Louise is a writer, poet and photographer who feels most at home when out and about, watching, photographing, and writing about the flora and fauna to be found along the lanes and in the meadows of her local area. She can happily spend hours lost in a field full of wildflowers.
Winter is generally a quiet time for gardeners. With most plants lying dormant through the winter months, and frost and snow often coating the ground, there are few jobs to be done. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to do – especially if your garden is wildlife friendly. Ensure bird feeders are topped up … More Winter jobs in a wildlife garden
Sometimes, no words are needed.
MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee have recommended that the Government introduce a 25p levy on disposable coffee cups. As with the plastic shopping bags charge, which has seen single use carrier bags sales drop by 83% since its introduction in 2015, it is hoped that a charge on coffee cups will reduce the amount … More UK government calls for charge on disposable coffee cups
A UK-wide ban on the manufacture of cosmetics and personal care products containing tiny pieces of plastic known as “microbeads” has come into force this week, in a move aimed at protecting ocean wildlife from their harmful effects. From 9 January manufacturers, including industry giants like Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, will no … More Microbeads banned from UK manufacturing
The UK Prime Minister Teresa May has this week announced that the UK government has pledged £5.7 million to create a new 62,000 acre forest in the north of the Britain. This is a fantastic start to 2018 and welcome news to conservationists, environmental activists, and residents in the area. The plans, which are being … More New UK ‘Northern Forest’ plans announced
awaiting the arrival of
the guests … More The Table is Set
anticipation gathers
in electric frissons on the air
excited laughter mingling with
the scents of pine needles and spices
as children follow the white rabbit
into a magical wonderland for
a date not to be missed … More Is it Christmastime yet?
Everyone loves the sparkle of glitter, especially at Christmas, but whilst these shiny bits of plastic are perfect for decorating Christmas cards and baubles, not to mention ourselves and our party outfits, there are growing concerns about the effect they’re having upon the environment. After the Tops Day chain of nurseries across southern Britain decided … More Is it time for a worldwide glitter ban?
Imogen’s hands shook as she brushed the gathered debris away from the miniature village, her reeling emotions slow to calm. She righted a fallen bench and straightened a leaning signpost. Despite her best efforts, a clinging miasma of neglect remained. The place felt… empty. … More Childhood Joys
stroll along snow covered lanes encompassing seasonal cheer
When you think about vegetable gardening, you probably think there’s lots of heavy digging and hard work involved. Right? Well, there’s not if you follow the advice of Charles Dowding. Since 1983, Charles Dowding has been practising the no-dig method of gardening, an approach to vegetable growing that is the reverse of the intensive, invasive techniques … More A pioneer of no-dig vegetable gardening
Sometimes, no words are needed.
fallen leaves lie scattered
yesterday’s doubts discarded
insulating the seeds of hope
through winter’s long chill … More Fallen Leaves
After five years of work led by New Zealand and the United States, the continental shelf and slope of the Ross Sea has at last become a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The MPA came into force on the 1st December 2017 – World Antarctica Day, which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty … More Ross Sea now a Marine Protected Area
Bruises concealed. Flinches masked. Happiness faked. … More Six Word Story: Charade
You wend your way across the meadow’s open expanse as the early sun casts its glow upon the toadstools and the tumbled leaves. The chill air catches at your throat as you breathe deep. Negativity disperses with the puther of each expelled breath… … More November 2017
Sometimes, no words are needed.
gain insight in ascent
awakening emotions stultified
by society’s strictures
*
gain closure in descent
revisiting issues locked within
subconscious crypts
*
gain wisdom with each step
overcoming life’s adversities
so true joy can be found … More Step by Step
Disposable coffee cups – they’re recyclable, right? You might think so, but the truth is that fewer than 1 in 400 takeaway cups are actually recycled. That’s only 1% of the estimated 2.5 billion take-away coffee cups that are thrown away in the UK each year. Even those cups that you place in your own recycling … More Time to end the waste from coffee cups (Petition)
What better way to engage a child’s interest in nature than through the creation of a pine cone bird feeder? Watching the garden birds on something that you’ve made yourself is enjoyable no matter how old you are, and this activity is simple enough that even small children will find it easy. And a pine cone … More Make a pine cone bird feeder
cross the white bridge
transitioning from autumnal dreams
into the bleak reality of shadow-cast days
awakening to discover the wisdom
of the winter crone … More The White Bridge
Hopes of ending reliance on the dirtiest of all fossil fuels took a major positive step forward this week as an alliance of 19 nations committed to phasing out the use of unabated coal power. The Powering Past Coal Alliance was launched by UK Climate Change Minister Claire Perry, Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, … More Powering past coal
Grassroots environmental groups in Moldova are working to reverse the effects of deforestation by increasing the country’s urban forest. Between the nineteenth and the end of the twentieth century, Moldova, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, lost nearly 20% of its forest, reducing its forest cover to only 12%. This lack of trees makes it one of … More A million trees for Moldova
Sometimes, no words are needed.
The UK chancellor, Philip Hammond, has announced in today’s budget that the British government will look into ways to reduce plastic waste through the tax system and charges on single-use plastic items. The move, first reported last week, came as the Treasury cited statistics saying more than a million birds and 100,000 sea mammals and … More UK Government to tackle plastic waste
Beside the M62, in Merseyside, is a 12-hectare woodland called Griffin Wood. Despite the hum of traffic from the nearby motorway, Griffin Wood is a beautiful place to take a walk on a sunny afternoon. The road’s proximity hasn’t deterred the local wildlife from claiming their habitats. Birds sing, squirrels scurry along branches, and small … More Take a walk in Griffin Wood
Plastic is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time. According to US scientists, 8.3 million tons of plastic waste has been produced to date, with 79% of it ending up in landfill or the environment. Lunch time is one of the most wasteful times of the day, with the majority of the food … More How to pack a waste-free lunch
There is a unique community project taking shape in South Bristol. On November 18th, on a site previously known to residents as ‘the tip’, 232 berry plants were planted by a group of volunteers in the form of a maze. The new maze was constructed from 16 different types of fruit, ranging from blackberries to jostaberries. … More Take the time to get lost in a berry maze
joyous laughter echoes over the lake’s expanse as small feet kick tumbled leaves into riotous disarray * lakeside memories of chill air nipping at unmuffled skin whilst safely enclosed in loving arms with ducks to feed
The Plastic Free Coastlines campaign is targeting local councils, schools and businesses after new figures show more than 8.3bn tonnes of plastic has been produced since the 1950s, resulting in a “near permanent contamination of the natural environment”. In this short film by Surfers Against Sewage, narrated by the actress Imelda Staunton, the scale of … More Call to cut plastic pollution across the UK
Conservationists at Chester Zoo have successfully bred one of the world’s rarest amphibians in a bid to save it from extinction. In a first outside of the species’ native Catalonia, twelve pairs of the critically endangered Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi) have been successfully hatched at the zoo by a team of experts using a … More Saving a species on the critical list
In a beautiful, secluded woodland, seven miles from Salisbury, there is a unique facility that offers the peace and tranquility of a woodland setting within a selection of environmentally sustainable, off-grid, eco buildings. Hazel Hill Wood is home to the registered charity, the Hazel Wood Trust. The Trust’s aim is to promote well-being, resilience and sustainability: … More Retreat to Hazel Hill Wood
see reality mirrored in reflections on the water a semblance of the otherworld glimpsed through the lake’s portal with a change of perspective truth is revealed I took a walk around Hartsholme Lake yesterday. The reflections on the water were lovely.
Until 2011, what is now Greenfields School and Community Garden in York was simply an unloved and rarely mowed former school field, mainly used by the occasional dog walker. Through the hard work of local residents, scouts, and the teachers and pupils of Haxby Primary school, alongside the charity initiative Edible York, the space is now … More The York garden project that’s brought a community together
In what is being seen as a shift in stance, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced that he will uphold the EU’s ban on neonicotinoids in the UK after Brexit takes effect, backing a total ban on the bee harming pesticides. This overturn of the government’s previous opposition has been welcomed by campaigners, who have argued against claims made by … More Good news for bees!
In a world than has become increasingly urbanised, and with agricultural practices that allow for little in the way of wild nature, habitats for a number of creatures have become increasingly scarce. This has, unfortunately, had an impact on their populations. The UK’s wildlife is in need of help. There are a number of things … More Creating a garden that’s great for wildlife
The woodlands and hedgerows at this time of year are awash with colour as leaves turn and hips and berries ripen. Never is there a time when nature’s bounty is more evident, with fruits, nuts, seeds and fungi of all types available in abundance. So, stuff a carrier bag in your pocket, grab a pair … More Tasty things to forage this autumn
The place where you can find out what Lillie thinks
Looking at life through blue eyes
: around the world :
Looking into why we do the things we do (and some crochet) each Monday
Amanda Tuke - nature writer and urban nature champion
A photographic journey.
Here and now, with all of it.
An Enchanted Place 