WonderfulWildlifeUK

Main image:  By Charlotte Targett, Avon Wildlife Trust Living Landscape Assistant read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/05/09/caring-cotswolds-%E2%80%93-very-core

Main image:  By Elisabeth Winkler, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant Bats get a bad rap. Deemed blood suckers, they are associated with vampires. Yet bats help humanity in many ways. Let us clear up the myth first. Yes, there is a vampire bat but only in the tropics of Central and South America. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/05/09/why-bother-bats

By Elisabeth Winkler, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant Does nature matter? Nature provides vital human services: medicine, building materials, food, soil, seed pollination, fresh water and fresh air. We depend on it for our wealth and wellbeing, our food and homes. How would we survive without it? For our own sake, we need nature to thrive. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/05/02/putting-nature-recovery

Main image:  By Elisabeth Winkler, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant Nature-lovers of Bath and Bristol deserve a big round of applause. Last year they made more wildlife observations than any other European city and ranked 13th in the world in a global competition to observe and record wildlife in cities. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/04/11/city-nature-challenge-2019

Main image:  By Lesley Cox and Clive Lovatt of the Bristol Naturalists’ Society The Bristol Naturalists’ Society is a partner of Avon Wildlife Trust, with members monitoring and recording wildlife trends in Avon and helping our conservation work and campaigning. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/04/11/historic-hawthorn-heralds-summer

Main image:  By Oliver Evans, Avon Wildlife Trust volunteer read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/04/09/volunteering-avon-wildlife-trust-oliver-evans

Main image:  By Elisabeth Winkler, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/04/01/grenville-johnson-st-george-wildlife-champion

Main image:  By one of our amazing Avon Wildlife Trust volunteers Having started volunteering in the office answering volunteer enquiries, I was keen to have a practical placement with one of our conservation teams so that I could get a feel for what they do. I signed up to go out for the day with the Wild City Action Team, who work on designated Local Wildlife Sites in Bristol. I was advised to bring a packed lunch, wear sturdy boots and bring waterproofs. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/03/21/volunteering-avon-wildlife-trusts-wild-city-action-team

Main image:  By Sarah Mitchell, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Officer With so many inspiring young people around the world speaking up for the environment, it’s important to provide the space for more people to do the same here in Avon. Since summer 2018 we have been working with a fantastic creative team at the Bristol-based film company Immediate Media to produce a short film that captures the importance of lifelong learning about nature and wildlife. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/03/15/capturing-nature-connection-film

Main image:  By Elisabeth Winkler Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/03/07/bedminster-goes-wild

Main image:  By Rosie Maple, Avon Wildlife Trust Living Landscape Officer read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/02/27/magnificent-maple

Main image:  By Freya Morgan, Avon Wildlife Trust’s Learning Development Officer read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/02/22/wild-and-warm-hello-freya-my-wild-child

Main image:  By Stephanie Sharkey, Avon Wildlife Trust Learning Administration Officer. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/02/15/learning-about-winter-birds-id-avon-wildlife-trust

Main image:  By Elisabeth Winkler, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant Snowdrops are powerful signs of resilience. They look so delicate with their white flowers nodding bell-like on a stem, but they are tough, making their way through the frozen earth when little else is flowering. These winter superstars are both cultivated in gardens and grow wild. The earliest record of wild snowdrops in Britain dates from the 1770s. Originating from Europe’s mountains, their leaves have hardened tips and their sap contains a form of anti-freeze. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/02/07/snowdrops-%E2%80%93-winter-superstars

Main image:  By Claudia Bonney, Avon Wildlife Trust Wildlife Champion I will never forget the first night in my new house seeing a mother hedgehog and her three babies walking across my lawn. What a surprise to discover a healthy population of wild hedgehogs happily living in my city garden here in Bishopston, Bristol. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/01/30/mrs-tiggywinkle-leads-hedgehog-way

Main image:  By Louise Treneman, Avon Wildlife Trust Living Landscape Assistant The hornbeam gets its name from the strength of its timber - horn meaning hard, and beam being the old English word for tree. Historically these trees were Britain’s most prized source of hardwood, used to make tools, coach wheels and gear pegs in traditional windmills. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2019/01/24/strong-and-protective-%E2%80%93-hornbeam-tree

Main image:  By Elisabeth Winkler, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant Folly Farm nature reserve recently welcomed high-tech help on its steep slopes overlooking the Chew Valley. A driverless mower may seem surreal, but certainly has its advantages. The remote-controlled flail mower can tackle terrains that might daunt a tractor. Its low centre of gravity and caterpillar tracks ease uphill work. Operated by handheld controls at some distance from the machine, it is also safer than enduring the vibrations (let alone the risk of being overturned) of driving a tractor.  read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/anonymous/2019/01/17/robot-rescue-wildflowers

By Naomi Fuller, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Manager As 2018 draws to a close and we have a chance to pause and reflect on the year’s activities, we’ve been looking back at how things have been for wildlife across Avon and the ways we’ve helped connect people of all ages with the landscapes and nature around them. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2018/12/19/it%E2%80%99s-been-wildlife-filled-year

By Louise Treneman, Avon Wildlife Trust Living Landscape Assistant As the days draw in and temperatures drop, birders wrap up, grab a flask and their binoculars and head in the direction of their nearest estuary. This is because the colder days and longer nights signal the start of one of the greatest birding sights of the year - the arrival of the waders. These are birds which wade along shorelines and mudflats foraging for food such as worms in mud or sand. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2018/12/19/winter-wader-wonderland

Main image:  By Elisabeth Winkler, Avon Wildlife Trust Communications Assistant ‘Tis the season to get jolly with mistletoe, ivy and holly. Native to Britain and most of Europe, these evergreens have mystical reputations. Plants that stay green symbolise new life in barren midwinter. Inside a human home, their glossy leaves reflect fire or candlelight. These traditional Christmas evergreens also bring unique benefits to wildlife, especially birds. read more from Avon Wildlife Trust blogs http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wildblog/2018/12/19/very-%E2%80%98berry%E2%80%99-christmas