Roy Taylor is an ex-colleague of mine at the RSPB. He started working for the RSPB, on Song Thrushes, when I was Head of Research, so that must be around 20 years ago. I remember visiting Roy in his Sussex study area on a very hot day in summer where we ate ice-creams quite a…
BLOG POSTS
Scapa flaw
This is a great letter from a former colleague of mine, Steve Sankey, to the SNP Scottish Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse. It’s about a change in policy by Orkney Islands Council on ballast water management. Yawn? How dull? Not at all – quite interesting because it is very important! Here’s…
The colour purple
The UKIP surge has coloured in most of rural England as purple on the political map. It isn’t easy to find out what UKIP thinks about the CAP, badger culls, marine protected areas, climate change, grouse-shooting, neonicotinoids or other environmental matters from their website. The environment will be just one area of doubt over what…
Guest Blog – How environmentally friendly is your cup of coffee? by Derek Thomas
Educated at Imperial College London, Derek Thomas (@Coffeewarblers ) spent his professional life as a mathematician, but has also had a lifelong interest and involvement in natural history. Now retired, he is fully occupied as a nature conservationist. He has served at a local and national level in many guises with a variety of organisations…
…a long time in politics
Although you may well know the results of the EU elections when you read this post, I am writing it before they are announced. I wonder what they will be? The council elections (there weren’t any where I live) show a surge of support for UKIP – which I find depressing. It looks as though…
Martha
The current month’s Birdwatch has extracts from my forthcoming book A Message from Martha: the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon and its relevance today. I’ve been touched by how many people have emailed me, after reading Birdwatch, to say that they are definitely going to buy it. The book looks at the story of the…
Some of Jonnie Fisk’s brilliant artwork
I really love these drawings – I think they are very skilfull and very attractive. Here are a few of them that have appeared on this blog over the last few months with some comments from me: Don’t you think that Roller is brilliant? I do. Look at the economy of lines that still…
Ralph Underhill cartoon
And meanwhile, up in the hills…
I thought I ought to go and have a quick look. As you drive up the road, northwest, from the Pack Horse Inn you are on the route of the Pennine Way. On your left there is this sight… It doesn’t look very pretty does it? I looked over it for a while and didn’t…
Unprofitable farming in the uplands
At last week’s uplands conference at Newton Rigg, speaker after speaker pointed out that upland farming wasn’t really profitable. Different speakers, and different participants, drew different lessons from this. One of the best speakers at the conference was Neil Heseltine. I’m told he’s a good-looking young man (it’s difficult for me to tell) but I…