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.

Filter by

Understanding The Cost Of Plants
May 6, 2019
We had a lovely trip up to Yorkshire via East Anglia last week visiting some of our suppliers. And the odd pub, needless to say. Hot Pipe Callu...
- Habitat Aid Ltd.
- Read more
Notre Dame and the Great Yellow
April 18, 2019
Like you, I watched appalled as Notre Dame burned. It felt like a complicated metaphor for all sorts of things, and a crushing visceral wound. It ...
- biodiversity
- Read more
Industrial Moonscape v. Green and Pleasant Land
April 7, 2019
Last week entomologist Liam Olds published a fascinating study on invertebrates living on colliery spoil heaps in the south Wales valleys. If you ...
- bees
- biodiversity
- Read more
What's Happening To Our Butterflies And Bees?
March 10, 2019
Insectageddon! scream the headlines. Really? And why should this be? The more bizarre claims on social media I've seen recently range from Electro...
- bees
- butterflies and moths
- Read more
Plants For Bees In Late Winter
February 25, 2019
Climate change means that bees are struggling in late winter. Honeybees and bumblebee queens are out and about in the second half of February a...
- bees
- gardens
- Read more
Where Have All The Hedgerows Gone?
February 13, 2019
What people need on Twitter is more education and less politics. I had a classically nonsensical conversation with a couple of twitterati over t...
- biodiversity
- hedges
- Read more
The Green Blob Fights Back
February 9, 2019
I have avoided politics in my blog as much as I can over the last 10 years. So you can tell I'm pretty upset to break this cardinal rule. For the ...
- biodiversity
- Digressions
- Read more
Best Trees For Windbreaks
January 25, 2019
Before we start, a little about what a windbreak actually is. What's the difference between it and a shelterbelt or hedge? What are you looking fo...
- Read more
Hedges In Cities Are Good For Our Health
January 12, 2019
I've always been a big fan of urban hedges. I reckoned that - like trees - they must help manage water runoff and moderate temperatures. Planting...
- hedges
- Read more
Wot! No Hedge Plants?
January 9, 2019
The commercial world of native hedge plants is a funny one. There are a few hardy folk out there selling British hedge species which they themselv...
- Habitat Aid Ltd.
- hedges
- Read more
How Do I Store Apples?
December 11, 2018
I'm sightly nervous about putting together a brief guide to help people store apples. My other half had a lovely grandfather who doted on her - ne...
- fruit
- Read more
Planting or Not Planting Woodland
November 28, 2018
A little while ago I was involved in a great nonsense about wildflower seeds. Plantlife, the wildflower charity, essentially said all wildflower se...
- trees and woodland
- Read more

Previous page
Page 2 of 33
Next page

Understanding The Cost Of Plants

Notre Dame and the Great Yellow

Industrial Moonscape v. Green and Pleasant Land

What's Happening To Our Butterflies And Bees?

Plants For Bees In Late Winter

Where Have All The Hedgerows Gone?

The Green Blob Fights Back

Best Trees For Windbreaks

Hedges In Cities Are Good For Our Health

Wot! No Hedge Plants?

How Do I Store Apples?

Planting or Not Planting Woodland