At Wildcares, frogs are a common sight all over the Nature Reserve since we have reinstated and created, so much wetland habitat. Unfortunately, throughout the countrywide the story is mostly very different. Our Common frog is by no means, as its name might suggest, as common as it once was. The fascinating Common Frog ..read more

  Putting Up Nestboxes for the Birds If one of your new year’s resolutions is to do for more wildife, here’s an idea to help our avian friends which will bring you lots of joy.     Gardens, patios, balconies, work surroundings and community spaces, are all areas where we can make a real difference ..read more

  We cannot speak highly enough of this truly majestic tree. In Ireland we have two native species of Oak – Quercus petrae and Quercus robur . These species can cross-pollinate to produce what could be classed as a third native hybridised cross, Quercus x rosacea, though in this blog we will focus on our ..read more

At first glance the answer from many would be the former, ‘absolutely wicked’, and a real annoyance. Throughout Autumn our common Wasp, Vespa vulgaris can become the aim of our misplaced ire. You know the typical scene, in September or maybe even October during a late blast of sunshine, we are out in the garden ..read more

Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra, also known as Lesser Knapweed, Black Knapweed or Hardheads.   This must be one of our favourite Wildflowers at Wildacres and we have many! Why?…Well there are so many reasons to love this “Purple Prince” of Wildflowers!   This stunning (thornless) thistle-like wildflower has iridescent pink-purple flower heads. It continuously flowers over ..read more

  Honeysuckle is a stunning, often underrated native climbing shrub, and one of our favourite plants at Wildacres. It is also known as ‘Woodbine’ because of its ability to wrap itself around its support such as another tree shrub or a fence, with its old growth taking on a tough woody character. It will happily ..read more

  We have become somewhat obsessed with deadwood at Wildacres.   Mind you, we have become obsessed with Ponds, Woodland, Scrub, Wildflower Meadows, our River, Bats, Otters….. Okay focus…Back on track! Since we started transforming Wildacres from 17.5 acres of overgrazed pastureland into a vibrant and thriving nature reserve, we have really begun to appreciate how important deadwood is and the sheer amount and variety of life that it supports. When we talk about deadwood, we are talking about both standing and fallen deadwood. Fallen deadwood in the form of whole trees that have falle ..read more

Beekeeping and producing honey are topics that are often fraught with misconceptions. Pollinators and especially bees, deservedly so, have had quite a bit of media attention in recent years. Some relevant and accurate coverage and some not so much. Yes, Bee’s certainly are in big trouble. ‘More than half of Ireland’s bees have undergone substantial declines in their numbers since 1980. The distribution of 42 species of wild bees has declined by more than 50%’. National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) Headlines frequently used are “Save The Bees” “Bees in Trouble” etc. Often and mistakenly, the ..read more

Delighted to be selected as finalists in the Leadership in Biodiversity category of the Business & Finance ESG awards taking place 18th April 2024 ..read more

What a pleasure to be interviewed by Catherine Cleary for the Pocket Forest Podcast March 2024 following the planting of our Pocket Forest at Wildacres. Pocket Forest Podcast https://www.pocketforests.ie/our-podcast ..read more