wildlife | St Nicks

Volunteer Insights: Jacob

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 […]

Posted 7 June 2018 | Categories: Inspiration, Volunteers' diary | Tags: conservation, experience, nature, placement, planting, Scything, Skills, volunteering, wildlife, Wildwatch

Volunteer Insights: Kaye and Cliff

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 […]

Posted 6 June 2018 | Categories: Inspiration, Volunteers' diary | Tags: bioblitz, insects, kingfisher, parent bug, retirement, trustee, volunteer, volunteer diary, volunteering, volunteers week, Water Rail, wildlife, Wildwatch

Why Litter Pick?

Nature Reserve Manager Jonathan Dent tells us why we should care more about what happens to rubbish washing away down the river. Have you ever noticed the litter that is piling up in your local river or stream? Perhaps not: the following week, it has often disappeared. It’s more than likely that, rather than being […]

Posted 30 May 2018 | Categories: Inspiration, Opinion Piece | Tags: boundaries, ecoactive, flooding, litter, litter pick, nature, north sea, plastic ocean, water table, wildlife, york becks

Ecotherapy diary: participant stories

Absorbing and relaxing, helpful, welcoming and friendly, and giving people the chance to learn new things about nature are just some of the ways people describe the Ecotherapy programme at St Nicks. In this blog, three of our participants share their personal stories about their Ecotherapy journey, showing that we really do help people in recovery from […]

Posted 22 December 2017 | Categories: Ecotherapy | Tags: ecotherapy, gardening, green exercise, health and wellbeing, mental health, nature, volunteer, wildlife, wildlife gardening

Guest post: Down in the meadow

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 […]

Posted 28 June 2017 | Categories: Inspiration, Volunteers' diary | Tags: buglife, Colour, conservation, Grasslands, Grasslands management, guest blog, Heritage, heritage skills, Invertebrate, Joy, Learning, management, nature, Nature Reserve, pollinators, Scything, Skills, Urban Nature Reserve, wildflowers, wildlife

Derwenthorpe Wildwatch: April 2017

Our Volunteer Coordinator Maria summaries April at Derwenthorpe as well as explaining just what was involved in the Hedgehog day at St Nicks, how you can help the hedgehogs and what we hope to see in May… We had an interesting month at Derwenthorpe, changing the usual format of the sessions for a couple of […]

Posted 19 May 2017 | Categories: Derwenthorpe Wildwatch | Tags: bees, birds, counting, Derwenthorpe, environment, fauna, flora, invertebrates, Mallard, nature, plants, pond dipping, project, sightings, sparrow, survey, wildlife, York