Almond Valley Nature Action

January Ramble and Chat

Hermand Birchwood, West Calder – Sunday 12 January 2025

Join us for our January Ramble and Chat event! It’s a great opportunity to meet new people, enjoy the fresh air, and have some good conversations. Let’s kick off the new year with a winter walk, and visit a local nature reserve. We will try to spot different types of mosses and lichen and learn to identify birch and Scots pine trees.

When: Sunday 12 January 2024, 14:00 – 16:00

Where: Hermand Birchwood, we will meet at the start of the boardwalk, just off the car park and follow the circular path.

Please note, there are no benches along this walk, and due to the damp conditions this walk is not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies. Our walks are slow paced, to allow us to spot wildlife and enjoy a hot drink at the end of the walk.

How to get there: We encourage active travel, where possible however there is also a small car park for 3-4 cars on site. Please consider car sharing.

The nearest bus stop is West Calder Police Station, and the nearest train station is West Calder, both are 30 minutes walk from Hermand Birchwood. Check Traveline Scotland to plan your route

Meeting point links:

What3Words: https://w3w.co/decent.spout.procured

Google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/iwb24nFis2vq7YYH8

Bring a headtorch, if you have one, and walking poles may be useful as the route is quite muddy . Please dress for the weather, good outdoors footwear with good grip is advisable.

Book a free spot on Eventbrite, so we know how many attendees to expect!

Everyone welcome! We hope to see you there!

Support AVNA while you shop!

We’ve registered Almond Valley Nature Action with #easyfundraising, which means over 7,500 brands will now donate to us for FREE every time you use easyfundraising to shop with them. These donations will help us provide training and activities, so please sign up to support us – it’s completely FREE and doesn’t take long

You can sign up to support AVNA here: easyfundraising/almond-valley-nature-action

New Year Plant Hunt change of time(14:00 start) due to heavy rain

Take part in BSBI’s (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) New Year Plant Hunt. It is a survey looking to record wild and naturalised plants in flower. The data helps to better understand how plants are responding to changes in our climate.

This year’s New Year Plant Hunt runs from 29 December 2024 to 1 January 2025. While you can do a solo plant hunt (and here are lots of information on how to plan one https://bsbi.org/new-year-plant-hunt/planning-your-new-year-plant-hunt), why not join our volunteers in Livingston Village Park for a group hunt?

Details of group New Year Plant Hunt:

Facebook event details :https://www.facebook.com/share/18FU8BaSXo/

Meet at: Livingston Village Park East side
https://maps.app.goo.gl/M5Rh8osYtpLmr1nH6
When: Wednesday 01/01/2025, 14:00-15:30

We will provide some simple spotter sheets and hand lenses, if the weather is permitting we can also enjoy a hot drink together.

We would love to see you there, or to see photos of what you have spotted in your local areas!

A message from Fauldhouse & Breich Valley Wildlife Group

The next meeting of Fauldhouse & Breich Valley Wildlife Group is the 17th December, 19:00 at Eastfield Development Centre, Fauldhouse. Please circulate and share the flier if you can

November Ramble&Chat walk report

For November’s Ramble&Chat we set out to walk the Murieston trail, a local green space at the south end of Livingston. It’s cared for by the Murieston Environmental Group (MEG) and we were joined by two of their members, Gillian and Janie who shared their knowledge of the area and showed us the shorter trail route when time ran away from us again! We met at Livingston South train station and started out by wandering along the avenue of mature beech trees, which still looked stunning in their golden leaves. We passed the ‘big house’ hidden in the trees then stopped to do a bit of sniffing (yes, sniffing!) when Haleh spotted some lime trees. Some people smell a particular odour from them, likened to a ‘granny’ smell when sniffing the leaves and branches – have a try next time you see a lime tree and see what you think!

Lime tree in the background – available to sniff on this walk !

The woodland birds were fairly quiet in the afternoon so our bird ID skills didn’t get too much practice. There were some noisy magpies around however as if to make up for it, and there were some very active grey squirrels, preparing for winter.

When the sun came out we had a beautiful blue sky which felt like such a treat after the grey of previous weeks! Half the group played a game of Pooh sticks from the bridge on the Murieston water while the other half wandered on. A quick phone call later and the groups were reunited! We were also told stories about Victorian times, where the City of Edinburgh folks used to bury their waste in the area and the consequences that left for the people and wildlife of today. There’s definitely a lesson in that, nothing ever really goes ‘away’!

Hot drinks in the Murieston Community Garden

We walked back to the start and stopped in at the Community Garden where we sat on the bench with a hot drink and a biscuit. A perfect end to an autumnal woodland walk!

There’s no Ramble&Chat in December as we’ll be holding our AGM on that Sunday. Details of January’s walk will be published nearer the time, see the blog and our social media for updates. Hope to see you there!

November Ramble & Chat

Join us for an autumn ramble around the trail at Murieston Woods on this months Ramble & Chat. We’ll be trying out our new bird identification skills that we learnt on the bird ID course earlier this month, and recording what we find on Birdtrack. Any sightings we upload will contribute records to the BTOs research! We’ll also practice some woodland mindfulness, you can read more about what this is here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2022/03/woods-trees-and-long-term-mindfulness/

Meeting time: 2pm

Meeting point and how to get there:

We’ll meet at Livingston South Train Station at the underpass of the train line. The nearest bus stop is 15 minutes walk from the train station at Bankton Road. Buses on this route are the X27 and X28 running between Livingston and Edinburgh.

We encourage active transport where possible however there is also car parking at the train station.

What 3words: ///glee.gets.grit

Google maps: for directions click here

Walk details

This walk follows a 4km established route that takes about an hour, however it can be shortened to 3km to avoid steps if necessary. We’ll provide tea/coffee refreshments after the walk. Further details of the trail, including a map of the circuit can be found here: https://westlothian.gov.uk/article/78927/Murieston-Trail

Please keep an eye on the weather forecast and dress accordingly. In the event of severe weather please check our social media for updates. We look forward to seeing you!

https://www.facebook.com/AVNatureAction/

https://x.com/AVNatureAction

Photography

AVNA members may take photographs during the event which may be shared on social media, with our funders, and in other written and online publications. If you do not wish to appear in any please let us know, its not a problem!

October Ramble and Chat – Walk Report

What an enjoyable morning all involved had, when we met Scott Paterson of Kinross Ecology for a bird identification walk in Almond Park, Livingston.

I have to admit I was not expecting the number of birds seen and heard in just a couple of hours! My favourite? The tiny goldcrest, UK’s smallest bird!

Our sightings were recorded on Bird Track app, and you can see the full list here . We still need to work on our bird photography skills, maybe that’s an idea for a future Ramble and Chat, but we hope the photos below demonstrate our excitement and eagerness to spot and learn about our local woodland birds.

You can start your bird identification journey by exploring the Learn to identify birds section of the BTO website and follow the links to Bird ID videos.

If you missed this event, Almond Valley Nature Action meets on the second Sunday each month to explore our local green spaces. Why not join us next month?

Almond Valley Nature Action has been supported by funding from the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s Love Your Network grant, to host this event.

October Ramble and Chat

Join us for our bird identification workshop on Sunday 13 October 2024 – please book a free ticket on Eventbrite.

In October, we will be joined by Scott Paterson, who will lead a bird guided walk around Almond Park. Attendees will learn about common garden and woodland birds and find out how to take part in schemes to record their numbers. This walk will use the National Cycle Network so people of all abilities are welcome to attend. No experience is necessary, and under 18s should be accompanied by an adult.

Location: Almond Park, West Lothian.

The event will take place on a section of Cycle Route 75.

Meeting Point: the bridge below Livingston Rugby Club

Maps : https://maps.app.goo.gl/mFzuPsSx3qAFEgXWA

what3words: https://w3w.co/triangles.copiers.rollover

Meeting Time: 11:00

This event will take around 2 hours and we will return at the starting point at the end of the event.

How to Get there: The event is held on National Cycle Route 75, please choose active travel if you can. The nearest bus stop is Dee Drive, please check Traveline Scotland to plan your route

Further information about the side: Almond Park

Weather: Please check the weather forecast and wear suitable clothing and footwear, and bring water, hot drinks and a snack as appropriate.

Photography: Members of Almond Valley Nature Action will be taking photos and videos for use on our social media, website and other forms of publicity. If you prefer not to be included in any photos, please email us at almondvalleynatureaction@gmail.com

A separate photography consent will be sought at the start of the event, for any photos that can be shared with our funder.

Feedback: Attendees will be asked to fill in a short feedback form at the end of the event, to help us measure the impact of this project.

Almond Valley Nature Action aims to promote participation in Citizen Science projects, we hope after attending this event, participants will continue to record wildlife in their local area and their local sections of National Cycle Network regularly.

Not a member yet? Join Almond Valley Nature Action – complete our membership form here.

Almond Valley Nature Action has been supported by funding from the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s Love Your Network grant, to host this event.