A to Bee Ecology

08/09/2026

Easy to walk past, but impossible to ignore once you actually look closer. Hawthorn is the ultimate British hedgerow MVP.

A single shrub is is excellent for local wildlife, offering shelter to nesting birds and feeding thrushes and blackbirds straight through autumn.

Beyond its ecological credentials, it carries centuries of heavy-duty traditional use.
It boasts deep roots in folklore, strongly tied to May Day, fertility, and the Otherworld, with an old rural rule never to mess with a lone tree unless you fancy inviting bad luck.

European herbal traditions relied heavily on its flowers, leaves, and berries for heart and circulation health, though if you're on actual blood pressure meds, skip the DIY routine.

In the kitchen, the haws offer a lush, apple-like sweetness, even if processing them around that central stone is an absolute bastard.

It is worth every bit of effort, though. Hawthorn ketchup recipe below! 🔴🌿👇

02/09/2026

Folklore Focus — What to Expect in September
For centuries, this was a month of communal work. Crops were brought in, fruit gathered, nuts collected and stores laid up for the colder months. Harvest suppers and harvest homes marked the completion of the work, with food, drink, music and celebration.

In the modern Wheel of the Year, September brings Mabon, the Autumn Equinox, on the 23rd September. It is associated with the second harvest, balance and gratitude, as day and night briefly stand more or less equal. Mabon itself is a relatively modern pagan festival, but it sits neatly alongside much older autumn traditions.

Michaelmas, on 29th September, was one of the traditional quarter days, marking an important point in the agricultural year. It was associated with settling debts and rents, changing employment and contracts, and preparing for the winter ahead.

September is full of these little thresholds. Apples ripen, nuts begin to fall, swallows gather before migration.

The old traditions remind us that abundance is temporary. Gather what is ready, preserve what you can, share what you have, and start getting ready for winter.

31/08/2026

Seasonal Plant Focus: Rosehips

As summer flowers fade, the hedgerows start turning towards autumn. One of the easiest signs is the bright red or orange rosehip, hanging from dog/wild and other roses.

Rosehips have a sharp, fruity flavour somewhere between apple and cranberry. They’re brilliant in syrups, jellies, teas, vinegars and fruit leathers.

The annoying bit? The seeds are surrounded by tiny irritating hairs. Strain your preparations carefully. These are the hairs we used to put down the backs of our “friends’” shirts as makeshift itching powder. Charming.

Rosehip syrup

500g rosehips + 500ml water + 250–500g sugar

Roughly chop or blitz the rosehips, simmer with the water for 15–20 minutes, then strain very thoroughly through a fine sieve or jelly bag. Return the liquid to the pan, add the sugar and gently heat until dissolved.

Bottle and refrigerate. Lovely in hot drinks, sparkling water, cocktails or over porridge.

Rosehips also have a fascinating place in British food history. During the Second World War, when citrus fruit was scarce, people were encouraged to collect rosehips and make syrup as a source of vitamin C.

And then there’s the folklore. Wild roses have long been associated with love, beauty and protection. Their combination of beautiful flowers and vicious thorns makes them a particularly good symbol of the old idea that beauty and danger can live side by side.

29/08/2026

Braved the rain today for a foraging session with the local MenShare group.

The weather could have put everyone off, but nope, they all turned up. We wandered around a lovely private estate getting damp, chatted, laughed, found some interesting things, and generally had a really good time. Honestly, everyone was great. There’s something about being outside together, even when the weather’s being inclement to say the least, that makes conversation easier.

Thanks to everyone who came along and got stuck in.

If you’re involved with a community organisation, wellbeing project, workplace, or anything similar and fancy doing something a bit different, I’m always up for a chat about collaborations.

Foraging walks, nature sessions, woodland wandering, ecology stuff, campfire nonsense, happy to put something together.

Drop me a message.

Here's some lovely words about this morning....

"Enjoyed listening to Ross on our Foraging walk, very knowledgeble chap! Its amazing to know there is a large variety of edible tasty things you can find in nature. Will enjoy my walks in nature even more now, knowing I wont go hungry".

"Done a foraging walk this morning with Ross, 3 months off blazing sunshine for today the heavens opened
But Ross's knowledge shone through very easy guy to talk too and to listen too had a great walk learnt lots and was fun can't wait for the next one".

"Over a hot cup of tea I'm reflecting on the guided foraging walk I've just returned from, led by Ross Symonds. The inclement weather hardly mattered at all as Ross shared his deep knowledge of the natural world with us. Learning to identify many edible & medicinal plants in our local countryside has given a new lens through which to view the environment when I'm out and about. The light hearted and interactive approach from Ross really made our walk in the woods fun and enjoyable. I look forward to joining him on another outdoor learning experience soon".

28/08/2026

September: What's On

September is looking rather busy. As summer starts to give way to autumn, I've got a whole load of opportunities to get outside, learn something new and spend some time paying attention to the landscape.

Here's what's coming up:

3 September — Kids Ecology
A relaxed outdoor session at Busses Farm for children and their grown-ups, mixing ecology, foraging and folklore.
£10 per child | £5 siblings | Adults free

5 September — Woodland Skills
A practical day in the woods, learning skills and exploring the ecology and uses of woodland.
£10 per child | £10 | A private farm in the Ashdown Forest (details on booking)

8 September — Wild Literacy begins
My six-week online course about learning to actually *read* a landscape — plants, habitats, seasons, ecology, folklore and the stories held in places.
Tuesdays, 7.30–8.30pm | £60

10 September — Evening Walk: Eating the Landscape
An evening wander around Busses Farm combining seasonal foraging, ecology and landscape reading.
£15 per adult | Children free

13 September — Foraging Walk
A seasonal wander looking at what's growing, what's edible and the ecology and folklore surrounding our wild plants.
Busses Farm | £20 per adult | Children free

17 September — Tern Folk Session
A five-course harvest-inspired tasting menu at Tern in Worthing, with me talking about the wild and seasonal ingredients on the plate and their journey from field to table.
Five courses + paired drinks | £120

So whether you fancy getting the kids outside, learning some woodland skills, improving your foraging, learning to read the landscape or eating a rather excellent dinner while I talk about plants, there's something happening this September.

Full details and booking links are in my bio or linktr.ee/rosstheecologist

28/08/2026

I’ve been thinking a bit about how to make the walks and sessions I run work for people who want something a little more personal.

So I’m now offering private and bespoke foraging walks for small groups and families.

These can be shaped around whatever you’re interested in rather than following a set session plan. We can concentrate on seasonal wild foods, spend more time learning to identify plants, or make the whole thing into something of an event.

And there are a few directions this can go.
- Seasonal foraging + cooking — we head out, gather what’s appropriate and legal to take, then turn some of it into something to eat or drink on the spot. A simple walk-to-plate experience.
- Corporate and team-building walks — a chance to get people away from desks and into the landscape, with a bit of nature, food and useful nonsense to talk about rather than another conference-room away day.
- Home education sessions — if you’re part of a home-ed group or co-op, I’m also interested in putting together blocks of curriculum-linked outdoor sessions rather than just one-off workshops.

And, for something slightly different...
- Plant magic and folklore walks — plants have always been more than food. We can look at the folklore, traditional uses, symbolism and stranger stories attached to the landscape, alongside the actual ecology and identification. Less “woo”, more why on earth did people believe that?

If any of those sound like your sort of thing, drop me a message. Private walks can be arranged for small groups and families, and we can work out something that fits the group rather than trying to squeeze everyone into a standard session.

Send me a message if interested. Either here or to [email protected]

27/08/2026

Seasonal Plant Focus — Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)

August is elderberry time. The berries are ripening from red to that deep purple-black, and elder is one of those plants where food, folklore and traditional medicine all meet.

Culinary
Pick the berries when fully ripe and dark, ideally on a dry day. They’re excellent cooked into syrups, jellies, cordials and preserves. Elderberries also contain vitamin C and antioxidant compounds, which contribute to their nutritional value. Don’t eat large quantities raw — cooking makes them much more suitable for eating.

Medicinal
Elder has a long history in traditional herbal medicine, with both flowers and berries used in seasonal preparations. Elderflower has traditionally been associated with colds and fevers, while elderberries have been used in winter preparations. Elderberries also contain vitamin C and antioxidant compounds, which contribute to their nutritional value.

Folklore
Elder has a particularly rich folklore, associated with protection, spirits, witches and the household. In some traditions it was considered unlucky to cut an elder without permission; elsewhere, planting one near the home was thought to offer protection.

One tree, two seasonal harvests, and a ridiculous amount of folklore. I'll be making my syrups asap to get ensure an nice healthy hit of vitamin d abd antioxidants over winter.

What’s not to like?

26/08/2026

Busses Farm, East Grinstead | £15 per adult | Children free

An evening wander around Busses Farm combining foraging, ecology and landscape reading.

We’ll take a slow walk through the surrounding landscape, looking at what’s growing, what’s changing and what the plants and habitats can tell us about the place we’re in.

There’ll be some seasonal foraging along the way, but we’ll also be looking beyond individual plants — at habitats, land use, soils, woodland, hedgerows and the traces people have left on the landscape.

It’s a chance to spend an evening outside, learn a few useful things and start seeing the landscape a little differently.

Thursday 10 September

£15 per adult | Children free

Busses Farm, East Grinstead | £15 per adult | Children free An evening wander around Busses Farm combining foraging, ecology and landscape reading. ...

25/08/2026

Stop looking at the countryside. Start reading it.

Why is that plant growing there?
Why does the hedge run in that direction?
Why is this bit of woodland different from the one 100 metres away?
What happened here 50, 100 or 500 years ago?

The landscape is full of clues. You just need to know how to interpret them.

Wild Literacy is a six-week online course exploring plants, habitats, ecology, seasons, folklore and landscape history.

Starts Tuesday 8 September
7.30–8.30pm
Online | £60

Learn to read the landscape.

Link in bio (or click here if you can - ko-fi.com/s/5e407f6dcc.