1st guided walk of the year. Ian Clarke showed us amazing cliff faces in Priors Hall Quarry & talked about the ironstone extraction on which Corby’s former steel industry depended. Coming up is a Series of walks to Rockingham Forest’s lesser known places. Book at www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/events

I spent the last couple of days in Oxford where two huge farming conferences happen simultaneously. I was there to talk about the vital importance of access to nature, and why farmland has to be part of that.

Why are there Wood Ants in only one wood in #RockinghamForest ? www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/post/wood-ants @wclnews.bsky.social @wildlifebcn.bsky.social

The #NewYearPlantHunt is starting tomorrow! 🌼Taking part in @bsbibotany.bsky.social's Plant Hunt is a really valuable way of contributing towards building an accurate picture of how our wild plants are responding to the climate crisis. Find out more & register at: bsbi.org/new-year-pla...

2024 highlights: back in spring I showed Phoebe Weston @theguardian.com the 22 yr Marsh Tit study at Monks Wood, documenting their decline. Despite a good spring, summer survival was poor again and the slump continues. But the 9 yr old bird still survives! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year from #RockinghamForest www.rockinghamforest.org.uk

Planning some winter walks around #RockinghamForest but not sure which route to take? Check out our list of nine hard tracks for ‘Walking Without Wellies’ in the Forest this winter. New today - a walk in Ring Haw, the @wildlifebcn.bsky.social nature reserve. www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/www

Did you play a part in our recent "Building the Links for #RockinghamForest" project? There's a summary of what was achieved here, with lots of pictures too www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/building-links

Did you play a part in our recent "Building the Links for #RockinghamForest" project? There's a summary of what was achieved here, with lots of pictures too www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/building-links

A wet weekend - just the time to settle down and take part in this important public consultation. Comments must be in by Monday!

Great day today with @eastmerciart.bsky.social and Harborough Woodland setting up for tree planting next week. This at a river restoration site helping to return the Welland back to health

Not the ideal day for a walk in the forest!

Out today is our December newsletter featuring the celebration artwork at the end of the 2-year Building the Links for #RockinghamForest project. Download it here www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/contacts

There's an awful lot of deer in #RockinghamForest! and they cause lots of damage to trees as well as crops. Read about the local deer problem here www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/deer-1

Just 9 days left to comment on North Northamptonshire's important new strategy for nature recovery. If you need a bit of help to get started have a look here. www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/latest @wildlifebcn.bsky.social

Please help bees, butterflies and birds by reducing the mowing next year! By leaving a patch of grass in your garden to flower you'll be helping wildlife while reducing effort, cost and carbon emissions. Cartoon courtesy of the wonderful @sepponet.bsky.social #Nature #ClimateAction⁠ ⁠#biodiversity

Beautiful evening light but still sad to see all this felling in Bedford Purlieus just now. This woodland's probably the jewel of the #RockinghamForest crown - read more about it here www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/woodland

How a little money has gone a long way in #RockinghamForest www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/grants

More good #NationalParks news from Scotland. Scottish Gov consultation finds strong support for reforming Park purposes to prioritise biodiversity, and to deliver more on climate. Legislation looks likely to follow soon. www.gov.scot/publications...

So happy to see #thicktrunktuesday is a thing here

Looking up into the crown of an enormous stool of Small-leaved Lime, perhaps close to a thousand years old, brings a sense of calm and perspective...and shows crown shyness nicely... #ThickTrunkTuesday

Despite last week's freeze, still fungi to be found in Old Sulehay Forest including a very fresh huddle of Mica Inkcap, some Purple (or Budding) Jellydisc on a mossy stump, Clustered Bonnet inside a hollow oak stump and a scatter of Oysterlings on a Hazel twig. #MushroomMonday #FungiFriends 📸🍄

This new study suggests that high-quality old grassland may be particularly good at supporting pollinators because diverse food sources provided by such grassland provide additional health benefits. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... | Pornon et al. @funecology.bsky.social

No rain warning from the Met Office for Northamptonshire yesterday but, with hindsight, an Amber warning may have been warranted. It was a significant weather event for the county leading to widespread flooding & damage to property. Some exceptional rainfall totals for 24/11/24:

The River Welland forms the northern boundary of #RockinghamForest and there's a green lane allowing access across the river at Turtle Bridge - but not today! See more details here www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/places-to-visit

It's harvest time in Wakerley Wood - as seen during #StormBert. "All is safely gathered in, 'ere the winter storms begin"? Some valuable timber here, and perhaps another take on #NationalTreeWeek ?

Groups across #RockinghamForest are working on Nature Recovery in small or more major ways. Here's a post, published today, about what's going on in Oundle. www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/post/oundle-... We'd love to share what else is going one here - please get in touch.

Lots more about this amazing woodland by Carolyn Church here - a full year's diary describing working and living in the wood. Well worth a read! www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/blog/categories/rawhaw

As #COP29 draws to a close in Baku, perhaps it is a good moment to be reminded that despite the complex global politics, there are practical things we can do on the ground here in England. & in acting to build resilience to climate change impacts, we can restore Nature too.

There are lots of great walking routes in #RockinghamForest including some where you don't ever need wellies. These 8 suggestions may be useful after this weekend! www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/www @nnweather.bsky.social

@naturalengland.bsky.social @tonyjuniper.bsky.social @markavery.bsky.social @wildlifebcn.bsky.social

The end of the beginning. Our Heritage Lottery funded project ends in December but Rockingham Forest Vision goes on from strength to strength. We'll be using Bluesky increasingly, along with our website: www.rockinghamforest.org.uk and hope you'll continue with us on the next stage of the journey

Willow Tits have sadly gone from #RockinghamForest now, but perky Marsh Tits continue to delight us.

A veteran Field Maple, pollarded long ago, marking the Medieval wood-boundary of Old Sulehay Forest. Host to a magnificent tiered specimen of Mossy Maple Polypore (also known more prosaically as Poplar Bracket). #ThickTrunkTuesday 📸🍄 #fungifriends

This is #FineshadeWood, one of the largest remaining parts of #RockinghamForest. Snow didn't last very long this morning

We're planning more free guided walks in #RockinghamForest for 2025. Where shall we go next year? Back to the same areas or somewhere new? Any ideas? Or any offers to lead walks in little-known parts of the forest especially welcome! Please get in touch www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/contacts

www.rockinghamforest.org.uk/blog Writing about Rockingham Forest by those who live, work or play here. We'd love you to join our team of writers if you have interesting things to say about the forest.

An "accidentally rewilded" 377-acre UK farm is now home to many threatened species, including turtle doves, warblers, 11 bat species, orchids + butterflies. Such examples prove how nature can recover when we let it, and that rewilding reverses nature loss. 🌍 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

For #wildflowerhour, one of the last Harebells of the year, still flowering at Castor Hanglands NNR. I suspect they won't survive the coming arctic blast... @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

Hello Bluesky👋 Wildlife and Countryside Link is the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England, bringing together 86 organisations for the protection of nature🌱 We'll be sharing news on environmental policy & how this can make a difference to people, wildlife & our cherished spaces🏘️

A thin layer of snow on Abington Park in Northampton this morning. The county’s first November lying snow since 2010.

Hedgerows are vital for biodiversity, carbon capture, and soil health. While agri-environment schemes (AES) are helping improve their condition, a new UKCEH study shows hedgerow length in England remains unchanged since 2007. 1/3 👇🏼 Read more: www.ceh.ac.uk/press/urgent...

Felt like winter had arrived yesterday. Cold but Bluesky

Snowing. Big wet flakes but thawing quickly. Blackbirds, thrushes & fieldfares are squabbling over windfall apples while small birds dart between feeders. Warming my hands on a mug of coffee thinking of mid-summer & the hum of insects. I love seasonality & the ever shifting view of this landscape

What a great day on Sunday! Seemed to be the first day of winter and really enjoyed the blue skies above the forest. And then discovered this Bluesky with lots of our friends already here. Hope we can enjoy this winter and this new social space together.