Brilliant! And he's loosing his wee horn! Well done to all you hard-working hunt sabs who turn up week in week out in all weathers to save our beleaguered wildlife from people who think they are entitled to kill animals for fun.

I just signed a petition calling for an urgent investigation into Peter Mandelson's dealings with Palantir. Did he use his position as UK Ambassador to benefit the US spy tech firm? Sign now: www.foxglove.org.uk/campaigns/ma...

Great to read another Labour MP with this view - the Governments actions (or lack of) on nature and rhetoric is so out of step with its supporters

👍 Hoverfly Breaking News 🌎 The Green Forest Hoverfly (Caliprobola speciosa) referred to as the Jewel Wood fly in Europe, is increasing in numbers thanks to volunteers. #Hoverflies #Flies #Insects #Syrphidae #Diptera #Entomology #Conservation #Biodiversity #Woodland #Nature #Pollinator

@mrjamesob.bsky.social Bedford CC dealing with the bigots like an absolute boss.

@savemiddlewick.bsky.social hi local friends and nature champions. We wondered if maybe you'd be up for holding a joint talk event with us at some point too, to compare notes and reinforce one another? Perhaps with some other nearby similar campaigns too.

📄 Hoverfly heads under the lens!🔍 Can you spot the difference between a hoverfly’s head and a bee’s? 👇 #Hoverflies #Pollinator #Biology #NatureFacts #WildlifeWonder #InsectWorld #NatureSecrets #Curious #Bee #Insects #Entomology #Diptera #Syrphidae. More information inside the article below.

Lower bills. Protect the NHS. Rebuild public services. youtu.be/zxldEtCFEwU?...

Lots of new people joining ready for Gorton & Denton election next week! Time to stop Reform and make hope normal again! 💚 Join.greenparty.org.uk

www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Sorry, but all who listen to the bollocks from clueless charlatans deserve all they get. And all those clueless charlatans should be tried for crimes against humanity.

The worst kind of fake-balance from the BBC in this headline, and to a lesser extent the article. One person has said the purchase is divisive, but it's their words that have been used for the headline. One person. Along with his photo. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We're trialling something new this year at the BSBI - an activity designed to support absolute beginner botanists with identifying *and* recording their first ever 100 plants in 2026 🌿 If you know anyone that might like to take part then please spread the word: bsbi.org/take-part/ac...

Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

Last weekend, a group participated in an art workshop in support of our CrowdJustice fundraiser. £280 was raised, and beautiful artworks were made along the way. The group took inspiration from the landscape around Old King George. Thanks to all involved for the support. 🎨🖌️

What a surprise... not www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

The truth

Just going to leave this here

One of the maddest elements of Brexit - and there are *many* - is the rewards that continue to be lavished on the blithering idiots who sold it & continue to be proved wrong about everything every day…

It is so embarrassing that it has taken nearly a decade for a British minister to say this, a statement of the absolute bloody obvious

⛷️ Hoverflies at the Winter Olympics 🏂 Aerials/Freestyle Skiing: Hoverflies possess incredible aerial stability and precision, mimicking the acrobatic, twisting, and controlled flight required in aerials. Hovvie on his snowboard doing his Big Air! #Hoverfly #Olympics #Art #Italy #ScienceHumour

Necessary but not sufficient. He knew. And still appointed him. Starmer needs to go.

Just reposted on my own website my two recent Beth Chatto blogs about the Gardens' outreach sites and the insects they support www.chrisgibsonwildlife.co.uk/beth-chatto-...

Time for Keir Starmer to pick a side. From protecting our right to peaceful protest, to getting us off dangerous fossil fuels, the UK can be the alternative to everything that’s wrong with Trump. Join me in urging Starmer to choose people and planet over billionaire-backed bullies. act.gp/46qWAOI

Can you take this over 10,000 signatures? It’s so close… actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...

🚆 Saw these in Sheffield train station 🔬 Good to see some natural history and science on display, in a public space for all to read. Love it. @theriverstrust.bsky.social #Knowledge #Science #Biology #Ecology #Environment #Conservation #Insects #Butterflies #Nature #Mammals #Birds #Fish

Now that we are in February, the end of Winter is in sight. The snowdrops are in flower, we can see the daffodils getting ready for their display too. Will our lovely trees be able to put their display of verdant leaves on once more? Here's some photos from last spring after their crown reduction.

This day in 2007 (can it really be 19 years ago?) was quite some day in Essex: a serene sunrise, a potter round Beth Chatto Gardens, and an awesome evening afterglow.

Some time ago mine too.

Shouldn't @rspb.bsky.social being calling for an end to game bird shooting not licensing it. The Protecting of Birds bit of the RSPB title has never included birds shot for sport. The RSPB's position on game bird shoting is illogical, unethical and is incomprehsible to most on the general public.

Yet another reason why Brexit is causing great harm in Britain, that & feeble politicians with no understanding of the urgency of banning Pfas with a part of the populous so ignorant they're putting their faith in the 'charisma' of flag-shagging grifters playing the blame-game with even less 🧵 1/4

Your #WorldWetlandsDay playlist.... Start with 25 soothing minutes from an estuary landscape in remote Essex with skylarks and dry reeds swaying in the breeze. Episode 116 - Sissing plantations in open country > bit.ly/LenCrop

A beacon on a very dull day: a blog from my visit to Cambridge Botanic Garden last week, when the sun actually shone! www.chrisgibsonwildlife.co.uk/spring-on-th... @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social #NatureWriting

100%!

NEW! Episode 291 High tide turning - the Crouch Estuary in Essex 49 blissful *sleep safe* minutes. The waves settle into wavelets. The wavelets settle to calm. Then it's just the pure sound of estuary emptiness, at night. Listen here > www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ajm7w...

I will put the book up for sale on my website and ship to Ireland only - international shipping too expensive. I would really like to get the book into independent bookstores and to support businesses. I will concentrate on those two channels and the book launch.

Can we trust the Trusts? I’ve launched my Substack! My first post is a satisfying fact check. 🍿 A post labelling the Trusts’ research as "inaccurate, misleading" and "sloppy," has made the rounds but is there any truth in it? Long story short no. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Dare we start to feel hopeful that we might see these branches filled with an abundance of leaves soon? 🪾🤞 🌳

You do NOT defend nature by helping a wannabe British Trump like Farage. Just look at how Trump is tearing down protections for American wilderness, and promoting planet-killing fossil fuels. These are forces that care nothing about nature, only their own wealth, power and egos.

Many of us used to have great respect for Ben Goldsmith. Despite being a Tory, he was a passionate rewilder, and a real ally of the natural world. His support for the Gaza genocide, and attacks on Greta Thunberg and Michael D Higgins showed we were wrong. Now he's working with Reform UK. It fits.

Just to keep you all up to speed, there’s no further news yet on the legal case. We’re still awaiting any response from the High Court or the defendant on the Judicial Review, including whether permission will be granted. We’ll share any updates as soon as we’re able.

My new blog on the Beth Chatto website about our surveys last summer of Colchester's Meanwhile Garden. I just love the excitement and multicultural vibrancy of brownfields. There should be no presumption of housebuilding on them. www.bethchatto.co.uk/discover/our...

We hope to raise £20,000 overall through CrowdJustice towards the Judicial Review we have applied for. We await a response from the court and from the defendant on that front, and will of course share any news when we have it regarding whether we get JR permission and any news on timelines.

This is an excellent article. I think we need to think about establishing sustainable, regenerative, co-operative, community farming as an essential element to combatting ecological collapse.

Starmer wants to weaken habitats regulations but we can stop him! Please email your MP and tell them not to remove our legal protections for nature. Link to email here: action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/183790/...

"I was only following orders" wasn't an acceptable excuse at the Nuremberg trials & won't work now. #AccountabilityIsComing

Thank you... shall have a look!

Such a special garden...only been once, as part of the first Beth Chatto Symposium in 2018. (*btw, these lectures were recorded and had been available on YouTube..not sure if they still are, but worth a look). Looking forward to your future posts, and hope you may look into their propagation work.

My first blog of the Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens for 2026. The first of many! www.chrisgibsonwildlife.co.uk/the-wild-sid... #NatureWriting

Tears of joy! SCOTLAND HAS JUST PASSED SWIFT BRICKS INTO LAW unanimously! 4 years of asking England & Scotland sorts it in a month led by ACE ⁦‪ MARK RUSKELL MSP‬⁩ ♥️The RELIEF is unreal! Tell England to follow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿by emailing [email protected] now!WOOP!

A huge thanks to all who helped organise the weekend's pop up shop and to all who came along. More than £1,000 was raised! More events to come soon.