The Outdoors
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Hello Everyone! As I am basically a bit of a hanger on, and a part time one at that, I feel very touched that I have been asked to do a wee bit for your website. Some of you will know me from singing with Harbour Lights Choir on Zoom every now and again, some from Soup & Sing or other workshops Sarah Gray has run, but many will not know me from Adam, so I’ll start with a little introduction.
I live up in Eyemouth, and up until last September I was lucky enough to be the Senior Ranger at St Abb’s Head nature reserve. Unfortunately Covid-related cut backs led to me being made redundant. As a consequence I chose to take it as an opportunity to reassess what I wanted my working life to look like, and I decided to set up my own business, In Our Nature, and become a freelance Ranger, offering nature tours, talks, training and advice on and around the Berwickshire Coast.
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Obviously, the face-to-face stuff is tricky at moment, so I have been concentrating on running events online. A number of you may remember that just before Christmas, I gave a talk to Harbour Lights Choir about the weird and wonderful marine creatures to be found in rockpools, and I have given a number of talks to other community groups too. I also created a couple of online courses – one on coastal life and one on marine life, which I ran at the start of the year. People seemed to really enjoy those (including your own Sarah, Mary, Rachel and Helen), so I am going to run them both again, starting at the end of the month, so that people can get genned up ready for the spring.
Hopefully, as lockdown is eased, I will be able to lead face-to-face events for people, in which case I would love to take Harbour Lights folk out rockpooling for real, to find those creatures that I featured in my talk back in December.
If you would like to find out more about my online courses, (upcoming ones see below) or would like to book a talk, or (once restrictions allow) a tour, then please check out my website https://www.inournature.rocks/ for more information and my contact details.
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Until then, lets keep on singing! See you in a zoom room soon!
Liza Cole offers nature tours, talks and training, alongside countryside advice and services.
COMING SOON!
WILDLIFE CRUISES
Berwickshire coast, from 3rd May - subject to current Covid19 restrictions
This course is designed for sea swimmers who would like find out more about the marine life that they may come across when swimming, or on the beach. It’s being delivered by Liza Cole who is a sea swimmer, snorkeler and diver and has been lucky enough to work as a ranger at coastal and marine reserves for over 25 years, including Lundy (Devon), Portland (Dorset) and St Abbs (Berwickshire).
The course will be delivered via Zoom. It comprises two sessions of about an hour, and will cover the following:
• Seaweeds & seagrass
• Things that live on or amongst seaweeds
• Starfish & sea urchins
• Crabs
• Fish
• Jellies and their rellies
• Seals
• Porpoises, dolphins and whales
• Seabirds, waders and sea ducks
• Mysterious objects found on the strandline
• Help with ID – books, apps and websites
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You will receive a handout of the course slides before each session which you can print out and use for taking notes should you wish. You will also be given access to a recording of each session so that you can catch up if you miss a session, or can review any sections you wish to.
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To book, click on the link:- https://bookwhen.com/inournature
This course is designed for those who would like find out more about marine biology and the wildlife that they come across whilst enjoying the marine environment. It’s being delivered by Liza Cole who has been diving for 25 years and has worked as a Warden for the marine reserves at both Lundy and St Abbs.
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The course will be delivered via Zoom. It comprises six sessions; 5 of about an hour, and a final session of about 90 minutes. The course will cover:
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The environmental factors that influence marine life
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Classification of marine life
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Marine plant ID – seagrass and common seaweeds
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Marine animal ID – Sponges (Porifera), Anemones, corals, hydroids, jellyfish (Cnidaria), Comb jellies and sea gooseberries (Ctenophora), Flat Worms (Platyhelminthes), Segmented Worms (Annelida), Crabs, lobsters, prawns, barnacles (Crustacea), Sea snails, sea slugs, octopus (Mollusca), Sea mats and sea mosses (Bryozoa), Starfish, brittle stars, feather stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers (Echinodermata), Sea Squirts (Tunicata), Fish (Pisces), Seabirds (Aves), Mammals (Mammalia)
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Marine Life ID guides & further information
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Threats
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Conservation
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How you can help
The course will run on Wednesdays (19.30 - 20.30) on the following dates:
31st March, 7th, 14th & 28th April, 5th & 12th May
Cost: £50
Go to https://bookwhen.com/inournature to book your place
This course is designed for those who would like find out more about coastal biology and the wildlife that they come across whilst enjoying the coast. It’s being delivered by Liza Cole who has been lucky enough to manage coastal nature reserves, including Lundy (Devon), Portland (Dorset) and St Abbs (Berwickshire), for over 20 years.
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The course will be delivered via Zoom. It comprises six sessions; 5 of about an hour and a final session of about 90 minutes. The course will cover:
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The environmental factors that influence marine life
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An introduction to coastal habitats & examples of plants found within them
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An introduction to coastal animals: butterflies & moths; reptiles & amphibians; birds (seabirds, waders, herons, ducks, geese, swans, passerines, corvids & raptors); mammals (including seals and common cetaceans); other coastal creatures with fins (basking shark, sunfish); intertidal and shallow water life; mysterious objects found on the strandline.
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Help with ID – books, apps and websites
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Threats
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Conservation
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How you can help
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The course will run on Tuesdays (19.30 - 20.30) on the following dates:
23rd & 30th March, 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th April
Cost: £50
Places limited, please go to https://bookwhen.com/inournature