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Nature Blogging: Why Bother?
One of the most common questions raised whenever someone stumbles across this blog, particularly from those of a non-environmental background is: why bother? Surely it takes…
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Agricultural Policy To Blame For The Sorry State Of Nature
The latest State of Nature report was released this week to widespread debate on social media, and widespread coverage in national media. Though not all chose…
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TREEPTYCH: a Guide to Truly Perceive Trees – Willemijn Heideman
Trees: where I live in northwestern Europe, we all encounter at least a few of them each day. We walk past them or we walk…
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The Importance of Dead Wood
The sight of a dead tree, denuded and stripped of its prior glory, appears to be a worrisome one to some. Those who view such…
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A Vison for a #WilderNE
Wilder, the new grassroots activism group, is gaining momentum at present, largely due to the hard work and determination of the passionate young people at…
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#PatchChat: Back on the Blyth…
The last week has been spent getting well and truly reacquainted with my local patch – the Blyth Estuary. The lowlands of coastal Northumberland a…
Current Fascinations
By my own admission, I am prone to falling down rabbit holes from time to time. Typically, this involves deep-diving into a particular subject and learning as much as possible before, inevitably, another topic comes along to take its place. Regardless, below you’ll find my current areas of interest…
Botanical Bits
Botany is my main interest, and whether it’s ferns, snowdrops, grasses, ancient woodland plants, or even humble pavement weeds, I try to spend as much time as possible seeking out our wild plants.
North East Botany
Here you’ll find musings on plant identification, trip reports, sightings from walks and courses and just about anything else relating to botany in North East England.
Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside
The Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside is the first comprehensive account of the wild plants growing across the Newcastle and North Tyneside conurbation, one of the largest in the UK.
Based on six years of fieldwork, the book documents more than 1,120 native and naturalised plants -around a third of Britain’s entire flora.
Meet James
Born and raised in North East England, James is a botanist, general naturalist and biological recorder with a passion for sharing the joys of North East nature with others.
He currently works as Senior Naturalist for the Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) and volunteers as a vice-county recorder for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI), both of which allow him to spend ample time outdoors leading trips, courses, surveys and guided walks.
