Responding to PDNP consultation – some hints

The Peak District National Park wants to know what you think – so you should tell them. This is the consultation document and this is the 52-question questionnaire.  Here’s a tip: if you are planning on responding then it’s a good idea to open these two things in two separate tabs so that you can…

Pallid Harriers nest successfully in The Netherlands

  The first nesting of Pallid Harriers in western Europe has occurred in the Netherlands this year, and the birds have fledged four young (all females). The birds were discovered by Willem-Pier Vellinga, a volunteer of the Dutch Montagu’s Harrier Foundation.  This successful nesting of a rare species is only now being publicised at the…

Guest blog – The Somerset Lakes and Meres by ‘Messi’

Messi is a pseudonym. He has worked on flood risk and water level management and nature conservation in the UK and overseas, advised farmers on agri-environment schemes and, most recently, has worked on community-led, nature-based tourism development in SE Europe and SE Asia. The heat of the day was freshened somewhat by a cooling breeze…

Some good news on Bialowieza

‘The EU executive has urged Poland to halt logging immediately in one of Europe’s last remaining areas of primeval forest, and has asked the European Court of Justice to act on it.’ reports the BBC.  See also Guardian, Birdlife International. This is good news. Of course, it’s not the sort of thing that will be…

Late to the Lakes controversy

It’s not that I didn’t notice that The Lake District had been given World Heritage Status, it’s just that I haven’t had time to comment on it. And haven’t had time to keep up with the torrent of comment sparked by George Monbiot’s articles (The Lake District’s world heritage site status is a betrayal of…