Live large and dream small

As we head towards the end of COP26, and our COP26-themed blogs, this poem, a favourite of mine, came to mind: Lore, by R.S Thomas Job Davies, eighty-five Winters old, and still alive After the slow poison And treachery of the seasons. Miserable? Kick my a-se! It needs more than the rain’s hearse, Wind-drawn, to pull me off The great perch

Nature for people – people for nature

Climate change is here, with its soaring temperatures and rising seas, and an increasingly destabilised weather system. Whilst we all know that rising emissions of greenhouse gases are to blame – that’s only half the story. Simultaneously we’ve embarked on a campaign of destruction against the natural world on a scale never-before-seen, tearing apart the very systems that would have

Living Landscapes for a living planet

by Cathleen Thomas, Scottish Wildlife Trust Living Landscapes Programme Manager In the UN’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), starting with the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) and UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in October 2021, the world’s focus is on preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems – the natural networks that keep our planet working. The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s

A sticky end?

It’s not always in the moment that you realise how poignant an occurrence is – in the grand scheme of things. This is exactly what emerged this week when I visited Abronhill Primary to deliver a Creating Natural Connections session to their upper primary school children. Having been split into 3 groups – the beetle group I recall – had

A wild idea!

A chance comment overheard in a shop, and a forager’s wry joke, should give us hope for the future. ‘It feels like rain’s coming – I can sense a change on its way’, said the Cumbernauld shop assistant I eavesdropped on. ‘I’m picking my dinner’, quipped the brambler I passed on a walk. But what they said sounded to me

The sea starts here

According to a Scottish Government report last year, an estimated 300 million plastic straws, 276 million pieces of plastic cutlery, 50 million plastic plates and 66 million polystyrene food containers are used in Scotland every year. With a population of around 50,000, that means that here in Cumbernauld we are using three million straws a year, 2,760,000 pieces of plastic

Wild can be beautiful

Cumbernauld Living Landscape won two of Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Beautiful Scotland Awards recently, a Silver Gilt overall, and the special Garden for Life Award. We were of course delighted, not only for ourselves, but for the many local people and organisations whose hard work and dedication made it all possible. But we were also delighted on another level, because the

Tenders invited for new interpretation for Cumbernauld greenspaces

  As part of Cumbernauld Living Landscape’s aim to help people to get the most out of the wonderful green spaces on our doorstep, we are planning to install some new interpretation. This is what we want the interpretation to achieve: The interpretation gives people the knowledge and confidence to explore Cumbernauld, including Wildlife Trust reserves, Council-owned sites, and a

Goodbye and Hello

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

What’s happening in Carbrain Gully

  Our Nature Ninjas have been busy!  Over the past few weeks we have been installing various plug plants in sites across Cumbernauld.  The Ninjas have also laid down 50 metres squared of wildflower seeded earth. These works should bring a sea of colourful wildflowers in the years ahead. One site that has been a particular joy to perform these