Blog

Well the final planting season of the project is well...

I finished my book Framing Nature - conservation and culture...

One of the most important microhabitats of ancient and veteran...

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) had a fantastic...

Anyone who doesn’t have at least some degree of admiration...

Colouring in the margins: Discovering the arable habitat and resources...

What’s been happening with Gems in the Dunes here on...

Conservationists and keen cyclists Jen and Mark Smart may have...

As many of us wander through the arable countryside for...

The Dorset’s Heathland Heart team have been working with land...

Needless to say, lots of plans and dreams this year...

Vincent Wildlife Trust’s Back from the Brink (BftB) Pine Marten...

While the black-tailed godwit breeding season has (sadly) come to...

During lockdown the National Trust has reported that emboldened wildlife,...

An attractive spray of arable plants. Photo Jess Brooks  There...

Our family run farm in Wiltshire has been my home...

Waiting for Godwits While many of the project team are...

Despite the problems lockdown has presented, it has led to...

Earlier this year, the Dorset's Heathland Heart team commissioned a...

What Does a Godwit Scientist do in Lockdown? Project Godwit's...

#StagWeekend 5th – 7th June – Celebrate and save threatened...

Alongside cooking, crafts and creativity, one of the emerging themes...

  Discover Ants with a Wildlife Nest Quest During Lockdown...

Pheasant’s-eye is blooming again at Ranscombe Farm, after … how many...

Up Close with Godwits - An Interview with Amelia Bennet-Margrave...

Good Godwit News It hasn’t been easy for the team...

It’s blazing hot, my legs are starting to cramp and...

It’s blazing hot, my legs are starting to cramp and...

Birthday competition! On May 19th 2019 the first English born...

Last week during the wonderful sunny weather, I noticed hundreds...

We now know that spending time in nature is good...

In this latest blog we learn more about head-starting and...

Being a conservation volunteer on the Narrow-headed Ant project... I...

Life in and around and ancient tree As a tree...

  In these tough times it's great to be able...

Taking Project Godwit into Schools Jess Owen, Project Godwit Engagement...

The Heath in Spring: As the days start to get...

Here at Back from the Brink (virtual) HQ we are...

Georgie Bray the Farm Manager at Hope Farm, the RSPB’s...

Finding Some Tree Time At a time of great uncertainty...

We Are A Many-Bodied Singing Thing is a new anthology...

As an artist in residence with Back from the Brink,...

Tree cribs at Moccas Park, Herefordshire As part of this...

Martin’s Ramping Fumitory A couple of months back during a...

This year, the Back from the Brink travelling exhibition will...

Back from the Brink enters its final year – how’s...

An update from the Wessex Stone-curlew team as we approach...

  Willow Tit Summit The Back from the Brink Willow...

Spreading-hedge Parsley - Reintroductions in Somerset On Thursday 13th February,...

Sherwood Forest has one of Europe’s biggest collection of ancient...

I saw my first sand lizard in the 1960s at...

Conservation – Everything has a Place and a Purpose! I...

Back from the Brink special: discover the willow tit, our...

Common Communities or Scarce Species? Scarlet Pimpernel has always been...

Read this wonderful blog by Julia Thorley who hosted two...

  Volunteer Focus – Devon and Cornwall – Lucy Lucy...

Volunteer Focus – Devon and Cornwall – Ilene Sterns “I’ve...

Volunteer Focus – Wessex – Nick Adams Nick is based...

The Gift Like the dear face of a much loved...

We have made good use of last year’s findings in...

The Field Cricket project has had a good year with...

Celebrating another year of Colour in the Margins South West...

The Roots of Rockingham have blossomed with many fantastic successes...

The Purbeck Mason Wasp The striking Purbeck Mason Wasp (Pseudepipona...

Making a Shrill Carder Bee Kazoo You Will Need: scissors,...

  2019 has been another busy year for Limestone’s Living...

Saving Seed for the Future – How Farmers in Cornwall...

  Our Pine Marten project has had a busy 2019...

The days are shortening and the temperature is falling. This...

Woodland Birds Creative Writing Even if you've never been to...

  The Healing Power of the Poppy Two of the...

We recently ran a creative workshop as part of our...

  Red-hemp Nettle It’s a cool blustery day at the...

Colour in the Margins is one of the many projects...

  Dorset's Heathland Heart Reptiles I’m a new member of...

  Helping the Hedgehog Whilst Colour in the Margins is...

Rare Lichen at Burnham Beeches Burnham Beeches had been pretty...

  Call out for Sci-Fi/Speculative Poetry and Fiction Inspired by...

Chequered Skipper caterpillar find! Over the last couple of years,...

Barberry Carpet Blog Again I am long overdue an update,...

Small Flowered Catchfly Primarily focused on attracting dog walkers to...

Arable plants: weeds, or the key to the survival of...

Working with Arable Plants – Guest Blog  Walking along a...

  It was one of those typically warm and lazy...

Wax-zine lyrical about the Shrill Carder Bee I was fortunate...

Willow Tit -Trainee Conservationist! Even as a child I’ve always...

Lesser Butterfly Orchid project update It’s been a busy season...

Veteran trees and their importance to bats Veteran trees are...

COLOUR IN THE MARGINS - Ryedale Farm Museum Porcelain Flowers with...

Outdoor Art in the Dunes Sarah Jane Richards on Painting...

  Did you know that if you are out in...

Following the successful reintroduction of the Chequered Skipper to the...

  One of my favourite things to do is walk...

One of the things I enjoy most about our Back...

Our climate is changing. The overwhelming scientific consensus is that...

Over the Brink in the Brecks! When we think of...

Spotty Chequered Skippers! Following the announcement of our news about...

Not only have we lost the flowers … My mother...

Brome, Interrupted! Trying to conserve a species of grass doesn’t...

The Perfect Pond! What a difference a year makes –...

The Chequered Skipper Flies Again! Seeing Chequered Skippers flying once...

Field Cricket Poem   Lonely, birch tree Dead Bleached bones...

Out for the Count – A Flashback to the Field...

Mosey in the Margins at South Down Farm On the...

The Yellow Centaury Plant Yellow Centaury, one of the species...

Dipping my Toes into Forest Bathing Most of us that...

A previously extinct butterfly has bred successfully in an English...

Pale Dog Violet The scintillating sight of the milky-white petals...

  Thousands of people give their time to save endangered...

  As an integrated project, Colour in the Margins aims...

  I’m not going to lie, before I applied for...

Back from the Brink is an ambitious programme of work...

For an insect that spends almost all of its time...

Legend has it that the Pasqueflower comes into bloom on...

Moving into spring - an update from the Grey Long-Eared...

An update is long overdue but I am finally managing...

Winter = staying snug indoors in the nest, stockpiling resources,...

One of the key research themes within the Sustainability Research...

Conservation is all about partnership.Without the exchange of knowledge, experience...

Hints of spring are in the air... Bulbs are peeking...

Chances are, if you’ve been walking through Southern heathland on...

An update on Shifting Sands’ work to save the endangered...

Web Blog- No Pun intended! #lovespiders “Fallen in love again...”...

Over the last few months, I’ve been working with the...

  Meet Heath!   Heath is an incredibly accurate representation...

Since our Back from the Brink project started in summer...

Chris' sculptural workshops took place last week at a local...

Given the microscopic scale of many of these Breckland species,...

On a frosty morning, in the strange “limbo” week between...

Having heard from Sir Sebastian Anstruther about the conservation of...

I'm standing in a park with my hand on a...

Back from the Brink needs YOU! We're looking for 5...

When I tried to pick out one thing to focus...

The Shifting Sands project is based within the ‘broken lands’...

In the heart of a post-industrial landscape, a burnt-out car...

This time of year is one of the best times...

Hi! My name is Pip, I’ve been the Keystone Species...

Since the middle of last year I’ve been volunteering with...

As we move from autumn to winter, temperatures drop and...

Gin lovers rejoice this Christmas! For Juniper, our native aromatic...

On the 9th of December, Amanda - our Back from...

Well, what a year it’s been with our first confirmed...

Walking in the footsteps of Gilbert White, the Ranscombe Farm...

Hi, my name is Lydia and I am the Communications...

I am a mature student studying for a Foundation Degree...

Moving into the cooler days of Autumn and pulling on...

I’ve got a lot to update you on since my...

This September, the Colour in the Margins Team were joined...

Ever wondered where the last population of Field Crickets in...

The heart of Dorset’s heathland is the perfect habitat for...

Autumn is here, and it’s time to see how the...

“Have you lost something?” It's a question I hear surprisingly...

With the summer drawing to a close, now seemed like...

Enhancing Uni Studies and career development with the VWT and...

It’s been a very busy few months for Limestone’s Living...

It’s been a whirlwind three months since we wrapped up...

It’s been almost three months since the Chequered Skipper butterfly...

The fact is we know next to nothing. Now is...

There is a nocturnal arms race taking place above our...

As part of our Colour in the Margins project, Kew...

Every seed is different, containing a unique package of genetic...

I can’t believe it’s already July… Time is flying by...

We have an incredible opportunity to get involved with Back...

Tuesday 19th June saw a large party of us (volunteers)...

We are now into the Field Cricket monitoring period! Following...

We have an incredible opportunity for the creatives out there...

My name is Jamie Wildman and I am a PhD...

 There's loads going on here in the Brecks - we...

The Back from the Brink Pine Marten project is the...

At the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB)  we grow our seedlings...

As I was travelling down to the Dorset colony area...

I’ve never seen a Chequered Skipper before. But May was...

It’s now spring and the Lapwing and Redshank are busy...

Pollarding tress: "the cyclical removal of tree growth above 2...

We are getting towards an exciting time of the year...

Can I write a short blog on my childhood memories...

The Chequered Skipper was first recorded in Britain near Bedford...

The Chequered Skipper Butterfly became extinct in England in 1975,...

Back from the Brink is always on the search for...

Humans need biodiversity to survive and thrive. Clean water, food,...

Photographer and picture researcher Ben Andrew joined our Communications Manager,...

Last month our Communications Manager, James, headed off into the...

The magnificent Dorset heathlands are really starting to come alive,...

Well, the Black-tailed Godwits have made their way back to...

Bat research relies on being able to detect bat calls....

The case of Prostrate perennial knawel: Bringing one of the...

It’s one thing having billions of seeds stored safely for...

April – what a month it’s been! Spring has officially...

Over 2 billion seeds are stored at RBG Kew’s Millennium...

The past few weeks have seen some interesting weather in...

March has flown by… And what a month! They say...

  I am a student gaining work experience with Yorkshire...

Early morning frost cladding reduces the gorse and grass tussocks...

Can Pine Martens ‘control’ Grey Squirrels? There has been a...

If you go out to the heaths of Surrey or...

We all know how important light is in order for...

The length and breadth of England, Back from the Brink...

It’s been a very busy start of the year for...

As part of the Back from the Brink project, we...

With snow on the ground as I write this, it...

The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is the largest wild seed...

Beneath the tufted ears of wheat or the stubble-stalks of...

Well we are 8 months into the project now and...

Back from the Brink has been full steam ahead since...

Work has started to help the Lesser Butterfly Orchid at...

As spring draws nearer, Willow Tits are out and about...

Wandering through Dorset’s heaths in the blustery winter twilight, when...

It's a cold November evening in the Cotswolds, the base...

My interest in orchids started as a teenager, working in...

What a first few months we have had on the...

Nestled below the wild landscape of Bodmin Moor, sitting among...

The first few months have flown by as I’ve been...

Luckily the Little Whirlpool Ramshorn Snail is able to withstand...

It has been a busy five months since I started...

Did you know that Field Crickets were once reintroduced to...

We have spent a lot of time in this first...

It’s been a busy month for the Shifting Sands team....

Trees improve with age, they say life begins at 40...

One of the things about bats that really got me...

Hi everyone, I’m James Harding-Morris, Communications Manager for Back from...

We are now 5 months into our Back from the...

Shifting Sands is making progress! Over the last couple of...

In our last two Willow Tit blogs, we introduced the...

Hello all. This is just a short paragraph or two...

Starting this project has been an exciting time for me....

Having grown up around coastal sand dunes I believe it...

The start of the Barberry Carpet Project has been a...

The diggers are out as I write. They’ve started creating...

Tickling Field Crickets is always a game of patience. This...

The much anticipated Back from the Brink project has finally...

These are early days for me as Outreach Officer for...

The Willow Tit – the small bird that thinks it’s...

In the last few weeks we’ve been getting ready to...

Fortunate and privileged. This is how I feel to be...

Having worked in conservation for 10 years in my home...

I’ve come to see a thatched dwelling in Devon. There...

From the very start, I feel as if the project...

Before I started working for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust two years...

Black-tailed Godwits are beautiful, large, wading birds. In the summer,...