Where were you?

On Monday I met a mermaid who was no mere maid, saw that bloke off the telly and spotted the most unlikely revolutionary journalist – and it was jolly cold. It was probably jolly cold everywhere, but it was cold walking across Westminster Bridge with hundreds of others calling on the government (that means you…

Felled trees call for help

I was interested to read this story that trees in the Amazon rainforest were being fitted with mobile phones .  If the tree is illegally felled, and reaches somewhere with mobile phone reception it starts making calls to the authorities; ‘Come and get me! I’m on the truck of an illegal logger!’. It’s an interesting…

Guest Blog – ‘Muzzled Watchdog’ to ‘Toothless Terrier’? by Helen Kirk

Helen Kirk has been described as ‘an indefatigable and tenacious environmental campaigner and amateur naturalist’.  For more than 30 years she has championed and helped safeguard the Humberhead peatlands, and the special plants and creatures that depend on them. She is the executive secretary of the Thorne and Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum and has recently…

Food for thought

I expect you have eaten well over the break and are probably, like me, a bit podgier than a couple of weeks ago – or maybe not? If there is anything that might put you off your food it is the sound of the President of the NFU going on about the need for greater…

Congratulations to Martin Spray

Martin Spray is one of the lower-profile Chief Executives in the wildlife conservation business so it was very good to see his name in the New Year honours list. Martin told me: ‘On a personal basis I’m both overwhelmed and proud. But I’m a part of an amazing team at WWT and it is wonderful…