become St Nicks’ trustee? In this post we explain what the responsibilities and benefits are. If you’d like to know more, just get in touch. Trustees are a group […]

Highlights Over-wintering Chiffchaffs are followed by St Nicks earliest ever Chiffchaff song. Other bird winter visitors disappoint, but the reserve’s Gorse Shieldbugs, Sage Leafhoppers, Seven-spot Ladybirds and Rosemary Beetles defy winter and appear most weeks.   Weather Winter Wildwatch began (on 5th December) with heavy rain, but that was the last we saw of it, […]

This blog was originally written by our Outreach Officer Ivana Jakubkova for Your Local LinkYour Local Link The bad news is, a recent report by the Climate Coalition shows that chips were shorter last year as a result of climate change. This may not sound like a huge deal but it confirms that UK harvests are […]

There’s been a lot of publicity recently about the closure of Harewood Whinn (read more here) so our Waste and Recycling Manager Sam Taylor has decided to compare landfill and incineration. In York your waste is no longer sent to landfill, instead it is sent to Allerton Waste Recovery Park where it undergoes a number […]

This months spotlight, written by Wildwatch volunteer, Kaye, is all about winter tree buds —proving we can identify trees without leaves and flowers!  Many people believe deciduous trees are hard to identify in winter.  Not necessarily so!  Some of our native species have very distinctive twigs and buds. Get to know these, and even without […]

Highlights The year’s butterfly showing continued to disappoint, but lots of bugs and hoverflies brighten up Wildwatch mornings… Unusual bird visitors included a Common Snipe and Water Rail… Two new plant gall records.   Weather Wildwatch days in September were disappointingly overcast and often windy, but brightened up for October which gave us a number […]