environmental commentator
In 2012 I created my woodland, with no public grant, so I could plant and think freely. ‘See the wood’ (part 1) First published in The Times Aug 2014 I’m lucky enough to own a sliver of woodland in the Welsh hills. It’s a pleasure, although it did cause me some angst when I … Continue reading a small woodland
The calls to work more collaboratively for conservation are becoming louder. For wildlife’s sake it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Many miss the curlew. The State of Nature reports chart declines in much of our wildlife on which we have robust data, which itself covers only 5% of the 70,000 … Continue reading Curlew collaborative
Young naturalists learning with farmers, agro-chem reps sharing expertise on pollinators alongside enviro activists, gamekeepers providing data to ornithologists. New ways to disrupt old perceptions: some examples A few years ago Defra funded a gathering of young farmers and naturalists, at the start of which the day was set with this introduction so we … Continue reading Disruptor nature
Drawn to an oceanic feast of spectacles on Blue Planet II, closer to home, another spectacular is under way as we munch our way through ‘cheap’ salmon sandwiches. Atlantic salmon are moving at the moment. Migratory instincts demanding the fish drive forward, bashing against rocks, jostling at the foot of waterfalls, ramming through woody debris … Continue reading Smokin’ salmon
The first national conference on farmer cluster groups with Natural England was a ‘swell’ event. (UPDATE: the application form for facilitation funding to support Enviro Land Management schemes, but in March 2025 the funding ended) The craic The room was awash with the exchange of ideas. Chests swelling with pride as farmers restored stone curlews … Continue reading Together for wildlife
Prompted by my letter in The Times, I received this from a correspondent who had previously set out his personal framing of farming and nature as a guest blog here (part I). Part II “Farmers provide multiple outputs – including marketable food and raw materials. Most environmental outputs are not marketable but often result in costs … Continue reading Framing food and nature – a personal view part II
My piece, in verbatim, originally published in Shooting Times magazine June 2017 – published with reference links and addendum. ‘Communication around shooting is far from straightforward. Rob Yorke looks at what the industry could do to bolster shooting’s public image’ For this challenging article, I canvassed opinion from the National Trust, Countryside Alliance (CA), RSPB, … Continue reading Shooting must make friends, not enemies
This was sent to me by an elderly gentleman. No pictures are required. “As a primary school child I lived in a mining village in Staffordshire. At the bottom of our garden – and an extension to our play area – was a field. It led to down to a stream and pond. We took … Continue reading Framing food and nature – a personal view
After my debate on rewilding at the Hay Festival last year, I bumped into Mark Lynas and asked him for his thoughts around rewilding, nature, and farming. Editor’s note. This is a ‘taster opinion’ as part of conversations (some more gnarly than some) required for dialogue for a changing countryside. Have the debate, leave a … Continue reading ‘The point of nature is for nature’
After my guest blog for the RSPB, I noticed very little engagement. Is it too complex to talk about? Or, due to partisan turf wars over ‘owning’ curlew’s recovery, do we all risk letting it slip below critical recovery? I’ve had some frank responses to my concerns -: “I know what ***** are doing nationally … Continue reading Tribal humans
