Recently a paper was published, by scientists, about the 20 things that politicians should understand about science. It’s a bit of an irritating list and I was just about to sit down and write about the 20 things that scientists should know about politics and policy-making when, partly to my relief and partly to my…
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New CLA President – Henry Robinson
The new President of the CLA is Henry Robinson – well, he’s no longer that new, he’s been in post a couple of weeks. I’ve always liked Henry (though I don’t know him that well – maybe I’m too quick to like). Anyone who I occasionally meet at Cheltenham racecourse starts with a slight advantage…
Scotland’s environment
We’re all told that Scotland is different but it appears that its politicians aren’t that different really. The Environment, Rural Scotland, Energy and Resources chapter of Scotland’s Future forgets to leave a place for nature. It’s all about energy, energy prices, Scottish fishermen and Scottish farmers but very little about the Scottish landscape or wildlife…
Naughtily nutty – the rspb
The rspb is following other farmers into the rapeseed oil business. I visited Ian Dillon at Hope Farm last week and had a chat about it with him. Regular readers of this blog might recall that the rspb bought Hope Farm when I was Conservation Director and so I have a quasi-proprietorial interest in it….
Minox challenge binoculars sell at £622!
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Following my review of them, seven Chief Executives writing Guest Blogs (Mike Clarke (rspb), Stephanie Hilborne (Wildlife Trusts), Martin Warren (Butterfly Conservation), Matt Shardlow (Buglife), Joanna Bromley (Plantlife), Andrew McLeish (MARINElife)), readers of this blog voting on the Guest Blog they favoured most – a pair of Minox 10x43HD binoculars were auctioned on eBay…
Wildlife MP of 2013 – you choose
Wildlife doesn’t have a vote. If the interests of wildlife are to be served, then those interests need to be voiced by us and by our representatives in the various parliaments around the UK. Here is a list (alphabetical order) of six Westminster MPs who have made an impact on wildlife during 2013. Who would…
Books of the year?
These are the 20 books that I have reviewed on this blog in the last 12 months. They will all be the perfect present for someone this Christmas – it’s just a case of matching the book to the person. The publication of The Atlas and Birds and People were both ‘events’ as well as…
Buy your badger Christmas cards here!
It’s December tomorrow so you should be posting your Christmas cards soon. About a dozen people have ordered sets of these cards so far and have told me that they will send them to Defra, Natural England, the NFU and David Cameron as a protest against the badger cull. If you’d like to purchase a…
What was that list?
I posted this list of birds yesterday and asked you what you thought it signified. Mute Swan Greylag Goose Canada Goose Wigeon Teal Mallard Tufted Duck Pheasant Cormorant Grey Heron Great Crested Grebe Little Grebe Buzzard Kestrel Coot Oystercatcher Lapwing Black-headed Gull Common Gull Herring Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Stock dove Woodpigeon Collared Dove Green…
Guest Blog – why the Mammal Society deserves your support by Marina Pacheco
The recent posts by CEOs on why their organisations deserved public support were very popular so I thought I’d extend the offer to others and here is a blog from the Mammal Society’s CEO Marina Pacheco. Firstly, why mammals? Because mammals matter! Our elusive, often nocturnal furry cousins are vital to our island ecosystems, on…