Hello again, hedgehogs!

March is here and that means many things for nature but, this week, we are all about the hedgehogs, who should soon be emerging from hibernation. These prickly nocturnal characters are one of the few species of mammal to enter hibernation in the UK – alongside the dormouse and our native bats.  Hedgehogs go into hibernation around October or November

A helping hand for bees

Spring is beginning to awaken and last week our Project Officer spotted her first tree bumblebee of the year. As you can imagine, the bee was a bit sluggish after a long winter sleep. The bee would have been seeking food and heat. The risk is that this mild period of winter could be a false start for many of

Path works at Broadwood Loch

Swans at Broadwood, (c) Laura H Smith This spring sees the final set of access works being completed through the Cumbernauld Living Landscape.  Works at Broadwood Loch begin on the 20th of February, there are 3 sections of the path network that will be upgraded including the woodland walk which has been flooding for many years. I have a particular

Over to you…

Over the last couple of years I have really enjoyed writing pieces for this blog telling you about some of the fantastic wildlife that we have in Cumbernauld, and about the amazing people that we have worked with to protect and improve our beautiful greenspaces. Sadly this will be one of the the last pieces for a while, as the

So long and thanks for all the pine martens

After six years working in Cumbernauld developing the Wild Ways Well green mental health project, it’s time to say goodbye. Over those years Wild Ways Well has run hundreds of mental wellbeing sessions and engaged with thousands of people, we have been nationally, and internationally, recognised for the work we have done – and I have never stopped being amazed

A fun way to explore our greenspaces

If you go down to the woods today we hope you will have a nice surprise! We have installed new interpretation panels and will soon be putting in activity trails at six greenspaces around the town: Ravenswood, Mosswater, Broadwood Loch, the Community Park, Seafar Wood and Cumbernauld Glen, which we hope will help you get the most out of your

Teaching the teachers of tomorrow

Despite the pandemic, over the past four years of the project, we have been fortunate to work with many schools in the Cumbernauld area. During this time, we have delivered both Early Connections and Natural Connections sessions for pupils and teachers – in both Primary and Secondary schools – across Cumbernauld. The pandemic has made us ever more aware of

This Time It’s Goodbye

Sometimes you don’t realise how far you’ve come until you look back. When I think about the timid trainee who joined the Cumbernauld Living Landscape Project at the end of 2020, I can’t help but feel proud of the journey she has been on. Even just a year ago my imposter syndrome was so severe that I almost didn’t apply

The benefits of a scruffy garden

I glanced out of my sitting room window, where I was working at my laptop, yesterday morning, and caught a streak of lipstick pink as it flashed down towards the plants beneath the sill. Sitting up for a better view, I saw it was a male bullfinch, smart as new paint, rosy chest, coal-black cap and face, grey back and