St Nicks

Highlights An early winter visitor…20 new invertebrate species recorded…a great summer for hoverflies.   Weather Except for one warm sunny day in June, indifferent and cloudy (though dry) weather greeted most Wildwatch mornings until mid-July, after which Britain’s long hot summer dominated our Wednesday walks until the last two meetings of August which were duller. […]

Written by Maria Gill, our Volunteer Co-ordinator, drawing on information from Traditional Orchards: A guide to wildlife and management Change is afoot here at St Nicks as temperatures begin to cool and autumn moves in. Nights are getting longer and sunshine is becoming soft and hazy. Plants and animals alike are beginning to make preparations […]

28 species in the Collins Flower Guide have the word “thistle” in their name. They are all members of the large and often confusing family of Asteraceae.[1] Sixteen of them are classed as true thistles, and at least ten of these are native species. For the purposes of this spotlight, we’re going to concentrate on […]

Highlights Greenfinches bounce back… eight new invertebrates…tiny member of the Rose family. Weather Wildwatch weather at St Nicks from the beginning of March to the end of May reflected the national picture, with both plant life and insect emergence held back by the cold late start of Spring. In March early frosts were followed by […]

The Common Carder Bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum, is the most frequently seen Bumblebee on the reserve at St Nicks, though the Tree Bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum, is rapidly catching it up. Tree Bumblebees first arrived in the south of England in 2001 from continental Europe, and have since spread northwards, reaching Yorkshire in 2010 and Scotland three […]

For our final volunteer insight blog, I spoke to Jacob who has been volunteering since September 2017 as part of his studies. Currently at sixth form at Archbishop Holgates, Jacob volunteers to get experience away from the classroom. As a young student still in school education, I thought it would be great to see what […]

For the fourth installment of our volunteer insights, I spoke to Cliff and Kaye who, along with Ian, lead our Wildwatch sessions, to find out more about their volunteering experience. What is your role at St Nicks and what does that involve? Kaye: Currently three of them:  serving as a trustee; a founder member of the […]

Now on day three of our volunteer blogs, I caught up with Support Volunteers, Emma and Eleanor, who help to supervise the Student Action Volunteers of a Wednesday afternoon, to find out how they feel about volunteering at St Nicks. What is your role at St Nicks and what does that involve? Emma: I am a […]

The second of our volunteer insights comes from Freya who has been volunteering for 2 years at St Nicks, helping with events and leading the Ecotherapy Bearing Fruit sessions. I caught up with Freya to see what appeals to her about volunteering at St Nicks. What is your role at St Nicks and what does […]

It’s Volunteers’ Week again- a time to celebrate our volunteers and all of the incredible work that they do for us. As Volunteer Coordinator, I thought it would be a great idea to chat to some of our wonderful volunteers to find out what they get out of volunteering and why they keep coming back! […]