Seasonal Stories at Woods Mill Nature Reserve

Kerry Williams
, 07 January 2026
Seasonal Stories at Woods Mill Nature Reserve
Kingfisher chalk board © Ryan Allison

If you take a walk around our Woods Mill Nature Reserve in 2026, you’ll notice some arty new editions!

Hand illustrated information chalk boards have been placed around the reserve to highlight the species and habitats this special reserve supports.

The chalk boards are the handiwork of our own Kai Hilton, Communications Officer – Design and Visitor Experience, who has given us an insight into his inspiration to create them: 

Kai with his chalk boards © Julia Hoare

“I wanted to create something to brighten up our visitors walks at Woods Mill, giving a small slice of information about species you can see, or conservation work we have done. The plan is to rotate these throughout the year, so keep an eye out for new boards appearing seasonally!

I enjoyed the challenge of illustrating in a different format than I'm used to. I'm normally a digital artist, so using chalk pens with a limited colour palette was fun and it's always nice to take a break from screens. I had to think ahead because you have to wait for each layer to dry before moving onto the next, and in some cases, you need multiple layers of the same colour for a decent coverage. I'm pleased with how they came out and I'm excited that they are out on the reserve for visitors to enjoy. I'm sure my partner is just as happy, as I've been designing these on our dining room table for weeks!”

Thanks to our hard-working volunteers, the boards are now in place around the reserve – pop over for a Woods Mill walk and see how many you can spot!

Pond © Ryan Allison
Hedgehog house © Ryan Allison
Black Poplar © Ryan Allison
Hibernaculum © Ryan Allison

Please note dogs are not permitted at Woods Mill Nature Reserve.

Visited Woods Mill Nature Reserve?

Tick it off your list for our Reserves Checklist Challenge!

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782513580.35290 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782513580.37890.0261Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782513580.3790.0001Server address: 216.73.217.174
1782513580.37910Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782513580.37910Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/seasonal-stories-at-woods-mill-nature-reserve
    [s] => seasonal-stories-at-woods-mill-nature-reserve
    [1] => seasonal-stories-at-woods-mill-nature-reserve
)
1782513580.37930.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782513580.38030.0009 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782513580.3820.0018 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782513580.38260.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782513580.38440.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22328242
1782513580.38490.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22328242
1782513580.38550.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-26 22:39:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-26 22:39:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782513580.38660.0011 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='seasonal-stories-at-woods-mill-nature-reserve')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 22:39:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782513580.38910.0024 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782513580.38950.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3868 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 22:39:00'
1782513580.39030.0007 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782513580.39090.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782513580.39150.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=267 LIMIT 1
1782513580.3920.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=79 LIMIT 1
1782513580.39260.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782513580.39280.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782513580.39370.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 22:39:00' AND postSlug='seasonal-stories-at-woods-mill-nature-reserve'
1782513580.41460.021Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782513580.41510.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782513580.41660.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782513580.41680.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782513580.41750.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782513580.41880.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782513580.42170.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782513580.42220.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782513580.42410.0019Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782513580.42410 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782513580.42480.0006 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782513580.4250.0003 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782513580.42760.0025 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782513580.42820.0006 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782513580.42850.0004 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782513580.43070.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782513580.43160.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782513580.43430.0027 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782513580.43470.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782513580.43480.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='30' LIMIT 1
1782513580.43550.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782513580.43580.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='seasonal-stories-at-woods-mill-nature-reserve')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 22:39:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782513580.43780.002 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782513580.43830.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782513580.440.0017Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782513580.44060.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3868 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782513580.49020.0496 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782513580.49040.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782513580.49060.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='30' LIMIT 1
1782513580.49150.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782513580.49220.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782513580.49270.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782513580.49470.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782513580.49530.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782513580.4970.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782513580.49770.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782513580.49820.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782513580.49860.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782513580.50080.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782513580.50120.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782513580.50310.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782513580.50590.0028 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782513580.50660.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782513580.50690.0003 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782513580.50970.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782513580.51030.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782513580.51210.0018 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782513580.51480.0027 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782513580.51540.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782513580.51580.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782513580.51780.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782513580.51820.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782513580.52010.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782513580.52120.0012Request time: 0.1705
1782513580.52130Process time: 0.1703
1782513580.52130Memory: 1.6219