"One lucky worker, with just the right aroma, found himself with three-quarters of a Purple Emperor in his hand. This beautiful beast was spotted a couple of weeks later, clearly managing…

Black and yellow stripes don't always mean a wasp or even a sting as Sue Taylor, BBOWT volunteer recorder, explains.

"The fences are stronger, the paths tidier, and the streams a little better understood. Each volunteer has played their part, bringing their own skills and enthusiasm to the task."

If you want to restore nature in your community but don't know where to start, get inspired by what this local group has achieved in just a few years

The woodland workers scramble through the foliage, knocking in new posts and re-tensioning slack wire... It is imperative that the boundary is secured; once loose in the wood, a cow would be a…

"Carefully, panels are removed from areas no longer requiring protection, with vigilance for early nesting birds among the vegetation entwined in the wire fencing."

"This length of hedgerow now lies low and lush. Light reaches the drovers’ track once again, and dormant seeds in the soil will flourish."

"We step back to admire our work. The area is brighter, lighter, renewed, and marked by human care."

"Few tasks are as satisfying as completely clearing an area of vegetation. Brutal though the work may appear, it brings a renewed vitality to the wood."

The numbers are in - Colin Williams looks back at the highs and lows for wildlife on BBOWT nature reserves in 2025