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(By Jonathan and Lois) Our walk in Culduthel Woods on 15/01/2021. Picture 1: Culduthel House Picture 2: Crystal Brain Fungi Picture 3: Crimped-Gill Fungi Picture 4: Crow's Nests in the Treetops

We went to do some tree ID today. There were so many trees in such a small area! An obvious willow (because it is massive!) and lots of hazels. We also found holly, hawthorn, elder, yew and ash. That was all within the first 5m of the land! We also did a little moss and lichen ID (Swans neck thyme and birds claw beard moss) and spotted some fungi (Jelly ear and turkey tail). What a haul! Zooey found an earthworm.

We took part in the RSPB big garden bird watch (except it wasn’t in our garden -we went to our ‘patch’ to count the birds). It was very cold so it was difficult to sit still for a full hour but we did it (we took warm tea with us!) and we saw: pigeons, magpies, black birds, sparrows, a great tit and 20 (!) gold finches. We inputted the information on the RSPB website.

Primary 7 are continuing to explore and discover the natural world in spite of lockdown. We have been taking part in a choice of outdoor activities each week. Our pictures show just a few from the last fortnight including star gazing, conquering a hill, taking part in the Big Garden Bird Watch and looking after our wildlife by building bug hotels.

Images from the area around Kinghorn Loch where explorers have been adding to the natural environment in a way that is fun for people but doesn't cause any damage to the local wildlife.

In Sept 2020 we moved down to Wales to be near our woodland. With the restrictions we have only managed to get back to West Cumbria once since the move. We were delighted to hear the news that the wonderful West Cumbria Rivers Trust project to restore the River Keekle was complete! The children were delighted and excited to see themselves on telly again. We had been asked to be interviewed for the final report but it was just after we moved. They used the footage of us from last year when we saw the picnic benches (made from plastic recycled from the river) for the first time. The lovely snowy picture was sent by friends who were happy to find the paths along the river all open. When I first moved to the area in 2007 I remember walking there with my elder son Jamie who was 8 at the time. We had never seen anything like "the plastic river". Now, it has been restored to a natural river. Good news for wildlife and walkers alike. We are so looking forward to walking there ourselves when we can.

Magpie Look there!... At the wintry sky Where a magpie flies Black feathers flashing, white and blue Magpie!