independent commentator
It’s not a tribal blog, it’s a dialogue
Every so often, I aim to produce a pithy (under 800 words) piece always with links to references.
Do apply to do a guest blog – note same word count and references if possible. Be prepared for ‘light touch edit’ to ensure positive, rather than divisive, engagement with the widest range of views.
My trip north to northern fields, moors, forests, streets and COP26’s Green Zone is mainly in pictorial form. There’s much between the lines: look beyond the pic, click the link/pic and leave a comment. Updale Heading north into the unknown. An old friend puts me up for the night in Swaledale. We talk about curlews … Continue reading COP, field and moor
I thought I could get away with it. Remain objective, unemotional even, coolly and scientifically detached about change in the countryside. But I was wrong. It was working on an interview with Professor Tim Benton that fried my head. The enormity and range of issues. All at the same time rewiring our brains to communicate … Continue reading Gutenberg moment
Just how tricky it is to design new agricultural and environmental policies. Simultaneously. When the Soil Association goes nuts with Defra over a picture of a combine, the Commons Enviro Committee feature an elephant as twitter cover for a report on consumption, Clarkson’s a policy influencer and laconic popstars front up COP26 on food – … Continue reading Curate’s egg
Talking. Thinking. This is an experiment. An adaptive blog page linked to my 60 sec vlogs. Don’t worry, this blog won’t be posted with every vlog! (here’s my intro vlog). But it’s a space to explain thinking, refer to evidence, apologise for mistakes, link to articles, a place for pushback, feedback comments – brokering towards … Continue reading Typing…
Time to get off the mountain. Close the gap between years’ of telephone conversations and direct messages. A road trip around East Anglia listening, face to face, to what people think rather than what they say. A brief history to ‘field intel’ trips. My first one was along The Marches via train and bike. The … Continue reading Field intel
The first time I set my nature camera trap was under an apple tree. Eyeballing wildlife secretly at lens-length is full of surprises. Love island in a hedge When I found a pair of long-tailed tits building their nest in a thorny hedge, they performed for series after series of #hedgegoggle. Viewers could not get … Continue reading Nature cam raw
It’s all change on a hillside in the corner of a National Park. A steep hillside is sprouting with young trees. Bracken race On the far hill from my office window, fighting to get away from native invasive bracken, duck the odd deer, an experiment starts. Public grant, govt aid, carbon paid, charity funded, ‘feel-good‘ … Continue reading Silvo-agro-carbo-tree
The amount of science out there is staggering. Some of it dense. Hidden behind paywalls. Lots of it fascinating. Sometimes hard to replicate. Much of it uncertain. Often unread. So that’s why I set up a Rural Science page. There’s quite a smorgasbord of science on the page. Ecological is everyone’s fav. Obviously. Works best … Continue reading Science rocks
My first tweet 11 years ago didn’t sell for millions this week little blue bird moment’s finger-on-the-pulse scan diversity of views, with tolerance like with care bookmark to read, learn retweet, critical thinking curate with time – take a beat – post beware rabbit holes, be curious DM to engage, speak on a phone walk, … Continue reading Media mania
“Conservation conflict has always been a part of the conversation surrounding wildlife, but Rob Yorke is determined to advocate peace, not war. With brave leadership and a willingness to leave partisan values behind, can a solution be reached?“ (first published in The Field magazine 2016. Now updating with links, pics etc – do leave YOUR … Continue reading Nuclear swans
#WoodofStones – a year’s worth of tweets of a tiny National Nature Reserved in Wales