The first words on the environment have been uttered by the political parties – the Green Party of England and Wales has produced its environmental manifesto. Well done to the Greens for having the first word – is this the last word on the environment? It’s a mere 10 pages with half of them being…
BLOG POSTS
A response from the CEO of CNP
My blog this morning drew a quick response from Fiona Howie the Chief Exec of the Campaign for National Parks. She posted a comment and here it is for ease of reading: ‘As you say Mark, people are welcome to get in touch with us but before doing so I would encourage them to have…
Poor show from National Parks
The Campaign for National Parks has published its ‘manifesto‘ – which is actually a small begging letter – for the general election. It’s a disappointing list. The CNP wants: Strengthening national planning protections for the National Parks Protecting the funding currently committed to the National Parks for the next five years so they can be…
Tale of a hedge (revisited)
In 2014 I wrote a few blogs about a puzzling hedge (see here, here, here). The resolution to the puzzle was that a farmer had driven down the road with his spray still on and had, accidentally, sprayed over a mile of roadside hedge . Time for an update – this is the fourth spring…
Media release – New project launched to save Scotland’s rarest insects
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Media release on behalf of RSPB, Butterfly Conservation, Cairngorms NP, Buglife, SNH and Leader. A new project is being launched in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park to save six of Scotland’s rarest invertebrates. The shining guest ant, dark bordered beauty moth, small scabious mining bee, northern silver-stiletto fly, pine hoverfly and Kentish…
BBS visit 1
Having spent most of April in Spain, I was looking forward to doing my first BBS visit to one of my two BBS squares – I really was. So much so that having arrived back home at about 0400 on Saturday morning I even considered going straight out to see if I could see any…
‘The’ book on the Hen Harrier
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Bloomsbury (of which Poyser is now a part) are reissuing Donald Watson’s classic book on the Hen Harrier this summer. My copy of the book sits within reach on my desk right now and it was the first Christmas present that my then girlfriend, now wife, gave me, very nearly 40 years ago. Watson’s…
A recap
I’m sure the Scottish government, the SNP, the Scottish Gamekeepers Organisation and Scottish Land and Estates wish that these images would go away – but we should make sure that they are kept in the public domain. They illustrate the failure of wildlife protection in Scotland. The bird that flies through this video and then…
Food prices may be lower after Brexit
This is an interesting article by Warwick Lightfoot, Director of Research and Head of Economics and Social Policy at Policy Exchange. Unsurprisingly, from the Policy Exchange, it is strong on the view that leaving the EU will increase competition and therefore allow food prices to drop. This would be good news for consumers – that…
Dick Potts remembered
I was sorry to miss the chance to pay my respects in person at Dick’s funeral but I was away in Spain (and I think he would have approved) but I was pleased to see these tributes appear over the last few weeks (and I spoke to several of the authors and compilers). The Guardian…