A helping hand for bees

Spring is beginning to awaken and last week our Project Officer spotted her first tree bumblebee of the year. As you can imagine, the bee was a bit sluggish after a long winter sleep. The bee would have been seeking food and heat. The risk is that this mild period of winter could be a false start for many of

The empress of flowers!

All around the town, on the verges, next to the footpaths, on the playing fields, the fast-greening grass has been sprinkled with splashes of white and pink where daisies are taking advantage of the short time before the mowers come out in force. In some people’s eyes, of course, these are weeds, not wild flowers. Weeds because they’re everywhere, rather

What a re-leaf it’s finally spring!

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

Blue shade shoes?

Cumbernauld seems to be an island sitting in a sea of violetty-blue at the moment. Whichever direction you walk in the woods the bluebells are out. Surely one of our best-known and best-loved wildflowers, they signal the height of spring like nothing else, arriving with that other harbinger of the season, the cuckoo. It’s from this co-incidence that they get

Birds, bees, buds, and bloom

      It’s spring! The bitterness of winter appears to be fading with fresh days that are gradually getting warmer. And we’re not the only ones to notice the longer days. Male birds are gearing up for breeding season, so have started showing off how loud and long their songs are, declaring their territory and hopefully wooing the females!

Magic in the air

20 March was the date of the Spring Equinox, when night and day are perfectly balanced with 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. For many of our ancestors this was a special time. The cycle of the sun was vital to them and they watched the skies closely, monitoring for signs of change. In many Celtic cultures

It’s all in the ‘V’

By Katie Brown, Cumbernauld Living Landscape Trainee Pink footed goose, c. 2020 Vision It’s getting to that time of year where the sudden honking of geese might make you look up to the sky, searching for that so familiar ‘V’ formation. Every winter thousands of swans and geese arrive in Scotland from the tundra regions of Iceland, Greenland and Siberia,

Spring foraging – fresh food for free!

by David Walsh, Cumbernauld Living Landscape Project Officer As winter drifts away and spring emerges, we start to see an abundance of wildflowers back in bloom.  Over the past year it has brought a particular sense of excitement for me.  This is due to my new hobby: foraging! Foraging is often viewed as a bit scary.  None of these plants

Birds, bees, buds, and blooms

  By Teri Grieve, Cumbernauld Living Landscape Trainee Spring is coming! The bitterness of winter appears to have been interrupted, with fresh days that are getting warmer. And we’re not the only ones to notice the longer days. Male birds are gearing up for the breeding season, so have started showing off how loud and long their songs are at

The Magic Hours

In the cold, dark winter it’s not always easy to get out for evening walks, although slowly but surely the days are lengthening. The sun now dips below the horizon at around half five compared to just half four a month ago, and it is just over four weeks now until the spring equinox when day and night are equal.