Blog

The Habitat Aid blog is set in Somerset. The blog tries to introduce some of the issues surrounding our natural environment as understood by a non ecologist. You’ll also find some practical “how to” guides. It’s written by Nick Mann, who runs Habitat Aid. Nick is an increasingly curmudgeonly bald middle-aged bloke of familiar type.

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Beavers and Back Gardens
October 29, 2023
Small is beautiful.
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More Plants Please
March 14, 2023
I watch the wonderful Wild Isles with mixed emotions. I was very lucky to meet David Attenborough back in the noughties when we sold some wildflowe...
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Verging on the Impossible
June 13, 2022
Just up the lane we have a really nice verge, which is a kind of mini-meadow. We're acknowledging the value of this kind of area for wildflowers na...
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Unwilding
May 28, 2022
HUGE congratulations to local garden designers Urquhart and Hunt, who won Best of Show at Chelsea this year - and at their first attempt! What fant...
- biodiversity
- fruit trees
- gardens
- hedges
- Hookgate Cottage
- meadows
- orchards
- ponds
- Rewilding
- wildflowers
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A Nightingale Sang...
May 3, 2022
Nightingales; a lesson for our times.
- birds
- farming
- hedgerow
- hedges
- Rewilding
- trees and woodland
- wildflowers
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Farming in the Brave New World
January 10, 2022
A Revolution in UK Farming? Sadly the Oxford Farming Conference this year was virtual, which was a great shame. Not least because I was looking for...
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Hedge Laying and Culture Wars
December 20, 2021
Regular readers of this nonsense will know I'm a big fan of not just hedges, but also hedge laying. The National Hedgelaying Society is one of the ...
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A Little Knowledge...
August 11, 2021
We need more experts.
- biodiversity
- fruit trees
- Habitat Aid Ltd.
- hedges
- meadows
- nature
- orchards
- Rewilding
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Green Roof Update
July 22, 2021
There's a good reason we don't have stairs up to our green roof. It's one of my happy places - if I didn't have to drag my ladder out of the garage...
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Beavers and Back Gardens

More Plants Please

Verging on the Impossible

Unwilding

A Nightingale Sang...

Farming in the Brave New World

Hedge Laying and Culture Wars

A Little Knowledge...

Green Roof Update