Nature is messy. Plants wither and die, leaving broken branches, dead leaves and fallen tree trunks everywhere. Animals leave small droppings and piles of dung behind in the places where they have eaten, and when the animals themselves are eaten, or when they die, they leave a mass of torn-out feathers and tufts of hair, old bones and dried-out flesh, not to mention the bodies of dead animals which smell terrible when they start decomposing.

Luckily, this isn’t such a big problem – although it can be quite smelly! Nature is also home to rubbish collectors, who specialise in clearing away all the old, dead and stinky things. They either eat things themselves or feed it to their young. In this way, everything in nature is reused and turned into new animals and new plants.

The world of the rubbish collector is exciting to investigate, but it can smell, and many people think it is disgusting. So maybe take some rubber gloves with you on your walk, and perhaps an old spoon which was going to be thrown out anyway – or just find a stick on the forest floor. Now you are ready to hunt for the rubbish collectors.

But remember to wash your hands afterwards!