environmental commentator
In a short two-part conversation with Professor Sir Charles Godfray, Part 2 is about land use, farming, food, sharing/sparing and trade-offs. Part 1 is about the role of scientists as honest brokers/advocates and scientific research around environmental issues. This is a lightly edited version from a transcript of a recording from our meeting in Oxford in January 2023 and … Continue reading Godfray interview – part 2 – land use issues
A short two-part conversation with Professor Sir Charles Godfray. Part 1 is about the role of scientists as honest brokers/advocates and scientific research around environmental issues. Part 2 is about land use, farming, food, sharing/sparing and trade-offs. (The two parts are not mutually exclusive) This is a lightly edited version from a transcript of a … Continue reading A conversation with Professor Sir Charles Godfray
“Why not come over to Ireland to participate in our ‘Changing Landscapes’ conference and summer school”. And so I headed west – while diverting on the way to garner some relevant field intel. Rocky terrain I probably overinvest in ‘field intel’; visiting people on their own turf* to glean information as to what they really … Continue reading West coast thinking
Oh, the bright lights of London blended with conversations about the environment! It’s where people live, some environmental organisations have their offices, books are launched, and rural government civil servants work. A melting pot of an urbanising nation who have long disengaged with the land, food and nature. Ouch! No, this is not about the … Continue reading Piccadilly Marches
‘The environment in which managers do their job is being transformed: this new landscape rewards some skills more and some less than in the past‘. A line from an article in a magazine last year which resonates with many of today’s rural and environmental issues. ‘If we want things to stay as they are, things … Continue reading an uncertain superhero
What do an umbrella, forage harvester and wild flower meadow have in common? The answer is delivering more nature through improved soil biology, land for ‘wild nature’ and habitat for pollinators – all via ‘agri-tech’ innovation. So, further to my 90sec vlog, I’ll unpack my thinking below. Feel free to comment below! Climate shade We … Continue reading Agri-tech 4 nature
Conservation comes in many forms – from parkland to farmland to moorland and, marshland forestland – a COP update. “To present a balanced picture of my philosophy as a naturalist, I must attempt to turn you into a fanatical wildfowler” Peter Scott (from his autobiography ‘The Eye of the Wind’) Cop15 targets The environment is … Continue reading Mobilising conservation
Chopping wood this week made me think about parallels on writing my blog to reflect the past year while looking forward to the next year (2022). Celebrate what’s been learned. Acknowledge the knotty stuff. Not take for granted any sweet spots. Reading the grain to cleave out workable pragmatic solutions. All of which, not surprisingly, … Continue reading Green axe challenge
My trip north to northern fields, moors, forests, streets and COP26’s Green Zone is mainly in pictorial form. There’s much to glean from between the lines: beyond the pic, click the link Updale An old friend puts me up for the night in Swaledale. We talk about curlews and 30 years working in land. I … 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. (updated 17.4.23, 13.2.24, 17.11.24) It was working on interviews with Professors Tim Benton and Charles Godfray. The enormity and range of issues on which change, disruption is happening. All the … Continue reading Gutenberg moment