Born in East Anglia, but raised in the Arabian Gulf, Ed Hutchings was always going to have two things – itchy feet and an inquisitive mind. After leaving university with a degree in hospitality, he embarked on a career as a sommelier for a decade, working at various Michelin-star restaurants; in the process winning the…
Category: BLOGS by guest authors
Guest blog – A change in farming by Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper is a 21 year old naturalist, writer, zoology student and avid badger watcher. He has written both whimsical nature writing and ‘proper’ environmental journalism on his personal blog and for The Independent. Peter is currently going into his third year at the University of Exeter Cornwall Campus, where he is the editor in…
Guest blog – State of Nature by Ian Carter
Ian Carter has worked as an ornithologist for more than 25 years. He was involved with the Red Kite reintroduction programme in England and has a keen interest in the conservation of raptors, bird reintroductions and wildlife management more generally. He is particularly interested in what might be called the culture of nature conservation and…
Guest blogs
Guest blogs – get in touch if you’d like to write one. I can’t promise I’ll say yes until I see it – but that seems fair. These are the Guest blogs published here so far this year: The Good Intentions Paving Company by Tim Bidie (aka Monro) 14 January Shared Planet by Mary Colwell-Hector…
Guest Blog – Minds and happiness flourish with outdoor learning by Emma Websdale
Emma Websdale is a Conservation Biologist and writer. Working as the Senior Communications 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. She has written two previous Guest Blogs for this site (one about extinction and Passenger Pigeons, and the…
Guest blog – “So, Ben, about this list…” by Ben Hoare
Ben Hoare has been a natural history editor for 20 years. One of his first jobs was deciphering the pencil scrawl of ornithologist Hadoram Shirihai in Eilat – he was paid in ‘life ticks’, including Basra reed warbler, Nubian nightjar and Southern pochard. In 2009 (by now earning real money) Ben became Features Editor of…
Guest blog – A story of nature and human wellbeing by Andy Atkins
Andy Atkins steps down from 7 years as Executive Director of Friends of the Earth in June. He is taking a few months break to write a book and, if there is time left over, to paint a series of landscapes from a large collection of sketches. After that he plans to throw himself back…
Guest Blog – Today should be Derek Ratcliffe’s National Peregrine Day by Stuart Housden
Stuart Housden writes: On 21st April 1945, seventy years ago, Derek Ratcliffe climbed to his first peregrine’s nest in the north Pennines. He was then a schoolboy at Carlisle Grammar School, but described that day in his memoir In Search of Nature as his ‘red letter day’. In fact, he was almost killed, as the…
Guest blog – In favour of the EU by Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson is an independent professional ecologist with more than 15 years experience. When in the field, he specialises in avian and invertebrate ecology, with a smattering of botanical surveying thrown in for good measure. His background as a consultant has led to a keen interest in EU and UK law in the context of…
Guest blog – The case against the EU by Richard Wayre
After twenty-some years pursuing a career in marketing and management consultancy I jumped ship and returned to academia, initially to study Countryside Management and then moving on to read for a degree in Ecology. The marriage of my old world and new is not a comfortable one. From the dual perspectives of environment and economy,…