The woods begin to blossom
Here in Suffolk spring has got off to a slow start, held back first by grey skies and then by cold winds. But that will only ever work for so long, and now the copses are full of chiffchaffs and carpeted in primroses, the cowslips are coming out and I've heard my first blackcap. Soon you won't be able to move for nightingales and cuckoos (well, not quite, more's the pity, but they should both arrive back on our shores soon). The fields are not yet beautiful, but spring is certainly hastening on.
It's been a while since I was last in touch with news about the Encounter app, but a lot has been going on behind the scenes. Firstly, we've welcomed our first guest contributors, Linda Clark, posting to the North of England, and Vanessa Wright, posting to Scotland. Our goal is to make the information in Encounter more and more localised, and finding knowledgeable nature-noticers in different parts of Britain and Ireland is part of that process. I'm keen to find someone in Wales next, followed by Ireland, so please do drop me a line if that might be you or someone you know.
We've also made some early inroads into the world of social prescribing – a key target for us when we created the app. Social prescribing is a way for GPs to recommend things that will improve people's quality of life, and it can work alongside other interventions like medication and therapy. The Encounter app is now being recommended by providers in East Suffolk, the Vale of Glamorgan and Birmingham, which is a great start and something we really hope to build on. And it's recognition that noticing nature, and jotting down the good things you experience, can create powerful change.
February marked a year since beavers were released in Northamptonshire as part of a project supported by our partners, Meaningful Planet. During that time the beavers have had a huge, positive impact on the local ecosystem at Nene Wetlands, and in September the first beaver kits were born! There's more on the project here, including some upcoming Beaver Tours. These get booked up quite quickly so do move fast.
Meaningful Planet are helping to restore nature via several other projects across Britain. A new mobile provider, they run off the vast (and fast!) EE network. If you switch to them using our link you get 10% off your bills for life, and you'll be helping to support the running of Encounter, too. We hope that more of you consider making the move as your phone contracts come to an end. They offer free EU roaming, you can keep your existing number, and you get a free beaver kit* of your very own to release into the wild when you switch.
Our friends at Wild Mosaic have produced a guide to rewilding as an ebook and we were thrilled to find Encounter in it. You can read and download the ebook here. With Wild Mosaic you can adopt a 3mx3m plot and get involved with the rewilding movement – even if you don't own half of Northumberland.
And finally, as you might have noticed, we've moved email providers to Ecosend, who plant trees! A small thing, perhaps, but another great fit for the work we're trying to do.
