Wildlife


Badger latrines

Recently whilst wandering through our beautiful ancient woodland I spotted a couple of  badger latrines.  This is great, it means that badgers are around.  So I put together this short video to show you what a badger latrine looks like (warning – there’s a close up!) and why they dig them. We talk about and […]

badger latrines | tracking | wildlife | bushcraft | Kent

methods of seed dispersal | bushcraft uses for Rosebay Willowherb

Methods of seed dispersal

I’ve made this video on methods of seed dispersal because natural history underpins so much of what we do in bushcraft.  Take a look at this video to get an understanding about the many different ways in which plants and trees are able to disperse their seeds, it’s a fascinating topic. We talk about methods […]


Gaits

According to Wikipedia, “Gait is the pattern of movement of the limbs of animals, including humans, during locomotion over a solid substrate.”  Understanding these different patterns will inform us of how quickly the animal is moving, so a useful skill in tracking and trailing. You might want to take a look at this post about […]

gaits | tracking | bushcraft | Kent

identifying trees by leaf shape | bushcraft | Kent | south east | London

Identifying trees by leaf shape

Bushcraft has a strong and tangible link to natural history.  For our hunter gatherer ancestors, the forest was the supermarket, the chemist, DIY shop, tailors, it was all out there. I often suggest to our customers that trees are a good place to start with natural history as it’s a managable number.  And that identifying […]


Measuring tracks

When we look at a track, what we’re looking at is the imprint made by the sole of the foot; this is called ‘hollow relief’.  There are 3 main foot types within mammals, you might want to take a look at this post to get a better understanding of those different foot types. The picture […]

measuring tracks | tracking | nature awareness | Kent | London | south east

track traps | methods of locomotion

Methods of locomotion

Understanding the different methods of locomotion in mammals relies on an understanding of the evolution of mammals so I’m starting this post with a very brief overview of that. The lineage that lead to mammals diverged from reptiles about 325 million years ago.  This evolutionary line is referred to as synapsids.  It’s thought that the […]