The Laburnum is buzzing

This Laburnum in the garden looks very pretty at the moment, don’t you think? If you stand back and look at it, it’s really lovely. And I can see it from several rooms in the house, so it’s brightening my days right now. But if you stand underneath it, as I did, it hums. It…

National Trust – High Peak

At last week’s conference at Newton Rigg, the Director General of the National Trust (and former top-mandarin at Defra) Dame Helen Ghosh spoke. I know Helen just a little, having met her in her Defra role but the longest time I have ever spent in her company was when I showed her around the RSPB…

What the Wildlife Trusts are saying about tomorrow’s EU elections

The following is taken from a Wildlife Trusts’ press release:   The UK will elect 73 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) tomorrow who will have significant influence over a range of important EU policy decisions.  For people who care about the future of nature in the UK, these decisions are crucial. During the next…

Natura 2000 Day – nature feeling the pinch

This is, apparently, the second ‘Natura 2000 Day‘. Natura 2000 sites are those designated under the Birds and Habitats Directives of the EU – how dull does that sound?  But some of your best birding moments have been spent in such places – The New Forest, The Wash, The Coto Donana, the Camargue, the Danube…

Greens set to make a difference

I’ll be voting Green tomorrow morning in the EU elections. It seems I won’t be alone as the Green Party of England and Wales stands a good chance of coming fourth ahead of the Liberal Democrats (and behind UKIP, Labour and the Conservatives – perhaps in that order).  I will vote Labour in the next…