Coming face to face with nature

By Belinda Artingstoll
Special Features Producer, BBC Cumbria

Common lizards hunt insects, spiders, snails and earthworms

When you are out for a walk how much notice to do you take of what is right under your nose?

I decided to take a unique look at nature by looking at what you can find on just one square metre of Cumbrian land. You will be amazed by what I found.

I decided to look at four different habitats around the county.

They were a river bed, an area of bog, a patch of limestone grassland and a coastal plot.

Carnivorous sundew plant

I started with the river in the company of Ben Lamb from the South Cumbria Rivers Trust. Ben is one of life's real enthusiasts and he was determined to prove to me how busy a square metre of river bed could be.

We both pulled on our waders and headed for the river near Grange over Sands. I was going to stop for a chat on the bank before we went into the water but Ben plunged right in and I had no choice but to follow.

I was not sure that we would find much but Ben kicked up the silt and dredged the water with a net and we found water snails, beetles, small fish and plant life. On a rock on the riverbed we also found freshwater mussels and something slimy that we thought might be some sort of egg.

The sundew is a carnivorous plant which eats small insects

Next I went to Meathop Moss with Simon Thomas from Cumbria Wildlife Trust to see what we could find on a square metre of bog. This was a revelation. At first glance it looked bleak and barren but as soon as we crouched down and took a closer look we found loads.

Two types of moss, several different grasses and lots of heather plus cranberries (I did not even realise they grew in this country), bog rosemary and a very sleepy common lizard. Nearby, but not on our square metre, we also found the carnivorous sundew plant which eats small insects.

So that was two habitats that relied a lot on water. Next it was off to a small nature reserve in the company of David Harpley from the Wildlife Trust.

World of nature

The Latterbarrow reserve is made up of limestone woodland but it is the open grassy areas which make it special. We sat on a sun-drenched bank and David explained that the limestone underneath supports a range of very distinctive plants that you don't often find anywhere else.

These include certain wild orchids (none were in our square metre sadly), blue moor grass, cowslips, violets, tormentil and lots of other plants and flowers. There was not much wildlife on the square metre plot but David did spot a butterfly and a woodpecker. Both of which I pretty much missed. We also saw some badger poo but no badgers.

Foulney lays off the South Cumbrian coast near Barrow

And my final destination was the coast and Foulney Island near Barrow to be precise. My guide was warden Steve Rider from the Wildlife Trust. It was so windy! But as we crouched down to inspect the ground we managed to find some shelter.

We saw a whole range of grasses that don't mind the salt from the sea but also birds foot trefoil, sea campion, common vetch and biting stonecrop which Steve suggested I taste! I did and it was very hot.

Steve said that later on in the summer there would be a lot of moths and butterflies and while we were there little terns and arctic terns were nesting elsewhere on the island.

It just goes to show that if you take a moment to crouch down and have a closer look that, even in one square metre of land, there is a whole world of nature there for you to uncover.