My legacy
Aidan is passionate about this wetland oasis which he helped safeguard from development in the 80s. It’s his childhood playground, where he spent many happy days of discovery. Now, he loves…
Search
Chwilio
Pyramidal orchid
The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. It likes chalk grassland, sand dunes, roadside verges and quarries…
Deathwatch beetle
Famed for its tapping in the middle of the night, supposedly heralding tragedy, the Deathwatch beetle is a serious wood-boring pest. In houses, their tunnelling can cause major damage.
LDP Process
The Local Development Plan process has several stages. The entire process usually takes several years. There are opportunities for input and comment at every stage. You can find out what stage your local planning authority is at on their website. Some planning authorities will add you to their email list to you up to date on their progress.
Giant puffball
This football-sized fungus can be seen in autumn, sometimes growing on grass verges.
Candidate Sites Process
An important part of the Local Development Plan process is the submission and assessment of Candidate Sites. Early in the process, the Local Planning Authority will invite landowners, developers and the public to suggest sites for development or protection, to be included within the new Local Development Plan. You can suggest sites that should be protected, such as new nature reserves, at this stage.
Willow warbler
A summer visitor, the willow warbler can be seen in woodland, parks and gardens across the UK. It arrives here in April and leaves for southern Africa in September.
Goblin's gold
This dazzling moss grows in dark places, catching any faint light to glow a golden-green.
Cold-water coral
Did you know that there are coral reefs in the UK? UK seas are home to some amazing cold-water corals that form reefs on the seabed over 400m deep.
Porcelain crab
Look out for this tiny crab under rocks and boulders on rocky shores - you'll have to look closely though, they're pretty well camouflaged!
Bee orchid
The bee orchid is a sneaky mimic - the flower’s velvety lip looks like a female bee. Males fly in to try to mate with it and end up pollinating the flower. Sadly, the right bee species doesn’t…
My favourite show
Ben keeps a diary of all the wildlife that he spots. He challenges himself to see new species: if he finds something that he doesn’t recognise, he takes a photograph so that he can look it up.