First published 30th December, 2021

“The sun is shining and the sound of tractors rumbling and humming fills the distant air. It’s laced with the gentle thud of citrus fruits being dropped into plastic crates. The orange harvest season is still in full swing after all this time. Ecobear Baby Bear Rosa is with Zana the rabbit and Tilda the hedgehog in the garden. They have been busy all day, cracking open a mountain of walnuts collected over recent weeks. After cracking all the nuts the friends tidy up the shells, ready for use on the indoor fire. Tiny crumbs of walnuts are left sprinkled on the ground where the three have been working – attracting curious little brown sparrows from out of their trees. The garden’s beautiful birdsong is temporarily halted as the birds feast on their fresh nutty meal.

Meanwhile, ecobears Marlie & Arc have been collecting an assortment of lemons, limes and grapefruits, en route to check the development of the compost heap in the corner of the garden. For a few months now the creatures have been recycling their food scraps and leaves here – so one day it will be used in the vegetable garden, to enrich the soil for future growing..”