MY WILD LIFE, MY PASSION

Raspberries

Buy canes in spring or autumn and plant in rich, moist soil. The blackbirds will leave you some, I promise!

Broad beans

Avoid removing aphids and you’ll provide food not just for them but for the ladybirds, lacewings and hoverfly larva that eat them. Sow direct in autumn or spring. Stake taller varieties.

Ecologist and TV naturalist Mike Dilger is probably best known for his regular wildlife features on BBC1’s The One Show. Mike, who studied botany at the University of Nottingham has been a Vice-President of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and despite his extensive travels to study and film wildlife across the globe is passionate about connecting with and conserving the wildlife on your doorstep.

I'm a passionate naturalist who has birded, botanised and entomologised in a huge range of countries, but I’ve always been passionate about watching and conserving the wildlife that’s all around us locally.

I started out teaching myself to identify birds in around my hometown of Stafford. When I moved to Nottingham to study, I often spent time at Attenborough Nature Reserve and on other gravel pits in the Trent Valley. I developed a real soft spot for the county - which is why I’m so delighted to support the Trust as a Vice President.

Rosemary

Flowering in spring, rosemary provides nectar and pollen for queen bumblebees. Plant at any time of year in moist but well-drained soil.

Carrots

Sow direct in pots or the ground from spring to late summer. Leave some to flower for pollinators.

Nasturtiums

Sow from spring to summer for a crop of fiery leaves and sweet flowers. Leave a crop for ‘cabbage white’ butterflies to feast on – you can move caterpillars from brassicas onto nasturtium leaves to protect them.

I’m very lucky in that my job means I get to see and enjoy wildlife across the UK and overseas, but I always relish the prospect of getting to grips with the wildlife close to where I now live with my family in the Bristol countryside. Watching and recording the wildlife in my local area and in my garden is now a passion I share with my son Zachary.

I also enjoy returning to old haunts. After leaving University I worked for the BTCV based at Burton Joyce on a range of conservation projects and even did a short stint with the Wildlife Trust – so I have many fond memories of the City and County. I hope to be back in Nottinghamshire soon so I can check out my old stomping grounds – especially Attenborough. I was so delighted when the Trust was able to complete the purchase as this special site that provides so many people with a chance to connect with nature – it really is a shop window for wonders of nature and I can’t wait to come back.

Be inspired and create your own Wild Life story. Have a look at our campaign online and to read more stories from Nottinghamshire and across the country. nottinghamshirewildlife.org/my-wild-life