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 …
The best time to plant a tree
The best time to plant a tree, say the Woodland Trust, is 20 years ago. The next best time is now.It's mid November and overcast, breezy but not yet wintry cold. As we wander up an elongated triangle of land adjacent to the B651 between the Hertfordshire villages of Sandridge and Wheathampstead, we're well off …
Trust is earned
When you donate to a charity, you're relying on them to make your money work hard, and to use it to really make a difference for whatever the cause happens to be. In the case of the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) that cause is quite plain. They provide funds to carefully vetted research …
Eco-nomy: why a ‘Vote for Bob’ is just the start
Have you noticed that ecology and economy have the same root? Eco is from Oikos, the Greek for ‘home’. Hence ecology is the study of home, and economics is the management of it. The two are inextricably linked. As political parties jostle for pre-election position, I want to know what they’re going to do about …
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How to become a natural history writer
It's nice to be asked for advice, because it presupposes that the person asking thinks you might offer something worth knowing. This month I was invited to contribute to an online careers advice series by BBC Wildlife magazine - in my case they wanted to know 'How to become a natural history writer'. My first reaction …
Autumn leaf spotting
It looks as though summer might finally have sloped off somewhere for a well-earned rest. We can't complain it didn't deliver this year, but even so, the arrival of autumn heralded by the wet, slapping tail of hurricane Gonzalo has been a bit of a shock. I've failed in my annual resolution not to put …
Nottinghamshire dormouse reintroduction
Dormice are close to my heart – I've been smitten since the early 90’s when as an undergrad student at Royal Holloway University of London I was introduced to the species by Pat Morris and Paul Bright, and subsequently spent many hours inputting data collected for the National Dormouse Monitoring Scheme. The NDMS, managed by …
