Dr Amy-Jane Beer
Folk singer Sam Lee is addressing a crowd seated on the lush grass of Berkley Square in the heart of Mayfair. ‘The nightingale,’ he says, ‘is the spokesperson of our hearts… and the decorator of silence.’ He’s right. I heard one just the other day, far from London, admittedly, but festooning a hawthorn thicket with …
Something important has happened. At least the start of something important. A few months back I got a call, from Chris Packham. We talked about the gender balance at BridFair, and on the judging panel at the Bird Photographer of the Year competition, and the damage done - the opportunities lost - by our failure …
Continue reading "NATURE FOR ALL: A PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO FOR WILDLIFE"
While the separation of The British Isles from mainland Europe is usually measured in miles – twenty of them between the chalk siege-walls of Dover and the sandy beaches of Calais – our island status is currently dictated by the much smaller value of twenty-six metres. That’s the depth of water south of Dogger Bank, …
Continue reading "Brexit 6000 BC: The lost land between Britain and Europe."
It started when we moved house and inherited a milkman. In addition to the pleasant early morning chime of glass on glass I soon noticed that for the first time in years, without the bulk of plastic milk bottles, our recycling box was actually able to contain everything we needed to put in it. Around …
The Whitley Fund for Nature is a small charity that claims to punch well above its weight in terms of conservation outcomes. Last night I found out why.Swanky award ceremonies are not my natural habitat. The mere act of digging out a frock and footwear I can’t run, climb, or ford puddles in is alien. …
Continue reading "Celebrating conservation – the ‘Green Oscars’"
I'm fully in favour of exposing children to nature. I do my best to immerse my three-nearly-four year old son in wildlife experience at every opportunity and I've written about some of the ways it can be done, even if you don't live in a particularly wild spot (for example here). But the more I read …
Some recent comments in my local Parish Council Newsletter bother me. They relate to management of the village green, and suggest that the moles that recently reappeared there need eradicating and that some of the 'thorn trees' may be removed, presumably for aesthetic reasons. There is also, apparently some interest in entering a Best Kept …
