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The gift of birdsong
Excluding those closest to me, not many people will know that for seven years now I have been living with a severe hearing impairment. Partial…
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Pondering those godawful ‘pigeon spikes’
Modern society is growing increasingly disconnected from the natural world. That, unfortunately, is a fact. And it will come as no surprise to learn that many,…
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Birding in Northumberland 2017: the highlights
Now, this is a post for the avian-inclined individuals out there… For those of you who didn’t know, I set myself a challenge at the…
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The health benefits of a life in nature, a guest post by Holly Genevieve
Being outside in nature is something that everybody should make time for, especially as we are becoming such a digitally driven society. It’s interesting because…
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New Nature Issue 12!
It’s December, the blushed tones of Autumn now but a fading memory and vibrant greens of Spring and Summer a soothing promise of things to…
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Butterflies: Poetry in Nature – Guest post by Jonathan Bradley
There is poetry everywhere in the natural world, but for me nowhere more so than in butterflies. What is poetic about butterflies? Poetry is 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.
