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Natural Connections – Motorbikes drowning out the birdsong in Forest Wood

, by Cumbernauld LL
Damage sustained from high velocity vehicles limits our ability to carry out conservation work I love a walk in the woods at this time of year so at the weekend I headed out to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Forest Wood reserve to see if I could spot the beautiful carved wooden pine martens the Trust has hidden among the trees.  The cold, still air carried sound wonderfully and my ears were tuned to the sounds of the birds singing, heralding the oncoming spring. Unfortunately however it wasn’t long before the sounds of the birds were drowned out by the sound of motorbikes.

Natural Connections – Track down the new carvings

, by Cumbernauld LL
Pine marten resting As part of a £50,000 WREN funded path access project in Cumbernauld.   Cumbernauld Greenspace Reserves Manager, Duncan has become a bit of a creative artist.  Duncan has chainsaw sculpted 7 life size pine marten heads and one full size body and placed them peeking out of tree cavities.  If you are wondering around Forest Wood keep an eye open for them and post your images to our Facebook page. Pine martens are nocturnal and incredibly shy creatures....

Natural Connections – Helping out our garden birds

, by Cumbernauld LL
We found ourselves at Ravenswood Local Nature reserve last Sunday finishing off the works around the Banter Bench to prevent mud accumulating on the installation. Big messy job, but I have to admit it looks lovely now and I might extend these works around that area to bring it all together.  We met two local residents with their children and they told us that they love the Banter Bench and often have a seat while the kids go off and explore the woods within their sight, anyway I am digressing.

Natural Connections – Winter's tracks and trails

, by Cumbernauld LL
Pine marten tracks This time of year is perfect for adventuring outside when it is frosty or has been raining to explore the wildlife that explore our greenspaces while we are all tucked up in bed fast asleep. On snowy or frosty days you can see the remnants of deer tracks across grassy fields while on rainy days you can spot animal tracks in the mud.  Even better if it has been raining then with the temperature dropping the tracks are frozen waiting to be discovered.

Natural Connections – What’s in store for 2017?

, by Cumbernauld LL
With so much achieved last year it is hard at times to imagine even more accomplishments for 2017 but we are a restless bunch in the Cumbernauld office and we are always looking to improve people’s connections with nature and wildlife.  So what is in store for this year?  

Natural Connections – Tackling non-natives for a very special butterfly

, by Cumbernauld LL
​Small pearl bordered fritillary at St Maurice's Pond​ December’s Sunday volunteer session saw our team out at St Maurice’s pond to remove European larch and rhododendron. We were getting some funny looks from dog walkers and families using the circular walking route as they passed us by, it got me thinking…. The folks who were giving us funny looks might not understand why we were taking out perfectly good plants.

Natural Connections – Transforming your views into actions

, by Cumbernauld LL
Concept plan of Ravenswood LNR improvements Cumbernauld Living Landscape is currently conducting a community consultation regarding improvements to the entrance to North Lanarkshire Council’s beautiful, Ravenswood Local Nature Reserve. These improvements include a small outdoor classroom to encourage local primary and secondary schools usage and stewardship of the site. Redesigning the butterfly garden to provide a haven for pollinators and creating a space that local residents can enjoy.

Natural Connections – The beauty in our winter sky

, by Cumbernauld LL
Sunrise over Fannyside Muir Over the past week we have seen temperatures on thermometers drop to -5 degrees.  With lack of cloud cover the nights have been getting colder and colder though I must say as a dog owner I love this weather as it is the only time my dogs come in clean due to everything being frozen. It is also a great time for spotting tracks and trails of our local wildlife too, but the best thing about this weather is the sky.

Natural Connections – Good health goes green

, by Cumbernauld LL
Volunteer Intern Louise Smith wearing the Fitbit A few weeks ago we realised an article on the benefits of volunteering and how we were turning desk jockeys into Nature Ninja’s, it was picked up by a popular Sunday newspaper and you may have seen our brilliant intern Louise, modelling the Fitbit as she carried out conservation tasks.  Each time we have a volunteer day one of our volunteers wares this hi-tech band on their wrist to count the distance and steps travelled during a four hour period.  I also wear one every day and every six months we look at the differences between the two.  

Natural Connections – Watching out for winter

, by Cumbernauld LL
This Sunday 20th November 12 noon – 2pm the Cumbernauld Wildlife Watch club for children aged 7-12 years, who love the outdoors and nature, will be creating Christmas crafts to raise funds for the group to help them with equipment.  These crafts will be on display and available to pick up for a  donation, on Saturday the 10th of December from 12 noon - 4pm at the Palacerigg Country Parks annual Winterfest Event.  This is a fun event for families with Santa, craft stalls and other activities.

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