Nature Nell and Dr Dell CIC

15/06/2026

We had a fantastic day at the Royston Green Festival! A huge thank‑you to every child and adult who stopped by to explore nature through our microscopes and to experience the vivid colours in our mini biofluorescence lab. There was tremendous interest in our birdsong and bird‑ID challenge, and plenty of people enjoyed testing a range of binoculars. We also loved the delicious food prepared by the wonderful Girlguiding Royston District team.

Special thanks to the organisers - Royston Museum and the Royston Environmental Group - for having us alongside so many brilliant organisations, and to the Mayor of Royston for the warm words of encouragement and genuine interest in the work we and other local groups do for nature and our communities. Thank you! 🙏

09/06/2026

Join us at the Royston Green Festival and discover both the micro and the macro world through different lenses! 🔬 🐦 🔦

🌱 Next up on our Green Festival countdown...

Nature Nell and Dr Dell CIC will be joining us with easy nature themed science experiments and hands on activities. North Herts Council Shared Waste Team will be here to answer your questions and to test your recycling knowledge.
📆 Saturday 13 June, 10:30am to 3:30pm
🎟 Free!

08/06/2026

No two walks in nature are ever the same - and that’s the beauty of it! We enjoyed another wonderful evening seeing the natural world through a different lens and encountering everything from tiny insect eggs to water voles and even Barn Owls! 🦋 🦉

There was something different about the colours of the grass and trees tonight, as well as the behaviour of the bats! The colours appeared especially vivid - perhaps thanks to the light sprinkle of rain - or maybe nature sensed that we had two photographers with us searching for the perfect light! 📸

The bats were clearly aiming for energy efficiency in the slightly cooler weather, flying with a real sense of purpose: find food, and find it fast. We recorded and identified three species: Common Pipistrelle, Soprano Pipistrelle, and Noctule. 🦇

What a lovely way to end the week and begin a new one. What's even better - we shared it with a fantastic group of explorers! 💗

We run Biofluorescence and Bat Detection Walks every weekend. To book, visit: https://www.naturenell.com/service-page/biofluorescence-and-bat-detection-walk

You can also customise your adventure with us or explore our other regular walks: https://www.naturenell.com/custom-adventure

05/06/2026

One week to go until the Royston Museum Green Festival, organised in partnership with Royston Environmental Group!

We’re getting ready for some serious science as we explore the natural world through sound, sight, and smell. 🔊 🐦🌺

Dr Dell is hard at work building a mini biofluorescence lab, and Nature Nell is preparing our kit and binoculars for an exciting session on lenses. 🔦 🧪 Expect hands‑on activities, fascinating demonstrations, and plenty of opportunities to discover nature in new ways.

Join us - and many other fantastic local organisations - on Saturday 13 June, from 10:30am to 3:30pm:

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust
North Herts Council Shared Waste Team
Green Heat Coop
Royston Parish Church
Royston Girlguides
The VanJarred Refillery
Groundwork East

03/06/2026

A big shout out to the Friends of Therfield Heath - Royston for a brilliant conservation initiative - installing swift boxes in houses! We got our swift box last Saturday and it was set up by a lovely man who also installed our bat box!

Swifts are on the UK’s Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern. They literally spend their lives in the sky - sleeping, eating, bathing and mating.

To find out even more exciting facts about this amazing bird visit: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/swift

01/06/2026

Over the weekend, we had a very special adventure - different generations came together to explore the beauty of bird songs, biofluorescence, and echolocation! The adults in the group had a sharp eye for nature, and the children asked amazing science questions! 🦇🔊🔦

Nature was generous, showing us amazing miracles starting with a Barn Owl to greet us all and followed by two baby Water Voles that made us slow down and smile in silence. Around the next corner was a beautiful sighting of a cuckoo, a glimpse of a crayfish in the chalk stream, and the calls of Grasshopper and Cetti's warblers! 🐦

To top it all off, we located three bat species – Common Pipistrelle, Soprano Pipistrelle, and Barbastelle – and were sent off by a Tawny Owl! All this while exploring the colours of the night! 🦇🦉

We could not have asked for a more exciting and beautiful evening! ⭐

If you would like to join our regular Biofluorescence and Bat Detection walks, these take place every Saturday and Sunday. You can also customise your dates and adventure, or book another exciting experience:

Joint our Biofluorescence and Bat Walk: https://www.naturenell.com/service-page/biofluorescence-and-bat-detection-walk

Customise your adventure: https://www.naturenell.com/custom-adventure

Check out other adventures: https://www.naturenell.com/book-online

26/05/2026

Have you seen an Eagle underwater? This week we spotted one in the Red Sea - a beautiful Eagle Ray!

We are now back home and look forward to welcoming explorers of local wonders at our upcoming Urban Birdwatching and Biofluorescence and Bat Detection walks! You can also customise your adventure or book a different date.

Join ‘Biofluorescence and Bat Detection’ walks on Saturday or Sunday: https://www.naturenell.com/service-page/biofluorescence-and-bat-detection-walk

Join ‘Wild Royston’ urban walk on Thursday: https://www.naturenell.com/service-page/wild-royston

Customise your nature adventure: https://www.naturenell.com/custom-adventure

17/05/2026

🎶 While Dara was conquering the airwaves in Eurovision with Bangaranga, we were out searching for the sopranos of Fowlmere on our latest walk! 🦇✨

What was forecast to be a wet, cold evening turned into an absolute adventure in Wonderland. Armed with UV lights and bat detectors, we saw a whole different world come alive:

🪸 Lichens fluorescing in bright orange
🌸 Flowers glowing in deep red
🐛 Slugs, snails, and caterpillars rocking blues and neon greens!

But the real winners of our Echolocation Song Contest? The Soprano Pipistrelle bats! 🏆 They braved the chill to hunt down their favourite snacks - local Cambridgeshire mozzies! 🦟🦇😋, and they put on a spectacular acrobatic show 𖡎. We even caught a guest appearance from some Common Pipistrelles and a cinematic soundtrack courtesy of the local Tawny Owls. 🦉

Don't let a little damp weather keep you inside. Challenge yourself to explore the dark and see nature like never before!

📅 Join our next Biofluorescence & Bat Walks: May 30th & 31st!
💬 Follow the link in the comments to grab your spot or tag a friend who needs to see a neon caterpillar! 👇

14/05/2026

Feast for the senses in our town today - small miracles waiting to be noticed!

Do you recognise some of these beautiful species?

07/05/2026

What an adventure we had in the first walk of our 'Wild Royston' Series!

From the very beginning, the evening invited us to slow down, look closely, and listen deeply. Our highlights included stunning sunset views and the enchanting birdsong of blackbird, robin, dunnock, and song thrush, accompanied by the gentle cooing of collared doves and woodpigeons.

We started with a delicious dinner at the Thai Rack restaurant, then set off full of energy and ready to embrace the slightly cooler weather. We practiced slowing down, noticing and focusing our attention to the numerous miracles around. Nature Nell set the mood with two nature poems by the Bulgarian author Ekaterina Gadzheva.

Along the way we introduced binoculars, sharing tips on how to choose the right pair and what to look out for in their characteristics. In Royston Priory gardens we spotted jackdaws, rooks, woodpigeons and an expressive dunnock singing their heart out from the top of a tree.

We then chased the beautiful Royston sunset - the sky ablaze with reds, oranges and gold, while a song thrush filled the air with its wonderfully varied, jazzy tunes.

As darkness fell, we added an extra touch of adventure with some improvised biofluorescence experiments, watching cow parsley and dead nettles glow in exotic blues, reds, and yellows. The hedgerows and woodland seemed to light up with magic.

We finished the walk feeling recharged, inspired, and grateful for the chance to reconnect with the natural world and our inner explorer.

Join us for the next Wild Royston on 12th and 13th May: https://www.naturenell.com/service-page/wild-royston