Yule love our end of year blog!

Ah! Midwinter. The time of the year where we distract ourselves from the cold and dark by singing carols, sharing gifts and stuffing our faces with Christmas dinner. Somehow it just makes sense to throw a great big party in the bleak midwinter and it’s a tradition that’s been going strong for millennia, since long before there was even a

Wreaths – more than just Christmas decorations!

  Christmas is a time when we often see wreaths hanging as decorations, but where did this tradition come from? It may surprise you that wreaths have been part of many different cultures throughout history. Wreaths were made by ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people to mark the 12-day festival that celebrated the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the

A little magic to start the season

  Cumbernauld Living Landscape is bringing a little bit of magic into our lives just in time for the festive season. Earlier this year they worked with award-winning Scottish film-maker Felipe Bustos Sierra to create an enchanting new short film featuring children from three local primary schools, Abronhill, Kildrum and Carbrain. The children went on an adventure through their local

Fluff up and cuddle up – staying warm in winter (if you’re a bird)!

By Teri Grieve, Cumbernauld Living Landscape trainee On any winter walk a common sight, and perhaps the poster child of our snowy winters, are our resident robins, which stay with us all year round. Strangely though their bright chests may stand out against the white of the snow, they almost vanish against the bare branches of the shrubs. How do

Natural New Year

No one could fail to notice the waning of the light as the winter begins to bite and the days get ever shorter. It’s little wonder that winter is associated with depression – and that midwinter, when the sun begins to climb higher into the sky again each day became a time of celebration, reflection and renewal. The natural world

Getting stuck in for nature

Last Thursday as many as 300 people joined Cumbernauld Living Landscape at Broadwood Loch to grab a spade and plant a tree before enjoying some festive treats round the campfire.   With it being polling day we had a steady flow of children looking for something active to do on their day off from school, and plenty of adults looking for

Why robins are not just for Christmas

As I was recycling this year’s batch of lovely Christmas cards I started to wonder why so many of them have robins on them. Is it because my friends know I have a soft spot for wildlife or were they just on sale? What did robins have to do with Christmas anyway? After bit of research, I found it all

Investing in young people, today

Word has been going around the campfire about the great work Cumbernauld Living Landscape has been doing with young people of the town. So much so that we were invited to an event called Investing in Young People; Investing in our Environment by the Central Scotland Green Network Trust. I invited the Achieve students from Greenfaulds High School to come along

Christmas comes just once a year

Christmas comes just once a year – but for those of us with anxiety or stress problems, that can be quite often enough! Decorating trees, buying gifts, preparing meals, visiting family and friends, bad weather, crowded streets… with all the pressure on our purses, family relations and waistbands, it’s no wonder that the festive period is regarded as one of