The Conservation Volunteers' network of blogs
In over five decades of inspiring people and improving places, The Conservation Volunteers has consistently supported people working locally to improve their environment and their life chances, and created resilience in the most vulnerable communities.
Welcome to The Conservation Volunteers blogs. Where we share what we do.
These articles were written pre-lockdown, but you can still buy fresh herb plants in the shops or online. What Are Herbs? Herbs are plants that secrete smells which are actually there to deter predators, but we grow them for these smells, and the oils that they produce which flavours food. You can use fresh […]
Continue reading This Week: Growing Herbs
This article was posted in the blog Health for Life
HogWatch Scotland is TCV Scotland’s hedgehog conservation project, which has been funded by The British Hedgehog Preservation Society until 2021. HogWatch Scotland aims to understand more about the declining species of hedgehogs in Scotland by conducting torchlight surveys, a variety of events and training courses, working with schools, and implementing hedgehog friendly changes in the […]
Continue reading TCV Citizen Science: HogWatch Scotland
This article was posted in the blog TCV Blogs
Lots of people grow fruit, veggies and herbs but a lot of people don’t realise that some decorative flowers are also edible! They look great in the garden, they attract wildlife (bees, butterflies, hoverflies, pollinating beetles, birds), but they can also be used in the kitchen. Some edible flowers are used to tart up a […]
Continue reading This Week: Edible Flowers
This article was posted in the blog Health for Life
What Are Potatoes? Great. They are just great. Potatoes are a root crop, known as tubers. They are swellings of roots, and one seed potato can produce ten more. Potatoes are most commonly grown from seed potatoes, which are small baby spuds. Potatoes do flower and produce a fruit, but these are not used to […]
Continue reading This week: Growing Po-tay-toes!
This article was posted in the blog Health for Life
It is a well-known fact that at The Conservation Volunteers, we are committed to caring for and protecting our local green spaces to create happy and healthy communities across the UK. Green spaces provide communities with places to connect with nature and the positive benefits on people’s physical and mental health from spending time in […]
Continue reading Connecting people and 'blue spaces'.
This article was posted in the blog TCV Blogs
What Are Brassicas? Brassicas include food such as cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts, turnip, swede, kohl rabi, cabbage, kale, and pak choi. Turnip and swede were covered in the previous post, Root Crops – click here to read it. Different brassicas are grown for different purposes, for example cauliflower and broccoli is the flower head, but before […]
Continue reading This Week: Growing Brassicas
This article was posted in the blog Health for Life
What Are Peas and Beans? Peas and beans are part of the legume family. They are great fun to grow, especially if you buy the different coloured varieties. This year I am growing green, purple and yellow French beans, red patterned Borlotti beans, and green and purple peas. I am not growing runner beans as […]
Continue reading This week: Growing Peas and Beans
This article was posted in the blog Health for Life
What Are Root Crops? Root crops includes vegetables that are grown as the root part of the plant. The root swells and this is what we pull or dig up and eat. This includes; Carrot Parsnip Radish Beetroot Turnip Swede Horse radish I have not included potatoes as these as a tuber, and I am […]
Continue reading This week: Growing Root Crops
This article was posted in the blog Health for Life
Since The Conservation Volunteers paused its volunteering projects in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many staff and volunteers have put their energies into helping the NHS and vulnerable people. Others are looking after small public sites single-handed while those with allotments have been able to take care of them, following government and National Allotment Society […]
Continue reading Our natural environment and COVID-19: what's next?
This article was posted in the blog TCV Blogs
Twin brothers Matthew & Stephen Barrett began volunteering with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) in Hull for a 6-month placement, 1 day a week as part of their supported internship course at Hull College. 6 months turned into 5 years, and the brothers have continued volunteer with TCV, 3 days a week, come rain or shine […]
Continue reading Twins' six-month volunteering placement turns into five years
This article was posted in the blog TCV Blogs