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,…
Tag: Natural England
Smooth, very smooth
At yesterday evening’s Environmental Question time, the unelected Etonian, Rupert de Mauley was smooth, very smooth. Quite how he emerged relatively unscathed on this government’s dreadful environmental record is hard to figure. It was a mixture of partial admission of failure, partial avoidance of the question, partially making the most of a few potential successes…
Inglorious
Inglorious: conflict in the uplands will be available for Hen Harrier Day (9 August), the Inglorious 12th and thereafter. Published by Bloomsbury in late July – but you can order it now on World Book Day.
Not so Fine Shade (8) – perfectly Fineshade!
Yesterday evening’s decision by East Northants District Council was the right one, and was arrived at through a mixture of heart and head. David Williamson, speaking for the Forestry Commission demonstrated no ecological understanding of the importance of this site and his message to the councillors was essentially ‘Don’t worry dears, it’s all OK really’. …
Not so Fine Shade (5) – privatisation by the back door?
This is a piece I have just had published on the Guardian website which puts Fineshade into the wider political context. Why has the FC allowed Forest Holidays to submit a planning proposal with such inadequate data? Where are those who opposed forestry privatisation when it was proposed by the front door, now it is…
Not so Fine Shade
Fineshade Wood is not far from where I live, so I feel a bit guilty that I haven’t paid more attention to what is going on there. It’s a place I know, and like, and visit now and again, but it’s c40 minute journey from where I live, so if I want to visit a…
Guest blog – Snail Trail by James Harding-Morris
James Harding-Morris is a primary school teacher who currently works as the Schools’ Project Coordinator for the RSPB. Despite having no qualifications in conservation, ecology or similar, he persists in spending his days getting over-excited about wildlife and trying to encourage other people to feel the same. He can found on Twitter @UKSnailTrail. I…
Beavering away – or, actually, here to stay.
Harry Barton, Chief Executive of Devon Wildlife Trust, said: ‘We are delighted by Natural England’s decision to grant us a licence to give these beavers a long term future on the River Otter. It’s the result of a great deal of effort by our charity, supported by partner organisations across the UK and, most importantly,…
Guest blog – Where green objectives clash by Peter Marren
Peter Marren is the first person to have their third Guest Blog on this site (see here and here for his previous Guest Blogs). Peter used to work for an excellent organisation called the Nature Conservancy Council (who remembers them? – and yes we didn’t always think they were excellent at the time but how…
Bit by bit, answers are emerging…
I’m grateful to the Chair of the Hawk and Owl Trust for some attempts to answer some queries posted here yesterday (see comment by Philip Merricks on this blog and an abridged version copied with my comments below). The Hawk and Owl Trust is, of course, under no obligation to answer questions on this blog…