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Chwilio
Woodlark
The secretive woodlark can be hard to spot. It nests on the ground on our southern heathlands and uses scattered trees and woodland edges for lookout posts.
My reward
Carole has been volunteering at Idle Valley for seven years now; whilst she used to get involved with the heavy work out on the reserve, the garden is now her domain, working with the Recovery…
Common dandelion
The common dandelion is a most familiar flower: counting down the 'clock', while blowing the fluffy seeds from its head, is a favourite childhood game. Dandelions are an important early…
Mallard
The much-loved mallard is our most familiar duck, found across town and country. If your feeding the ducks please don't feed them bread - it's not good for them! Instead, they love…
Common octopus
The common octopus is a highly intelligent, active predator. It even has a secret weapon - special glands produce a venom that it uses to incapacitate its prey!
Great spotted woodpecker
The 'drumming' of a great spotted woodpecker is a familiar sound of our woodlands, parks and gardens. It is a form of communication and is mostly used to mark territories and to display…
Small-spotted catshark
Small-spotted catsharks used to be called lesser-spotted dogfish - which might be what you know them best as. It's the same shark, just a different name!
My basecamp
Den-building in the woods with his granddad makes Will feel like he is part of a survival game: nature is one big adventure, and he even uses a penknife to cut twigs to build with.
Brownfield
The uncontainable nature of wildlife is perhaps clearest in brownfield sites – previously developed land that is not currently in use. The crumbling concrete of abandoned factories, disused power…
Bugle
Often found carpeting damp grassland and woodland clearings, the blue flower spikes of bugle are very recognisable. A short, creeping plant, it spreads using runners.
Red clover
A familiar 'weed' of gardens, roadsides, meadows and parks, red clover has trefoil leaves and red, rounded flower heads. It is often used as fodder for livestock.