30 Days Wild Day 2: Museum Gardens

Well, it's already the 4th June. It's been a very busy month so far; I went back to York on Thursday, and am now spending a few days in Cambridge.

My aunt and uncle came up to York with me and my parents on Thursday, and as the weather had finally cleared, I decided to take them to Museum Gardens.  It’s one of my favourite places in York. A park in the middle of the city, it's a brilliant space to just sit or wander and enjoy being outside. On warm days, the grass will be covered in people having picnics, but whatever the weather there will always be someone enjoying the space.

Museum gardens is probably best known for its population of squirrels, some of which are so fat they seem to flow up trees rather than climb them. It's also a great place for garden birds, with mature trees, shrubs and short and long grass providing a wide range of habitats. There are also some more unexpected residents; a population of Tansy beetles was released here in 2012 as part of conservation efforts by Buglife. Tansy beetles are endangered, restricted to a 30km stretch of the Ouse, with a smaller population in the East Anglian wetlands. It's so easy to forget that not all endangered species are 'charismatic megafauna' like tigers and pandas. A beetle can be just as threatened and just as deserving of conservation as anything you would see on a nature documentary. More information on Tansy beetles and their conservation, including how to get involved, can be found here.

Despite my best efforts, I've still not actually seen a tansy beetle. However, there were plenty of other insects about. Museum gardens seems to be a particular hotspot for pollinators at the moment, with patches of windflowers as well as ornamental planting playing host to many of them. The new edible wood behind the art gallery seemed to have more than ever, with honey and bumble bees moving in clouds.