Autumn bushcraft
Autumn wildlife bundle
September and October are a good time for bushcraft. There are still leaves on the trees, and animals are still active before the winter. We’ve chosen 3 WildID guides featuring the night sky, mammal tracks and signs and foraging.
Night sky guide
A fantastic introduction to finding your way around the night sky. And you don’t need a telescope to start. Instead ordinary binoculars will show you a great deal.
As well as using them to identify the planets, they will show you stars and other objects that are invisible to the naked eye. Accompanying text covers the Earth’s moon, planets of the Solar System, comets and the aurora. Co-created with the Society for Popular Astronomy.
Mammal tracks and signs guide
New in 2023, Mammal tracks and signs shows the clues left by the wild and domesticated mammals of Britain and Ireland. Because most mammals are shy, they are difficult to see. But the signs that these animals leave, like tracks, droppings and feeding marks, can tell us a lot about which species are present.
If you have never tried tracking before, the key thing is to just get out there and start looking. Areas of mud or sand are particularly worth investigating.
Foraging guide
What better way to enjoy the outdoors than to go and find your own food for free? Written by an experienced forest schools leader, Foraging is a great guide to take on a walk with children.
Featuring edible flowers, leaves, nuts, fruits, seeds and roots, it covers 25 of the commonest and tastiest plants to find. And once you’ve gathered your harvest, there are also recipes to try, from wild garlic pesto and crab apple leathers to stinging nettle soup and elderflower cordial.