To Kevin Cox, Chair of RSPB. Dear Kevin, I see BASC has written you an open letter – click here. As an RSPB Life Member I hope you won’t waste too much time (your staff’s time) agonising over replying. BASC, as you know, have long been thrashing around rather aimlessly, being rude to all…
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Buy your artichokes here!
I’m a great fan of Guy’s News which arrives at my doorstep early on a Thursday morning at the bottom of a box of organic vegetables from Riverford Organic Farmers. This week it contained the usual interesting insight into real farming and sideswipes at both Defra and the NFU – we are on the same…
Sunday book review – The Biodiversity Gardener by Paul Sterry
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Paul Sterry is no stranger to the readers of this blog, having written a string of guest blogs here over the years. He is a prolific author and photographer. This book describes the success of action, and well-informed inaction, in creating a wildlife refuge. Sterry’s half-acre garden sounds like a veritable oasis embedded in the…
Guest blog by Olaf Lipor
Olaf Lipor is a well-known Scandinavian naturalist with a wide range of interests and several previous Guest Blogs here, usually at this time of year. Olaf is not yet found on Twitter. Statement by Olaf Lipor on behalf of the BBC (British Birding Commission) The recent public discussion on how to view birds…
Sunday book review – Two Lights by James Roberts
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This book is beautifully written and for that reason I recommend that you read it. Now, to describe what it is about is a bit difficult. It’s certainly about places scattered across the world, including Wales, and it certainly has a lot of wildlife scattered through its pages but this book is about much…
Guest blog – The Invisible Ubiquitous Bird by Vanessa Wright
Vanessa divides her time between Hertfordshire and the Hebrides and loves to write about birds, butterflies and beachcombing. She gave up corporate life during the pandemic, taking the plunge to follow her passion for wildlife. Recently finishing a Masters in Nature and Travel Writing, she has been announced as a Runner-Up in the BBC Countryfile…
A response from NE on SSSIs
You may remember that I wrote to Natural England about SSSIs in my local area (click here). I’ve had a reply. It’s a pretty clear reply and I’ve highlighted in a purply-pink colour two passages that are of particular interest. The first says ‘the data on the designated sites system are up to date’ –…
Sunday book review – Landscape by Rosamunde Codling
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I’m glad I read this book, and I’ve never read one quite like it. It’s an exploration of landscapes – how we portray them and how we feel about them. It ranges widely from the lunar landscape via Antarctica to East Anglia and from urban to rural. The author is a landscape architect (and I…
Sunday book review – Planting with Nature by Kirsty Wilson
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Any book which starts with a quote from Audrey Hepburn is off to a good start with me. She said that to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. No wonder there are now so many areas of artificial turf and gravel. But this book is an antidote to that as a ‘practical and…
Sunday book review – Avocado Anxiety by Louise Gray
Louise Gray’s previous book, The Ethical Carnivore was 5th in my books of the year for 2016 (see review here), and this follow-up, also on food, is a contender for a top-10 listing this year, I reckon. Eating fruit and vegetables doesn’t quite have the moral jeopardy attached to it that surrounds eating an animal…