An open letter to the new Defra Ministers

To George Eustice and Dan Rogerson. Dear Ministers Congratulations on your new ministerial appointments.  You have an unpredictable time, but no more than 568 days (less holidays, the run up to the General Election, time off sick and being moved on or sacked) to make a difference.  Given the uncertainties of Ministerial tenure you can’t…

NGO Watch

Have you noticed a breeze of change blowing through the NGO world?   At Plantlife, their much-loved Chief Executive, Victoria Chester, is moving on to a higher vocation and so they are looking for a new leader.     The Freshwater Habitats Trust has emerged, like a dragonfly, from the waters of Pond Conservation –…

A tangled bank

        If you subscribe to the excellent British Wildlife then you may have seen my article praising the wildlife NGOs for the State of Nature report which came out in June. I didn’t get the impression at the Bird Fair last week that any follow up is planned.  Maybe I’m wrong, but…

Bird Fair

I started making a list of people I thought would be at the Bird Fair and I wanted to see but it got too long after: Carry Akroyd, Tim Appleton, John Armitage, Nick Baker, Jessie Barry, Keith Betton, Andrew Branson, Keith Brockie, Mike Clarke (and everyone else at the RSPB),  Victoria Chester (and everyone else…