This morning I spent a couple of hours learning about Ash dieback, and other Ash problems (notably emerald ash borer (sounds nice – is deadly!) and other tree problems. I was invited to attend a focus group (we were quite focussed actually) about how the public would react to various potential solutions to the problems…
Category: Uncategorized
Globally threatened vultures
After Chris Bowden’s two informative Guest Blogs on vultures (Asia vulture crisis and Africa and Europe) it is worth noting that the recent global reassessment of species’ status has resulted in six species of African vulture being assessed as more threatened than previously. In fact, four species, all of which I have seen, Hooded, White-backed,…
Eight years
Shifting baselines
The idea of shifting baselines is an important one. We tend to be trapped in our own memories – our imaginations fail to grasp what we haven’t seen for ourselves further back in time. We all have our baselines and they affect what we feel about everything, what we regard as normal and acceptable. In…
Thank you Tim Bonner, Andy Richardson and Chris Packham
When the Countryside Alliance called for the BBC to sack Chris Packham a guy called Andy Richardson started an e-petition asking for the same here. You can still sign it if you really want to add your name to the 2768 names already there. But then a ‘Don’t sack Chris Packham’ e-petition sprang up –…
Feeling batty?
Speak out for Mauritius fruit bats which are facing an unscientific cull. There is little evidence of economic harm; there is little certainty of the bat population size (it’s probably smaller than thought); there are much better alternatives which will increase fruit yields. See what the Mauritian Wildlife Fund say about the proposed cull…
Looking up
Botanists and entomologists spend a lot of time looking down. We birders spend a lot of time looking up – but my advice to a new birder would be to look up even more. And it’s so much more worthwhile than in the old days. There are more raptors up there. I was in the…
It’s still Big Match Fortnight
Comments Off on It’s still Big Match Fortnight
Your money will immediately double in value if you give it away – if you give it to the World Land Trust before 15 October in Big Match Fortnight. In a previous blog I wrote about the work that you will help to support, and I had an email from someone suggesting that they would…
World Teachers’ Day
Comments Off on World Teachers’ Day
Today is World Teachers’ Day. These are teachers whose names I can remember and who made a difference to me. There are many others I’m sure – but it was a long time ago! Thank you to them all. Cleve House School, Bristol: Miss Gregory, Mrs Glide, Mrs Lane, Mrs Beard, Mr Handley. Bristol…
Cambridge fails to learn to live with nature
Do you remember our attempt to persuade Cambridge University not to build a new boatyard on valuable wildlife land at Ely (see here, here, here, here)? Well, we didn’t exactly win that one, but have you noticed that since then Cambridge has lost all three men’s Boat Races? And all three women’s Boat Races? And…