There are some days, working at the Wildlife Trust, that have every one of your senses tingling.

I had the pleasure of spending quite a few hours with colleagues and John Watt on his Scutcher’s Acres Nature Reserve, meeting some impressive trees.

The Woodland Tree ID session at this hidden West Lancashire reserve, which is now being managed by Lancashire Wildlife Trust, but John has made his mark over the years by planting more than 100 species of trees.

Identifying trees is not all about sight, it’s about touching leaves, smelling pine fronds, listening to the rustling leaves of the trembling aspen and tasting some plums, it’s an all-round sensory tingle.

I loved feeling the leaves, the small hairy ones and silky beech leaf. It will be my first port of call when I need to identify a tree in the future.

There are plenty of native trees in the woodland and some giant conifers that really give you a sense that we are just a small part of creation. John has even planted a giant redwood, but it’s only a baby at the moment.

Wandering through grassland and woodland on a summer’s day is a huge pleasure and I took advantage of lunch time to capture some colourful insects on the reserve. Then some colourful ants decided to invade my pants, bag and hat. I was sitting on an anthill while eating my sandwiches.

I was happy to take in some basic tree identification, beech, ash, elm, oak, chestnut, goat willow and grey willow, but the majority of information probably leaked from my brain.

These native trees probably only number just above 30, and it’s interesting to realise that the creation of the island of Great Britain probably halted the migration of many other trees from the Continent around 8,000 years ago. So, when new species are integrated into our woodlands, a lot of the time it will benefit both those woods and the environment, as diseases are threatening to get rid of some of those natives.

I thought only birds migrated over here, then I realised some insects do, now I learn trees did the same thing . . . and still do across the continents.

Wandering around a woodland in summer is really relaxing, even if your brain is about to explode with all the information.

Yet, little bits of tree data keep spilling back into my consciousness, and I get the occasional whiff of pine – but that could be the household cleaner.

We all need to learn more about trees. They are so vital to our environment, health and well-being.

You can get involved in some of our nature walks here.