I always find it's better to let wildlife come to you

THE more I have travelled over the past 30 years of film-making the more I have come to both appreciate and love the wildlife in my own backyard.

Filming on our reserves has been the perfect excuse to spend long days in places where I might otherwise just pass a pleasant hour – something I would recommend to everyone.

Take the time to lie in a meadow for a few hours and a tiny patch of grass will magically transform into a vibrant miniature jungle.

I've spent much of the spring and summer watching the various bizarre tricks orchids use to achieve pollination, but whilst sitting quietly on grasslands or in woodlands I've seen so much more.

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Sunday, May 26 2013

I always find it's best to let wildlife come to you. So give it a go. The Trust has 35 reserves, covering a range of habitats. Pick one and spend some time just watching.

It's getting late in summer now, but you'll find something year round. And it might not even be too late to see the last of our orchids. The tiny, yet elegant, autumn lady's tresses flowers in August and September on the grassy slopes of the Walborough reserve.

And one of my favourite walks is out on Weston Moor, looking for fast flying dragonflies, or now in grasshopper season listening to autumn grasshopper songs in the hills around Bristol and Bath.

Why don't you take a leaf from our book and take time out on one of the Trust reserves this weekend?

You can download a walk on Walborough from the Trust website's Ways into Wildlife section – just go to www.awtwaysintowildlife. co.uk.

Other fine forays included the stunning views from Dolebury Warren, the wooded walks at Weston Big Wood and unspoilt farmland at Folly Farm.

Avon Wildlife Trust is your local wildlife charity dedicated to working full-time to secure a strong future for the natural environment and to inspire everyone to appreciate and enjoy it.

For more information go to www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Wildlife film producer Steve Nicholls is Vice Chair of Avon Wildlife Trust, and has just finished making a TV documentary on orchids, a film which took him from the sodden rainforests of Borneo to the mysterious swamp cypress forests of southern Florida in search of amazing stories. However much of the footage was shot close to Bristol, on Avon Wildlife Trust nature reserves.