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The blue, the bronze and the hairy
We have been on somewhat of a quest this year to transform our little urban yard into a plot beneficial to wildlife. Planting a range…
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On the hunt for urban bees
For me, one of the few positive aspects of our current lockdown has been the opportunity to look closer at the wildlife that persists close…
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More tales from the urban jungle
In line with the government guidance, this week, time in nature has been squeezed and condensed. A few short forays to my local park and…
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Signs of Spring, by Frances Jones
My walk through the woods has become significantly more important for me since the announcement came that the country was going into lockdown. The song…
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Tales from the urban jungle
It certainly feels like Spring has sprung in my little corner of Newcastle: garish daffodils of all shapes and sizes adorn the roadsides, House Sparrows…
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Laying the Foundations of a Wildlife Garden
Our garden (if we can call it that) was a barren old thing. Little more than a few square meters of concrete fenced off and…
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 – Out Now!
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.
