Save our bogs – for peat’s sake!

COP26 is finally here and the eyes of the world are on Scotland and on climate change like never before. With a looming global emergency it’s easy to feel helpless but here in Cumbernauld we have something that could be a key weapon in our fight against climate change. I’m talking about peat bogs, collectively the biggest carbon sink in

Goodbye and Hello

Every traineeship must come to an end and the time has come for Creating Natural Connections Trainee, Katie to hand in her metaphorical badge and say goodbye. But this is not the end of her time with Cumbernauld Living Landscape. In fact it is just the beginning. Say hello to Senior Project Officer Katie Brown: For those of you who

To Bread or not to Bread: A Guide to Feeding Your Local Swans

St Maurice’s Pond is an excellent spot to see new life this summer. Lots of different birds are currently raising their young; mallards, tufted ducks, swans, coots, moorhens and many more. Feeding and watching waterfowl is a good wellbeing activity and is known to help with anxiety and depression. But how can we ensure we are feeding them the right

Our Brilliant Bogs

The Nature Ninjas have been swinging their mattocks down at Abronhill bog and Ravenswood bog, removing birch regeneration. Now you might be wondering why conservation volunteers are removing native trees but there is a very good reason for what we are doing. Trees dry out peat bogs by sucking the water out of the ground through their roots, Peatlands are

It’s all in the ‘V’

By Katie Brown, Cumbernauld Living Landscape Trainee Pink footed goose, c. 2020 Vision It’s getting to that time of year where the sudden honking of geese might make you look up to the sky, searching for that so familiar ‘V’ formation. Every winter thousands of swans and geese arrive in Scotland from the tundra regions of Iceland, Greenland and Siberia,

The Magic Hours

In the cold, dark winter it’s not always easy to get out for evening walks, although slowly but surely the days are lengthening. The sun now dips below the horizon at around half five compared to just half four a month ago, and it is just over four weeks now until the spring equinox when day and night are equal.

Let’s Talk About Pigeons

Here at Cumbernauld Living Landscape, we love birds of all shapes and sizes but pigeons are such a familiar sight that most of us barely notice them. This week it is time to give our friend the pigeon some much deserved love. Speaking of love, did you know that pigeons mate for life? Male woodpigeons will bow and fan out

Frosts, fires and foxes – what a way to start a new job!

by Katie Brown, Cumbernauld Natural Connections Trainee For those of you who don’t yet know me, hello, I’m Katie and I’m the new Creating Natural Connections trainee at Cumbernauld Living Landscape. I have lived in Cumbernauld my entire life and in this new role I hope to inspire my local community and learn something new every day. I’m only one