Category: Volunteering

A New Home for Our Little Yellow Friends

, by Katie Brown
Everybody loves daffodils. Those yellow trumpets that herald the arrival of spring. I don’t think I could name a more cheerful plant. Their Latin name “Narcissus” is also the name of a Greek legend where a beautiful young man fell in love with his own reflection and stared for so long that he starved to death. Daffodils might also be…

Spring Clean Success

, by Cumbernauld Living Landscape
Some of the litter cleared during our recent campaign. Picture (c) Cumbernauld Living Landscape The National Spring Clean campaign has just come to an end, uncovering a multitude of rubbish in Cumbernauld’s greenspaces. The scale and quantity of litter recovered could have not been achieved without the amazing hard work of our Cumbernauld Living Landscape volunteers. Since January the volunteers…

What a re-leaf it’s finally spring!

, by Katie Brown
I always breathe a sigh of relief once we reach the Spring Equinox. After months of darkness, day and night are finally equal and it feels good knowing that the evenings will continue to draw out until the Summer Solstice in June. One of the best things about working outdoors is getting to experience the seasonal transitions in all their…

A New Beginning

, by Cumbernauld Living Landscape
Sadly I have come to the end of my time as a Creating Natural Connections Trainee with Cumbernauld Living Landscape, so I wanted to take some time to reflect on my past few months helping to protect and enhance Cumbernauld’s many green spaces! Months ago I came to the project desperate to expand my knowledge and to develop more skills…

International Women’s Day: Celebrating Our Nature Ninjas

, by Katie Brown
It was a drizzly autumn day at St Maurice’s Pond. Our volunteers were soaked through, armed with scythes, teeth gritted against the rain. And as I watched them working their way through the meadow, I couldn’t help but be reminded of old photos of the Women’s Land Army. It’s important to note, Nature Ninjas is not exclusively a women’s group,…

A present for our wildlife!

, by Katie Brown
Tis the season to plant trees! It feels like only yesterday when I was a bright-eyed trainee, writing a similar blog, detailing how the Nature Ninjas bravely battled against thigh-deep mud to bring trees to the people of Broadwood. One trip around the sun later, here we are again. On Sunday 12 December our staff and volunteers planted another 500…

A week in the life of a new trainee

, by Cumbernauld Living Landscape
  My name is Alex, and I’m one of two new Creating Natural Connections Trainees who started recently with Cumbernauld Living Landscape. My first week as a trainee has been an exciting chance to get to know the team and join in with some of the brilliant projects happening across Cumbernauld. My first task of the week was to join…

Don’t fear the reapers!

, by Katie Brown
Over the last few weeks at St Maurice’s Pond you might have spotted some mysterious figures in high vis vests, armed with the kind of tool you’d expect to see in the hands of the grim reaper. But fear not, they’re just our resident Nature Ninjas. Scythes are often associated with death but we are using them to create new…

Tackling the invaders

, by Cumbernauld Living Landscape
What do buddleia, rhododendron, stoats, grey squirrels and snowberry have in common? They are all beautiful and fascinating species of animals and plants that can wreak havoc on other local wildlife if they turn up in the wrong place. Then they’re called invasive non-native species (INNS), and they’re just a few of the 3000 or so that we now have…

Goodbye and Hello

, by Katie Brown
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…

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