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Six months of New Nature
It has been nothing short of a pleasure to work on New Nature magazine over the past six months: to read and publish the work of…
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The good news keeps on coming
After a pretty tedious day of rain, menial work and more rain, I was delighted to receive two loads of good news this evening. The first…
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Ruby Tiger and other treasures
Having recently purchased a new moth trap only to break the bulb while unpacking it, I was delighted when my replacement arrived yesterday. This meaning…
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Species Focus: Tree Bumblebee
Otherwise known as the New Garden Bumblebee, the Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum is one of my favourite garden visitors. A pleasant figment of Spring and Summer which…
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30DaysWild: a recent roundup
Though I started off well, my #30DaysWild posts seem to have faded over the past few weeks. This due to some wild commitments elsewhere –…
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Species Focus: Iris pseudacorus
Otherwise known as yellow flag, water flag, yellow iris, sword-grass and lever, Iris pseudacorus is a rather lovely botanical. A prominent feature of pond margins, ditches…
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.
