How to help thirsty bees in your garden

It’s that time of year again, when the pollinators are out and buzzing around searching for food. In some cases, this is just food to eat but others, such as the humble bumblebee, are foraging to feed young in the nest. The constant flying for resources is exhausting! This weather we’ve been having – colds pouring rain one minute, then

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

Spring foraging – fresh food for free!

by David Walsh, Cumbernauld Living Landscape Project Officer As winter drifts away and spring emerges, we start to see an abundance of wildflowers back in bloom.  Over the past year it has brought a particular sense of excitement for me.  This is due to my new hobby: foraging! Foraging is often viewed as a bit scary.  None of these plants

Why not all trees are equal

  Part of our work in trying to restore our local wildlife habitats is taking out some of the things that would not be there naturally. You may have seen our teams of Cumbernauld Living Landscape volunteers out and about removing such things – which can range from litter to invasive species of plants. Some plants that are not native

Taking Care Of Our Greenspaces

Local resident Kate Fromings has written this guest blog about why we should take better care of the town’s greenspaces.  In Cumbernauld we are incredibly lucky to have the use of a plethora of greenspaces. No matter which side of the town you reside in, there’s a piece of nature just minutes from your front door. Abronhill has Forest Wood,

Fabulous Foraging

As we start to approach the end of summer we’re entering one of the traditional times for foraging amazing, healthy food in the outdoors. Over the last while the Wild Ways Well groups have been trying our hand at this ancient past-time and seeing what’s on the menu around Cumbernauld. One of our first attempts was actually our most complex,

The Big Butterfly Count

I’ve got a simple rule in my daily life. When Sir David Attenborough tells me to do something I do it! You may have seen the great man on various media channels over the last few weeks promoting something called the Big Butterfly Count, a national scheme to try and record the numbers of butterflies that are living alongside us.

Wild Ways Well 2018

Have you broken any New Year’s resolutions yet? We’re barely into the first week of 2018 and I’ve broken most of mine, which generally focus around eating less chocolate and bacon rolls. Why do I set myself such impossible goals? Time markers can be stressful events for many people. For those of us with depression they can be used as