This is a particularly good issue of the almost always particularly good British Wildlife.
From Peter Marren, arguing for Swanscombe Peninsula to be protected, to Twitcher in the Swamp demonstrating that he (is Twitcher a he? I believe so) has supernatural powers to write about nature conservation in a sardonic but meaningful way, it is packed with good things.
Jeff Ollerton, who was lurking around my local patch of Stanwick Lakes not long ago, writes about pollinators and Patrick Barkham, who lurks around my favourite newspaper, writes about the Badger cull. There is an article which I have not yet read which compares Sutton Fen (which the RSPB acquired on my watch) with Catfield Fen (which has featured often in this blog). Tim Sparks, Lorienne Whittle and Judith Garforth write on phenology.
My column is about the state of nature petition, and in late February (before the petition launched on 1 March) I wrote;
In this case, with such a critical issue, and with most of the UK wildlife and environmental organisations (the National Trust, RSPB, Wildlife Trusts and Greenpeace to name but a few) supporting the petition then 100,000 won’t be impressive. Doesn’t WCL claim a combined membership and support of 8 million folk? The goal must be 250,000+ signatures, and ideally 500,000 signatures, to demonstrate the need for government to up its game. So, please sign the petition but then ask others to sign too.
For the tangled bank of wildlife conservation organisations this petition is a test. Will that community rise to the challenge by working together?
Well, the petition has easily passed the 100,000 mark, and 115,000 today, but that 250,000-500,000 area looks a very long way ago. You could help by signing – https://bit.ly/3kjLIsX – thank you! But will these 50 organisations pass the test?
Two letters caught my eye – one from regular commenter here, Jonathan Wallace and the other from Richard Mabey.
Book reviews, Conservation News, Wildlife Reports numerous great photographs, a bee-fly on the cover and a gang of columnists fill up the almost 400 pages of content that all interested in British wildlife can read in British Wildlife.
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As always BW is a great and varied read I am always enthralled, learn something new and entertained by its content.
Yes, British Wildlife is an excellent journal.
I have been a subscriber almost from the outset when regular references to it appearing in Bird Study aroused my curiousity.
In a time when one had to await outof date news in annual reports it fulfilled an untapped need for a natural history magazine which avoided the “popular” approach yet was not too academic.
Much credit goes to Andrew Branson and his wife Ann its originators and founding editors.
It continues to go from strength to strength and long may it do so.