Environment and Nature Archives - Blackpool Social Club

18 Oct

Nature is the glue: new Wyre projects to bring people together on the coast

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature, Local News

Two new programmes in Wyre will use beach clean-ups, wildlife and time outdoors to boost wellbeing and belonging, with monthly weekend sessions for 11- to 18-year-olds Spending time outdoors can do more than lift your mood – it can help bring a community together. That's the mission of The Bay – A Blueprint for Recovery. The Morecambe Bay-based project has been awarded £48,024 from the Wyre Council Community Cohesion Fund to run two new programmes along the Wyre coast: Nature is the Glue, for people of all backgrounds, and Tidal Together, for young people aged 11 to 18. The Bay,…

25 Jun

Weird Lancashire: 5 curious corners within easy reach of Blackpool

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature

Britain is at its strangest and most magical outdoors. Taken from his new Weird Guide book, author Dave Hamilton shares hidden sculptures, curious histories and eccentric landmarks waiting to be discovered across the North. The longest days of the year have arrived, bringing with them a familiar urge to get out and explore. But adventure doesn't require a passport – it’s waiting at the end of a moorland path, hidden among the trees, or perched on a windswept Lancashire hill. In his new book – Weird Guide: 300 Curious Corners, Wild Wonders and Sublime Sculptures (Wild Things Publishing, £18.99) –…

16 Jun

30 Days Wild: 10 Simple Ways to Get Closer to Nature on the Fylde Coast

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature

You don't need specialist knowledge or expensive equipment to take part in 30 Days Wild – connecting with nature can be as simple as listening to the tide or watching the skies at dusk. Stephen Dunstan shares ten simple ways to connect with wildlife on the Fylde Coast this June. Nature can often feel like something that belongs elsewhere but one of the ideas behind 30 Days Wild is that meaningful encounters with the natural world can happen almost anywhere, including here on the Fylde Coast. Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre offer countless opportunities to slow down and notice what is…

11 Jun

Wyre’s Big Green Get Together: nature, creativity and climate action

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature, Guide

Wyre Estuary Country Park will host the return of the Big Green Get Together this Saturday, offering a day of free performances, workshops and environmental activities as part of the UK-wide Great Big Green Week. Now in its fourth year, the Big Green Get Together has become a fixture in Wyre’s summer calendar, bringing together families, community groups and environmental organisations for a programme centred on nature, sustainability and the local landscape. Running 10.30am-4pm at the Stanah park, the day combines outdoor entertainment with opportunities to learn more about climate change and practical action to protect the environment. Among the…

08 Jun

30 Days Wild: 10 Wild Things to Look Out for Around Blackpool This June

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature

Dolphins off the coast, orchids in the dunes and herons raising chicks in Stanley Park – the Fylde Coast is alive with wildlife. Stephen Dunstan tells us how to get out and see them in his second instalment of articles to help you spend 30 Days Wild this June. Throughout June Lancashire Wildlife Trust encourages us to spend 30 Days Wild. One of the best things about it is realising how much nature exists in places we often overlook. Woven through the urban landscape is a range of habitats supporting everything from butterflies and dragonflies to seabirds, deer and reptiles.…

28 May

30 Days Wild: 10 nature events on the Fylde Coast this June

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature, Guide

From beach cleans and bat walks to dune wildflowers and sea watching, there’s lots of ways to connect with nature across Blackpool and the Fylde Coast. Stephen Dunstan writes the first in a trio of articles to help you spend 30 Days Wild this June. June marks the return of 30 Days Wild, the nationwide challenge organised by The Wildlife Trust, encouraging people to connect with nature every day throughout the month. While the campaign can be as simple as noticing birdsong on your morning walk or spending ten minutes outdoors without your phone, the Fylde Coast also has a…

25 May

Walk on the Wide Side: May

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature

Stephen Dunstan offers something slightly different this month, as there isn’t a set route for this nature walk. Instead the invitation is to take a short walk around an open space near you looking more closely at smaller creatures which are on the wing as we enter the summer period. The starting point for this walk is to choose your own park or open space. You could even get productive results in your own garden, but we will assume a public park. If there is somewhere with a variety of plants that will be helpful, taller trees will add to…

01 May

May Almanac: Time flies

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature

Butterflies appear in their numbers and the last of the migratory birds arrive on the Fylde Coast this month. Stephen Dunstan tells us what to expect in May as he marks a full year of his monthly Fylde Coast nature almanac. May sees the last of the migratory birds arriving on the Fylde for the summer. Among the last to appear are the Swifts, and I write this having just seen my first hawking insects over the south lake of Stanley Park. Numbers of Swifts (main image) have sadly declined dramatically in recent years, but hopefully a small flock will…

29 Apr

Walk on the Wild Side: April

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature

In his monthly instalment of nature walks on the Fylde Coast, Stephen Dunstan demands an early start to get the best out of Marton Mere For the second month running we are recommending an early start. To get the most out of this experience you may need to be at Staining Nook comfortably before 6am. On a calm and ideally sunny day it can be very well worth it, trees alive with birdsong before other species are heard in the reedbeds fringing Marton Mere. Park in the layby on the left towards the end of The Nook* and follow the…

01 Apr

April Almanac: Spring on the wing

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature

April is perhaps the busiest month of the spring for bird movement through Blackpool. As well as numbers of more regular species there is always a chance of something less expected too. As Winter turns to Spring we give you a rundown of what to spot in the natural world on Fylde Coast this month. The first Ospreys (main image) have already begun to move over the Fylde Coast on their way to breeding grounds further north. They actually nest as near as North Lancs and South Cumbria these days, but for now at least birds passing through are the…