Put your garden to the test!

Our two-minute survey can score your garden and offer ideas to make it even better for wildlife, but why is this so important? Compared to a vast forest or a flower-filled meadow, a garden might not seem all that wild. After all, how much life could a small patch of grass, a few flowers...

Polecats, Ferrets and the American Mink

One native, one feral and one invasive. Could American mink halt the expansion of polecat range? Or is hybridisation with ferrets a bigger risk to their recovery? Naturally Native Project Officer Elliot Lea takes a closer look at the status of these three mustelids. European polecats, ferrets and American mink are all members of...

Wooing in the wild

From dressing to impress to strutting your stuff on the dancefloor, there are plenty of approaches to catching the eye of a potential partner. For wildlife, finding a mate is a serious business, and animals invest a lot of energy in making the right match. Let’s take a glance at just a few of...

How to identify owls

Owls are some of our most captivating birds. Their love of hunting at dawn, dusk and even in the dark gives them a sense of mystery. With a good view, it’s easy to tell an owl from any other bird of prey thanks to their large head with big, forward-facing eyes. But how do...

Group photo of Roseworth Locals at a community event.

Roseworth Wildlife Garden Champions

Roseworth estate in Stockton has become a haven for wildlife as residents sign up to become ‘Wildlife Garden Champions‘. The Tees Valley Wildlife Trust has joined up with the Roseworth Big Local to engage residents in activities that will help them bring wildlife into their gardens, in turn bringing them closer to nature. Over...

A photo of three volunteers working on one of Tees Valley Nature Partnerships grant success stories.

Community Grant Successes

The Community Grant, administered through Tees Valley Nature Partnership (TVNP), provides small pots of funding to support community organisations in the Tees Valley. The aim is to increase participation in nature and/or the outdoors. The funding enables small local groups to fund work that other grant schemes might not cover. It can also supplement...

A male great crested newt with warty skin, orange underbelly, dark spots and a white flash down its tail.

The Great Crested Newt

The great crested newt has had a really hard time over the last century. This began with the loss of farm ponds that were no longer needed for watering livestock or other farming operations. Newts moved to industrial ponds within brickworks, tilery ponds, gravel pits and water storage reservoirs at airfields and mines. By...