My name is Sue Walker and I’m a freelance writer and interpretation consultant for nature conservation organisations, mostly in Scotland. I have my own blog called ‘Writes for Nature’ www.writesfornature.blogspot.com. My thanks go to Mark for giving me the chance to write a guest blog here. His own pithy, witty and well-informed blogs make him…
Author: Mark
Born Bristol, UK
Educated: Cleeve House School Bristol, Bristol Grammar School and Downing College Cambridge
Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Winter activity of pipistrelle bats.
NERC post-doctoral Research Fellow, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford University
Former Conservation Director of the RSPB, 1989-2011
Guest blog – Save wildlife. Stop birdwatching! by Andrew Lucas
Andrew works part-time for the Countryside Council for Wales, and is also a part-time postgraduate student at Swansea University. The views expressed here are his own. Recently, I found myself at some traffic lights when an enormous, gleaming, silver SUV pulled up along side me. At such moments I am insufferably smug. Here I…
Guest blog – Every little helps? by Matt Williams
Matt Williams is a campaigner and organiser. He is Co-Director of the UK Youth Climate Coalition and is also undertaking a masters in Development Studies at Cambridge University. He regularly blogs at mattadamwilliams.co.uk How much is the RSPB’s new partnership with Tesco really benefiting nature? I must preface this blog by stating that I’ve…
Well done RSPB, and the week ahead
Well done RSPB! In my Birdwatch column, the political birder, for March I wrote about the e-petition started by Chrissie Harper which asks for the law in England to be brought into line with those in Scotland in respect of vicarious liability for wildlife offences. Vicarious liability is an unfamiliar phrase for those of us…
Cheltenham preview
This blog is nothing to do with nature – it’s to do with the Cheltenham Festival which takes place in the Cotswolds next Tuesday-Friday. And that’s where I will be next week – but, never fear, the blog will go on. No-one could seriously claim that which large brown horse, with a small man perched…
How is your vision?
Comments Off on How is your vision?
I guess I think I am a wordsmith, and yet a picture really can tell a thousand words – or more! The 2020VISION project aims to inspire a wide audience with a compelling case for rebuilding and reconnecting fragmented habitats, not only for the benefit of the plants and animals that live there, but for…
In praise of Birdtrack
I am a great fan of Birdtrack. I can see lots of value in the data that are accumulating there in terms of looking at future changes in bird distributions and numbers. But also it allows me to check changes at my local patch at Stanwick Lakes where I go scores of times each year….
Well done Zac!
Did you see Zac Goldsmith on Newsnight on Tuesday evening? If not, have a look (about 16 minutes in) because he was very good. As Jeremy Paxman sat in front of an image of green countryside Allegra Stratton spilled the beans on what the Treasury is thinking on the planning the system (read it here)….
Cats and sparrowhawks among the pigeons
Gary Burgess posted a comment on this blog on 18 February on a rather old blog and I thought that few would notice what he had written and so I offered him the chance of a Guest Blog to air his views more prominently. I’m really glad that Gary took up the offer but I…
NIAs again
Nature is everywhere, it’s all around us and it is in trouble in many places around us. When government was looking for areas to qualify as Nature Improvement Areas it had plenty of places from which to choose – 76 proposals came forward for the £7.5m funding that was available for just 12 sites. Those…