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Natural Connections – A Beautiful day for judging

, by Tracy Lambert
At the start of August we had two lovely volunteer judges from Keep Scotland Beautiful out assessing areas in our town for the Beautiful Scotland of Cumbernauld’s Bloomin’ Wild.  It was a mixed day of sun and showers but that didn’t stop our local groups from shining on the day. I would like to say a huge thank you to Adam Smith of the Cumbernauld Environmental Society for organising and delivering Cumbernauld’s previous entries over a number of years.  This is a huge undertaking and one that surprised us in its depth and requirements.

Natural Connections – Weeding out undesirables

, by Tracy Lambert
SUDs pond now has Azolla growing in it Cumbernauld Living Landscape has a new Intern! Katherine is with us for 12 weeks surveying Invasive Non-native species on the three Natural Connections sites.  Her work will let us compare a previous survey of 2015 to let us see how far it has spread, if our volunteer days of clearing it have made an impact and it will map precisely where each plant is for us to be able to clear it out in the future.

Natural Connections – Lacewings, a gardeners friend

, by Tracy Lambert
Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea I recently had a visitor to my garden the other day.  A lacewing had flown in and had taken up residence on one of my plants to sleep off a busy night collecting pollen and nectar. Mainly nocturnal these insects are named due to the almost glass like transparent lacing of the wings, which rest in a tent shape over the abdomen. You might spot them on a late summer evening, weakly flitting through meadows or even your own garden plants.

Night-time Window on Wildlife

, by Paul Barclay
Have you ever walked through some woodland and wondered what creatures might live there that we can’t see?  That use their superb senses and camouflage to hide from human eyes and come out only when no-one is around. Ever looked out into the garden, or the street and wondered what wildlife visits in the night?  Maybe you’ve heard the scream of a fox, the hoot of an owl or the snuffling of a badger. One way to find out is to throw a light switch or head out with a torch, but by doing so you might frighten off the animals you’d like to see, or at the very least change their behaviour hugely. 

Here Be Dragons

, by Cumbernauld LL
Last week was National Dragonfly Week and it’s the perfect time of year to go looking for these amazing insects. Dragonflies – and their close relatives damselflies – are incredible creatures. The ancestors of our modern dragonflies evolved before dinosaurs walked the Earth, some 300 million years ago. However, they were much bigger then, with wingspans of up to two feet! 

Cumbernauld's Bloomin' Wild

, by Cumbernauld LL
This year Cumbernauld Living Landscape’s Natural Connections Project is coordinating the town’s Beautiful Scotland entry in the national competition organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful. One aspect of the competition is the preparation of a portfolio of photographs of the town looking at its best – bright, colourful and bursting with natural beauty. This seemed like a perfect job for the Wild Ways Well wellbeing group, so last Friday we equipped ourselves with cameras and headed out.

Natural Connections – Schools Out!

, by Cumbernauld LL
  School’s out for summer! Even the best student looks forward to July and the start of the long summer break. It always seemed to flash past as a child, but I suspect for parents, who have to think up ways of keeping the kids amused, it took a little longer. This summer Cumbernauld Living Landscape will be doing our best to help out families looking for fun events. Every Wednesday throughout July we’ll be out in the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Cumbernauld Glen reserve with a selection of nature based games, tasks and activities. 

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