Elephant Hawkmoth It was a very warm day when I met up with a few of the Beryl Harvey Conservation volunteers. Right away we were aware of the most appalling stench. It wasn’t long before the source of the stink was discovered; a dead badger. Very dead and seething with maggots. This scene was an example of ...
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A Zebra in the Ewhurst Landscape? Who coined the disdainful description ‘Nimby’? People who had designs on your local landscape and tried to shame you into agreeing to development, that’s who. But we should all be Nimbys! Unless we fight to protect our surroundings, no one will protect them for us, particularly as ...
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The name ‘orchid’ perhaps conjures up the mental picture of some exotic, expensive plant – the sort much used by interior designers for dark corners, and indistinguishable from its artificial version. The orchids I prefer are the native ones, and here in Cranleigh we have at least two sorts. A friend sent me some ...
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Did you know that there is a conservation site in Cranleigh? It was given to the Parish Council in 1970 for the benefit of the village by Gordon Harvey, in memory of his wife. A naturalist who recently visited the 2 ½ acre site said that it was ‘small but interesting’. It is a valuable asset for Cranleigh which ...
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Landowners across the South East are being asked to consider planting trees to help tackle the climate and nature emergencies. The Woodland Trust has this week reopened applications for its flagship woodland creation scheme MOREwoods for anyone looking to get trees in the ground in the forthcoming 2021/22 planting ...
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An example of Maybugs This is the month when cockchafer beetles make their dramatic appearance. Appropriately, they are also known as Maybugs. Sometime on an evening in mid May the beetles erupt from the ground and climb the first available plant stalk. From there they launch into clumsy, noisy flight. They are ...
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Violets at Snoxhall, Cranleigh. © Photo by Mark Matthews We hear a lot about ‘immersing’ ourselves in nature, noticing the sights and sounds of spring. But what about the smells? We say ‘spring is in the air’ and lift our heads and sniff the delicious fresh scent of a world warming and returning to life. Last ...
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Spring is on the way. When I drew the curtains a couple of weeks ago, a groggy ladybird fell onto the windowsill. Although most ladybirds hibernate outside, I usually find 3 or 4 a year who have decided my curtains are a better bet. Which made me think what a tricky strategy hibernation is. Come out too early, and ...
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Can these hedgehogs survive in our fast moving world? I have a copy of a sale brochure produced for A B Johnson, a local developer in the early 1920s – advertising plots for sale along the Horsham Road and stating that this is where ‘CIVILISATION and NATURE REMAIN UNITED’ A dubious claim, even then. One hundred ...
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Isatis tinctoria The writers of Genesis (2.20) understood the importance of names, and they have the newly-created Adam naming everything round him. Simon Barnes (naturalist and writer) argues that knowing the names of birds encourages us to observe more carefully. The closer we watch, the more we understand; ...
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