Plants are local to everyone and fertile ground for activity ideas. This year, outdoors specialist Julie Mountain will be pointing out some commonly found flora and what you can do with it

plant of the month: willow

Willow is native to the UK, and with its long, slender, pale green leaves, fluffy catkins and flexible stems, it's easily recognised. There are many willow varieties and all are in the Salix family; native varieties include Salix alba the white (or ‘weeping’) willow, which grows near water.

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aims of this series

What is the last plant you saw? Do you have any idea? Why does it even matter?

Unsurprisingly in our increasingly technologically driven world, many of us suffer from ‘plant blindness’. A lack of appreciation and care for the flora around us can have disastrous consequences not only for the environment but also human health, as plants are critical in medicine (both aspirin and morphine are derived from plants, for example) and of course in the food we eat, the clothes we wear and many of the objects we use.

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