Next time you think about driving off in your car for a day trip, think again. Why not spend some time exploring the place where you live instead? Most residents of Dalgety Bay would probably be amazed if they knew the wealth of flora and fauna that can be found lurking literally just around the corner.

We are extremely lucky to live in a town with a rich and diverse natural heritage. Extensive areas of woodland, beautiful open countryside and the internationally important estuarine habitat of the Firth of Forth are all on our doorstep, not to mention the wetland area barely five minutes' walk away from the main shopping centre. This wide range of habitats in a relatively small area means that a surprisingly large number of different animals and plants live within the boundaries of the town.

The woods are one of the most striking features of the Bay, and all of them are at least 100 years old. The town has a total of 16 woods, from Letham Hill Wood on the western fringe to Bluebell Wood and Crowhill Wood on the east side. All the woods have good paths, and a walk through one or more of them is an extremely rewarding experience, whatever the time of year.

While sycamore and ash are probably the two most widespread trees, the character of the woods is by no means uniform. Indeed, closer examination can reveal a few surprises, like the unusually large number of yew trees. Even in the narrow Binning Strip you start off at the harbour end with a mixture of sycamore and ash together with elms, beeches, some oaks and a few chestnuts, only for these to be replaced by a small stretch of willows and then a largish stand of Norway and Sitka spruce as you head towards the Link Road.

Steeple Clump is of course notable for its substantial population of Scots pines, whereas Chapel Wood showcases another type of pine, the darker Corsican pine. The greatest diversity of trees is without doubt to be found in Donibristle wood, with as many as 17 species represented, including cherry, hazel and lime.

Unfortunately, Dutch Elm Disease is widespread in the area, so the fate of our elm trees is a bleak one. One of the aspects of the Woodland Group's management plan is to identify trees that have fallen victim to the disease so that they can be removed if necessary, before they become a hazard.

Plants are also well represented. The onset of spring sees many of our woods carpeted in bright yellow lesser celandines, a prelude to the arrival of the bluebells which transform many of them into a magical ocean of blue. As spring turns to summer, leopard's bane and red and white campion take their turn while by July you will be able to pick the odd wild raspberry as you stroll along. It is true that the woods can become rather overgrown with nettles at the height of summer, but regular strimming by the council keeps them in check. Be sure to look out for interesting mushrooms too. Jews' ears, shaggy inkcaps and common puffballs are all widespread, and a wander down the Binning Strip in August may provide an encounter with a giant puffball, a round white monster of a fungus that can grow up to 1.5 metres in diameter and releases an average of 7 billion spores! Look out for the rudely shaped stinkhorns in Steeple Clump in July and August too.

The variety of birds in our woods doesn't quite match the range that can be found on the shore and out to sea, but all the usual tits, finches and thrushes (including redwing in winter) are complemented by other common species such as tiny goldcrests or the busy treecreepers which can be seen crawling up trees probing for insects in the bark with their long bills, particularly in Letham Hill Wood. Great spotted woodpeckers can indeed occasionally be "spotted" in the larger woods, and if you're lucky (and quiet!) you might even catch a glimpse of one of the elusive but fairly numerous green woodpeckers that inhabit the area. The regular flocks of long-tailed tits, on the other hand, are very approachable and always fun to watch as they flit together from tree to tree. Siskin can be seen in winter, particularly in Ross Plantation, and are also very partial to the feeders in nearby gardens, where they are sometimes joined by blackcaps. Inevitably, the small birds that feed on the birdtables attract predators such as sparrowhawks, which are certainly thrilling to watch as they swoop in low over your hedge for the kill, but are perhaps not so nice if you're a tit or a sparrow.

Finally, don't forget to keep an eye open for larger animals too - foxes and roe deer have been seen regularly in the Ross Plantation area.

The Fife Coastal Path runs along the entire length of the town. A walk along it from St David's Harbour to St Bridget's Kirk is a great way of getting to know many of the plants and animals that share our local environment.

The flora is typical of coastal locations, with plants such as thrift, sea campion, common orache and hare's-foot clover all flourishing. Downing Point is a particularly good place for coastal flora. Brambles grow all along the path, together with wild raspberries and strawberries in some places. Gorse also adds a splash of colour, as do various different thistles and the thistle-like knapweed which is also widespread.

The birdlife along the town's coastline is particularly impressive. You don't need to be an expert to appreciate the brightly-coloured shelducks in the main bay or the ubiquitous eider ducks, oystercatchers, lapwings, curlews and redshanks. But scan the mud as the tide comes in or gaze out to sea with a pair of binoculars and you'll find plenty of other species too.

Winter is without doubt the most exciting time for coastal birdwatching in the Bay. Great crested grebes and little grebes are common, and occasionally something rarer like a Slavonian or black-necked grebe can turn up. The striking red-breasted mergansers are among the first seabirds to arrive back for the winter, followed by teal, a small flock of which normally overwinters in the Ross Plantation wetland area. These tiny ducks are easily identified by the brightly patterned chestnut and green heads of the males. By October, the goldeneye and red-throated divers should be back, and some of the early arrivals of the latter species may still have traces of their bright red summer throats. St David's Harbour is a particularly good place for these attractive birds, and the rarer black-throated diver has been seen there too, on occasion. Guillemots, the Northern Hemisphere's answer to the penguin, are always plentiful, and the closely related razorbills seem to be increasingly common. The occasional stray puffin also makes it this far up the Forth, but they're usually quite far from the shore. Downing Point is a good place to watch for skuas on autumn migration, although this does require a fair amount of patience.

Waders love mudflats, so the main bay in winter is the place to go if you enjoy trying to identify little or slightly less little grey and brown birds. In addition to the waders already mentioned above, it shouldn't be too hard to spot turnstones and huge numbers of dunlin getting chased in towards the shore by the incoming tide, and you will most probably also see a few bar-tailed godwits, ringed plover and maybe some knots, with something rarer always a possibility.

Most of the waders and seabirds disappear for much of the summer, although eiders do breed along the coast here and much fun can be had watching the little ducklings swimming around in early summer. The main entertainment from the end of May onwards is provided by the terns which can be seen (and heard!) fishing right the way along the coastal path. Common terns and sandwich terns are both numerous, and sometimes an arctic tern joins them too. In some years we are also treated to the sight of huge numbers of dark juvenile gannets plunging into the sea for fish between St David's Harbour and Inverkeithing.

Of course, the sea is home to other animals apart from birds. Donibristle Bay is the place to go if you want to be almost guaranteed to see grey seals, particularly in the evening, although they can be seen all along the town's coastline. The beaches have all the usual sealife: mussels, cockles, whelks, periwinkles, barnacles, limpets and crabs of various descriptions. And if you go out at dusk especially between St David's and Donibristle Bay, there's a fair chance of seeing pipistrelle bats which seem to be flourishing since a number of bat boxes were put up throughout the town.

Where the modern estates that make up much of Dalgety Bay now stand, there was largely open countryside and farmland up until just a few years ago. Very little of this habitat now remains, and the last significant area, Preston Hill, is under serious threat of development. Preston Hill lies just outside the boundary of Dalgety Bay, between the west side of Letham Hill Wood and the disused quarry. The Community Council and the Woodland Group have opposed the development of this area for a variety of reasons. If you have a walk around it, particularly in spring and summer, you will soon realise that it is a real wildlife haven with some of the species found there not to be seen anywhere else in the Bay.

In springtime, the hillside comes alive with breeding birds. Willow warblers seem to sing from every tree, whitethroats perform their plunging display flight and yellowhammers fearlessly repeat their famous "little bit of bread and no cheese" call, while linnets twitter around in small groups. Stonechats have also been seen there from time to time. All of these small birds need to keep an eye open for the marauding kestrels that breed in Prestonhill Quarry, or the buzzards that sometimes fly over from their more usual haunts, and you may well also see a green woodpecker from nearby Letham Hill Wood looking for ants on the open ground or flying up into a tree.

Plants include dog rose, birdsfoot trefoil, kidney vetch, field scabious, common centaury, and a few northern marsh orchids, and the area is by far the best for butterflies in the Bay, with a range of common species found in good numbers throughout the summer, for example orange tips, ringlets, meadow browns, green-veined whites, common blues, small tortoiseshells, red admirals and peacocks, not forgetting the striking red and black six-spot burnet moths. Other bugs, such as ladybirds, damselflies and orange and black sexton beetles are also to be found.

Sadly, the future for this very special place does not look bright, and if we are unable to prevent its development then many of these creatures will lose one of the most important habitats in the area.