Emma Websdale is a Conservation Biologist and Writer. Working as the Communications Support Officer for The Wildlife Trusts, she is particularly motivated in engaging younger audiences, helping them make sure that nature doesn’t drop off their agenda. I sit on a train that’s heading to London, September’s issue of BBC Wildlife in my hands….
BLOG POSTS
This is what it is like to be on the front foot.
The debate has changed dramatically over the last few months – let’s say since 28 May when this e-petition was launched to ban driven grouse shooting. In that time: M&S have been persuaded to change their mind about selling Red Grouse on their shelves until they can assure the world of the sustainability of…
More Crex than ever – well, for 45 years.
The Corncrake is not the most charismatic bird in the world – a Moorhen-like bird that lives in long grass, has a rasping ‘song’ (crex! crex!) which it mostly sings at night and looks like it finds getting airborne difficult, but which flies to the other side of the Sahara every year (and back of…
Gamekeepers
Yesterday evening’s blog did not overflow with complimentary remarks about gamekeepers – it could have done, but it didn’t. An occupation which evokes such strong and negative responses has an image problem – and that is true however fair or unfair are the comments. We don’t hear that much from gamekeepers in the debates over…
Get the big cats purrrrrring please
The World Land Trust, of which I am a Council member, is raising money for big cat conservation – including Bengal Tiger, Puma and Jaguar (I’d just love to see a Jaguar!). Not only will the WLT be purrrrring with pleasure and gratitude if you hand over some dosh but they will be doubly purrrring…
Our friends the gamekeepers – what should we call them?
Gamekeepers – don’t you just love ’em? They are a profession – did you know? What would be the right collective noun for a group of gamekeepers? This started as a discussion on Twitter last week – so here are some ideas to get your imaginative juices running: a ‘slaughter’ of gamekeepers a ‘dropped the…
Have done badly, still doing badly
According to last week’s Living Planet report from WWF, we have lost half of the living individual vertebrates on the planet in the last years 45 years. Quite a lot of people wanted to quibble about this, and it is an eminently quibble-able claim, but the essence of the arresting claim must be true. You…
Oscar Dewhurst – Red Deer
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Oscar writes: Red Deer in golden mist: Just before I headed off to Durham to start university last week, I paid a couple of visits to Richmond Park. On one of the mornings there was a thick layer of mist covering the ground and by shooting into the rising sun it gave it a lovely…
Sunday book review – Dusk Until Dawn by Martin Bradley
This book is illustrated by, and written by, Martin Bradley, as was the book on the Peregrine also reviewed here (in April). Colin Shawyer’s foreword includes this hope: ‘Martin has, without doubt, written and produced an outstanding book which now needs to find its way to our children’s hearts, through their parents,…
Selfridges will not stock Red Grouse this year.
Selfridges have confirmed to their customers that they will not stock Red Grouse in their Food Hall. Good for them! Looks like I’ll have to get out my credit card. This was in response to an excellent letter from a reader of this blog which quoted from the Ethical Consumer report ‘Turn your back on…