We're just nearing the end of Keep Scotland Beautiful's annual Spring Clean which has been running from 13th March to 24th April, so we were pleased to be able to get out this week and do our bit. We joined a team of young people from Parent Action for Safe Play in Kirkshaws in Coatbridge to clear up the area around their centre and their playpark, and as you can see from the picture we were able to collect a substantial amount of rubbish. This has been part of a wider project supported by...

When I started this blog back in 2020 I didn't feel like nature was everywhere, or at least not in places where it wasn't expected. I've always loved to notice the dandelions conquering the concrete and have celebrated the seasonal quarterly festivals ever since my well-spent youth, hanging about with the druids at Avebury stone circle, but it never felt particularly mainstream. Of course nature writing has a long and established history, but it has undergone something of a renaissance in...

It's a question I love to debate every season, not least because I love a topic that provokes a debate. Perhaps Spring is the season that most begs the question. Sure you can answer it the boring way. According to the Met Office it depends on whether you are referring to astronomical or meteorological spring. If you measure it by the movements of the planets (astronomy) then it starts at the Spring Equinox which in 2026 is at 14:46 on the 20th March. If you're measuring by the average...