The not so magical midge!

Recently Cumbernauld Living Landscape received an enquiry about insect bites and whether anyone else been bothered by them. The quick answer is yes. Since the middle to end of March my household has been scratching legs and arms to ease the incessant burning itch, issuing from what look like wee heat spots. I thought it a wee bit early for

Cumbernauld’s still Bloomin’ Wild!

Recent weeks have brought a whirlwind of change to our routines, working from home or as an essential service, the reduced ability to get out and about and meet with family and friends. While we are adjusting to change daily, I thought it would be good for us all to hear of news that anchors us as a community, allows us to

Nature at a distance

We’ve been working from home this week and for much of the Cumbernauld Living Landscape team this has been quite a culture shock. We’re used to engaging with the local community, meeting people, leading groups to make contact with nature, and inspiring young people to discuss what matters to them when it comes to greenspaces. Unfortunately, our work with schools,

Biodiversity and climate change

Climate change and biodiversity are inextricably linked to each other. Sadly, the link is not a good one. For humans, climate change means stronger and more frequent extreme weather events, rising sea levels and increased risk from “vector-borne” diseases such as Zika virus and malaria. For nature the greatest issue, ultimately, is extinction. We are already seeing species being forced

Get back to nature in 2020

Taking our volunteers out at New Year always resonates strongly with me— I first started volunteering at New Year. So woooooOOooooOOOo, I want to take you back 8 years to 2012. I was completing my zoology dissertation. It was very boring! I felt like most of the time I had been cooped up inside doing calculations, tallying up surveys, reading

Natural New Year

No one could fail to notice the waning of the light as the winter begins to bite and the days get ever shorter. It’s little wonder that winter is associated with depression – and that midwinter, when the sun begins to climb higher into the sky again each day became a time of celebration, reflection and renewal. The natural world

What is biodiversity?

We have recently been asked “what is biodiversity, and is it really important?” Well yes, it is vitally important! Biodiversity is the variety/diversity and abundance of living species and habitats on the planet, right down to the rocks that weather to become soil. It is also how these species and habitats interact with each other to boost ‘ecosystem services’ such

Thanks to you

It’s the National Lottery’s birthday— for 25 years people up and down the country have been purchasing a weekly ticket in the hope of winning a life-changing sum.For most that big day never comes, but for charity projects like Cumbernauld Living Landscape, every ticket is a winning ticket. You may have heard that Lottery money goes to ‘good causes’, but

Access your wild side

When was the last time you ventured out into nature? If you live in Cumbernauld this may simply be part of your daily routine. Cumbernauld is an incredibly green town, and most people are fortunate enough to live a short distance away from a park or nature reserve. However, despite this fact, not everyone finds it easy to get outdoors and

Out of the office and into nature!

Our volunteer groups have been getting out and about in Cumbernauld, dabbling in all sorts of practical conservation activities: scything meadows, removing nasty invasive plants and shortly we’ll be planting native saplings too. Our volunteers love being outdoors and the pull to nature is one of the top reasons they give us their time. We want to extend this feeling