Despite the pressures of press deadlines, I always love “putting an issue to bed” - sending forth into the world a batch of print files to be turned into shiny new copies of Nature’s Home magazine, packed from cover to cover with the fruits of our labour, and that of our many expert contributors who make it all possible.
That’s what’s been keeping us busy for the past week or so, but I’m extra excited this time because I honestly think it’s one of our best issues yet.
The Summer issue cover, landing on doormats in April.
As you’ll see from our captivating cover image, we’re looking at puffin conservation this issue, and revealing the findings of a people-powered project that reveals what UK puffins are eating, and where.
Inside the mag, Ross Piper also showcases some of the more overlooked creatures found on RSPB reserves; the colourful and intriguing insects and minibeasts who live out fascinating lives right under our noses - reminding us to look down, as well as up, when wildlife-watching.
We can all give nature a home, and I hope that you’ll find inspiration in our story on a new housing development in Oxfordshire that’s proving that you can accommodate people and wildlife at the same time. Here, a partnership between Barratt Developments and the RSPB has resulted in housing that not only attracts greenery-loving residents but also local wildlife, with features such as hedgehog corridors, wildflower verges, swift bricks and wildlife underpasses.
I’d love to live somewhere like that, amid thriving flora and fauna, and hope that homebuilders across the world take note - but in the meantime I’ll be borrowing some of its ideas and installing them around my own home.
We’ve also got a stonking Wild About Summer section this issue, packed with things to see and do as summer approaches. It also reveals the secret lives of our wildlife, from the art of avian camouflage to the inner workings of an wood-ant nest - and RSPB president Miranda Krestovnikoff makes her debut as our marine-life columnist.
There’s some good news from Cyprus, ideas for engaging local communities in helping nature, a petition to sign and lots more… so I hope that all our readers enjoy the issue and maybe even learn something new.
Tell us what you think of the issue! Email us or log in to comment below.