Come and be part of a global voice for wild plants and fungi
Help wildlife, connect with nature and take part in No Mow May – straight from your garden by letting the wildflowers grow (in May and beyond!)
There are many different ways you can go the extra mile for Plantlife – from organising a bake sale, running the London Marathon or planning your own plant-themed event.
Our corporate partners benefit from 35 years of experience in nature restoration so they can achieve real impact.
Become a Plantlife member today and together we will rebuild a world rich in plants and fungi
It’s not just our wonderful wildflowers which benefit from not mowing our lawns this May – our pollinators, birds and wildlife flourish when we manage our lawns for nature!
Pollinators and other wildlife bring our gardens to life with buzzing and fluttering along our lawns, borders and hedges.
From bees to butterflies, and beetles to hoverflies, the wildflowers keep them thriving in our neighbourhoods. Here are just a handful of the species which you can spot in your garden this May and beyond.
And if you haven’t already, why not join the No Mow Movement and help pollinators from home.
Read our blog on creating a pollinator friendly garden here, for our top tips on their favourite flowers!
The dappled pattern of the Speckled Wood is a sign that summer is on its way. With up to two generations of this sun-seeking butterfly being produced in a year, it’s crucial that its caterpillar food plants, long grasses such as False Brome Brachypodium sylvaticum, Cock’s-foot Dactylis glomerata and Yorkshire-fog Holcus lanatus are available. This is why leaving patches of long grass year around in your garden is so important!
Living up to its name, this bumblebee can be seen across the UK in spring with its vividly red tail. Bumblebees like this one rely on a plentiful supply of our wonderfully wild plants such as Red Clover Trifolium pratense and Dandelions Taraxacum officinale to supply them with nectar and pollen. These are food sources for the bees and their larvae – next year’s buzzing bumblebees!
The life cycle of this bright and boldly patterned moth (pictured in the heading) relies entirely on one of our sunniest wildflowers – the yellow Common Ragwort Senecio jacobaea. Its tiger-striped caterpillars munch on this unpalatable plant before pupating underground over winter, ready to emerge as moths and put on another dazzling show next year.
This deliciously named hoverfly is one of our easiest flies to spot, identified by its black and orange bands and mesmerising levitating flight. Despite being disguised as a wasp, this friendly pollinator relies solely on nectar from flat flower heads such as Common Ragwort Senecio jacobaea and Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris.
Commonly known as the May Bug, these chunky red/orange beetles only live for 5-6 weeks. Despite their short lives above ground, females rely on grassy areas such as lawns to lay their eggs, where the larvae develop hidden deep underground for up to 5 years. Look out for them on warm evenings, perhaps bumping into your lit window!
By letting us know if you or your community space is taking part, you’ll be added to our map showcasing the collective power that this campaign has.Now sit back and watch the wildflowers grow…
It’s not just wildflowers which benefit from not mowing our lawns this May. Pollinators and other wildlife bring our gardens to life!
If you want to create a home for wildlife in your garden, here’s a couple of nature-friendly gardening jobs to inspire you. If you create the right space, nature will come.
As well as bringing back the bloom to our lawns, there are many ways you can get involved with No Mow May, even if you don’t have a garden.
We can’t wait to see your blooming wonderful communities this No Mow May!
Experience the sights and sounds of the temperate rainforest first hand, with one of our guided walks to celebrate World Rainforest Day.
We are teaming up with Cumbria Woodlands to host a full day of activities for you to explore, learn and wonder at the beauty of our temperate rainforests. Discover the species that survive nowhere else on earth, and meet the experts working to recover these forgotten habitats. There will even be the chance to take a trip into a real rainforest to experience the wonder of these habitats first hand!
You can find out more about the sessions before the walk here.
After lunch, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in a guided walk at one of four different locations in the northern Lakes. You will be guided along your route and your leader will take every opportunity to show you some of the incredible species of Cumbria’s temperate rainforest, for you to experience the magic first hand!
This walk will take place at Great How Wood, and transport will be provided to and from Rheged Events Centre.
This walk will take place at Wesco and Burns Wood, and transport will be provided to and from Rheged Events Centre.
This walk will take place at Naddle Forest and transport will be provided to and from Rheged Events Centre.
This walk will take place at Aira Force and transport will be provided to and from Rheged Events Centre.
Get ready for a full day of celebrations! Discover the secrets of the temperate rainforest through talks, music and even guided walks to experience the wonder of these habitats first hand.
We’re teaming up with Cumbria Woodlands to host a full day of activities for you to explore, learn and wonder at the beauty of our temperate rainforests. Discover the species that survive nowhere else on earth and meet the experts working to recover these forgotten habitats. There will even be the opportunity to take a trip into a real rainforest to experience the wonder of these habitats first hand! You can book onto a walk separately using the links in our What’s On page here.
Our rainforest activities will take place on World Rainforest Day on June 22. The day will begin with a drop-in session where you can explore Cumbria’s temperate rainforest and meet the organisations who are on the forefront of the work being done to protect these special habitats. Tea and coffee will be available.
We will then be showing an exclusive screening of Cumbrian music producer DJ Werka’s SATURAMA. This beautiful, immersive film shot at Naddle Forest by Joel Hepworth and Ryan Cooper, is designed to show you the magic of temperate rainforests, and is brought to life with a live soundscape installation by Tom Leah. Werka’s SATURAMA inspires us to form a deeper connection with our natural world and protect it as we would each other.
Following SATURAMA, we will be hosting a panel discussion bringing together experts from across the country who represent a variety of different professional sectors. Together we will be exploring how collaboration between sectors can make us so much more than the sum of our parts when it comes to making a positive change for nature.
9am – 10am: Arrival at Rheged Discovery Centre. Attendees must register their parking with the venue to avoid paying a parking fee. Tea and coffee will be available in the Blencathra room, while you take some time to learn about Cumbria’s temperate rainforest from our partners.
10am – 11am: SATURAMA – live installation by DJ Werkha in Screen 2
11am – 11.15am: An opportunity to stretch your legs and grab a hot drink before returning to Screen 2 for the panel discussion
11.15am – 11.45am: ‘How can we work together to save our rainforests?’ – Your chance to ask questions to our experts to discover how everyone can be involved to protect and restore our temperate rainforests
12.00pm – 12.30pm: Lunch will be served in the Blencathra Room. Please indicate when booking your ticket if you have any dietary requirements or allergies
12.30pm – 1pm: Get ready to leave for your guided walk! Walk leaders will be waiting outside in the car park with minibuses ready to transport you to your guided walk location! Please ensure you have booked your space on the guided walk of your choice
1pm – 1.30pm: Travel to guided walks – find out more about the individual walks on our What’s On page here.
1.30pm – 3.30pm: Guided walks. This is your opportunity to experience the magic of temperate rainforests up close! Please inform your walk leader if you have any accessibility requirements or pre-existing medical conditions that they need to be aware of.
3.30pm – 4pm: Travel back to Rheged Discovery Centre
Join our experts on a mock Field Identification Skills Certificate assessment to help prepare for the real thing.
The Field Identification Skills Certificate assessment can be daunting, so a mock is a great way of preparing yourself for the real thing.
This mock assessment will mirror closely the FISC assessment. Although you will not get an official FISC score from this mock, you will get a mock score and have the full FISC experience so that when you are ready for your assessment, you will know what to expect. If you have any questions before you secure your place, or want to discuss any adjustments that would support you to take part, contact rachel.jones@plantlife.org.uk.
The assessor for this FISC is Sarah Shuttleworth, Specialist Botanical Advisor at Plantlife.
Plantlife is pleased to partner with the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) as an Approved Provider for the FISC. This event is being run by Plantlife Biodiversity Consultants.
The Field Identification Skills Certificate (FISC) assessment can be daunting, so a mock is a great way of preparing yourself for the real thing.
This mock assessment will mirror closely the FISC assessment. Although you will not get an official FISC score from this mock, you will get a mock score and have the full FISC experience so that when you are ready for your assessment, you will know what to expect.
If you have any questions before you secure your place, or want to discuss any adjustments that would support you to take part, contact rachel.jones@plantlife.org.uk.
The assessor for this FISC is Sam Braine, Ecology Manager at Plantlife Biodiversity Consultants.
This is an in-person training event for over 18s only, the course will involve walking on steep and uneven ground.
This is an person training course for over 18s only, the course will involve walking on steep and uneven ground.
Over the course of one day, our aim is to give you the tools and confidence to be able to identify a range of bryophyte species commonly found in temperate rainforest habitat. The course will include both theory and practical elements to fully support your learning.
What is a bryophyte? The basics of bryophytes: mosses vs liverworts, growth forms, reproductive processes. Key identification features of mosses and liverworts. How to use a key to identify species in the field. The relationship between bryophytes and temperate rainforest.
The Rainforest Restoration Project is being led by the Woodland Trust in partnership with Plantlife. This project is funded by the Government’s Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.
This online workshop will teach you the basic biology of ferns, to help you identify some of the key species found in temperate rainforest.
Ferns can act as indicators of temperate rainforest or oceanic woodland habitat. Some of the species seen in the UK’s temperate rainforests are found nowhere else on earth.
This online training workshop will cover the following topics:
The #Species Survival Fund Rainforest Restoration Project is being led by the Woodland Trust in partnership with Plantlife and other organisations. This project is funded by the Government’s Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency
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