My career path
As a Trainee Reserves officer at Rutland Water Nature Reserve, Dale is lucky enough that he can take his passion for wildlife to work with him, with a job that will set him up for a career in…
Search
Chwilio
Chalk rivers
Cool, crystal-clear waters flow over gravelly beds, streaming through white-flowered water-crowfoot and watercress in serene lowland landscapes.
My passion
Chris is the Southern Reserves Manager at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and leads a team of staff, wardens and volunteers in caring for our nature reserves in the South of Nottinghamshire. This…
Bee orchid
The bee orchid is a sneaky mimic - the flower’s velvety lip looks like a female bee. Males fly in to try to mate with it and end up pollinating the flower. Sadly, the right bee species doesn’t…
My new life
Working full time in a windowless room cut Sonja off from the natural world around her; but spending time in wild places has helped her to discover herself since a shock diagnosis two years ago.…
Puffin
A funny little fellow in his glossy black dinner jacket and crisp white bib, the puffin is instantly recognisable from its brightly coloured parrot-like bill. Puffins use their colourful bill to…
My gateway
John has been attending the Recovery Project at Idle Valley Nature Reserve for three years. After being diagnosed with dyslexia and getting bullied for several years at school, he was left with…
Bulbous buttercup
The bulbous buttercup has the familiar butter-yellow flowers of its namesake, but grows from a bulb-like 'corm' (a swollen underground stem). Look for it on chalk and limestone…
Yellow-wort
A plant of chalk and limestone grasslands and sand dunes, Yellow-wort has butter-yellow flowers. Its distinctive leaves sit opposite each other, but are fused together around the stem.
My recovery plan
Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2014. After undergoing a life-saving operation and an intensive chemotherapy course, she is on the road to recovery.
Wildlife…
Reedbed
Found between water and land, reedbeds are transitional habitats. They can form extensive swamps in lowland floodplains or fringe streams, rivers, ditches, ponds and lakes with a thin feathery…
Frogbit
Frogbit looks like a mini water-lily as it floats on the surface of ponds, lakes and still waterways. It offers shelter to tadpoles, fish and dragonfly larve.