A yellow flood

Remember at the end of the winter, when the rain pelted down and we would find new puddles and pools had appeared overnight in the flooded fields and greenspaces around the town? Well now it is summer new pools have appeared – but instead of murky brown, this is a flood of brightest yellow. They are pools of meadow buttercups

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

Plug Planting Plans

It has been gorgeous weather these last few weeks in Cumbernauld.  Already we are seeing various pollinators bobbling about from plant to plant as wildflowers truly emerge. Recently in Cumbernauld Glen I spotted a comma!  It’s a delightful butterfly that can be quite elusive. This experience reminded me why our work with wildflower meadows is imperative.  Our volunteers have been

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

Wild about wildflowers

Late summer is a great time to spot wildflowers. Many plants use the time when days are still warm and light is still plentiful to put on their best displays of colour, working in symbiosis with pollinators to create breath-taking sights out in the parks and wildlife reserves. Cumbernauld has many great places to see wildflowers, Ravenswood, Luggiebank and St

New meadow proposal at Cumbernauld Community Park

“People and wildlife at the heart of Cumbernauld’s future” is our vision at Cumbernauld Living Landscape, so it’s important that wherever possible improvements we make to the town’s habitats also provide opportunities for locals to connect with nature. This year we have some exciting plans for Cumbernauld Community Park. Lat year, in partnership with Friends of Cumbernauld Community Park, we

Lazy Summer Days

“It’s too hot!”  – the plaintive cry of the average Scotsperson on the first warm day of summer. Never mind all the complaints of cold from the dreich weeks before! Trees have many vital roles, but one of the most important ones for me right now is their undoubted value as a sunshade. There can surely be few more pleasant

30 days of wild Cumbernauld

The Wildlife Trust runs an annual event over the month of June connecting people to nature every day under the name #30DaysWild. Tasks range from reading poetry in the garden to planting trees or flowers for pollinators. A massive number of organisations join us in connecting with and exploring nature. The Cumbernauld Living Landscape team thought we would add our