Vital story by my colleague Helena Horton – about the number of people who don't live within a 15-min walk of green space. Freely accessible, wildlife-rich green space should be a modern-day human right! And good govts should see it as a public health essential. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Lovely write up of the memorial for the wonderful Romain Roch, who died in January, aged 22..poet, anarchist, lover of the wild and one of the kindest people I have ever met. In these shattered times, love and kindest are radical and necessary.

“The report warns that multiple ecosystem collapses are now likely, not merely hypothetical. These failures, it states, will have “dire implications” for national security and will require serious strategic adaptation merely to limit the damage.” eastangliabylines.co.uk/opinion/a-su...

Gannets are fabulous. But they've had it tough lately. Marine pollution's a constant problem, and avian influenza hit them hard. The last thing they need is an annual hunt, even a small one in the name of tradition. Please consider signing to stop the hunt: petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE...

Hazel - a tree of wisdom and inspiration, that gives joy with early catkins - one of the very first pollen sources of the year and a lifeline for queen bumblebees now emerging from hibernation. #Wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Yesterday we planted 2 oak trees in memory of Romain Roch (poet, anarchist, friend & more) who died a month ago aged 22. We read one of his poems, the words seeming all the more important hearing this morning news from Iran: 'Grow your heart to the size of the world.'

Looking forward to this!

Blackthorn! No it’s Cherry Plum! No it’s Blackthorn! Sort it out. Cherry Plum has green twigs, no thorns, reflexed sepals and flowers now. And is pretty gorgeous. Blackthorn equally so but in a few weeks #Wildflowerhour

Adding this to what we in my family call twitchy trees...those that clearly get up at night and move about a bit.

I first heard this as a teenager, when we lived in fear of a nuclear war. It was 20 years old then. And still rings true.

We’re telling the Government to put an end to peat sales now! 📢 The destruction of peatlands has got to stop! We've handed in a petition with 16,000 signatures, calling for the government to ban peat sales in 2026.⚠️ Read more👇 https://loom.ly/KMRiz34 & email your MP to support

Wheatfen reserve needs a new warden! Details of the job and how to apply can be found here: wheatfen.org/about-us/car...

Increasingly feel that actual ecologists are often overlooked in so much decision making. Species rich grasslands are crucial for nature, and so rare now.

In celebration of Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s centenary, our friends The Book Hive have curated 10 years of my Norfolk Magazine columns - & words from other Norfolk authors - into This Wild Dream. Details of the book and events at www.thebookhive.co.uk/product/this... ALL profits go to NWT & nature.

Years ago I wrote an action plan for this fickle fungus, nice to see it still popping up in odd spots!

As persecution of wildlife becomes increasingly culturally embedded, Contributing Editor Tallulah Brennan urges us to side with the newts and microscopic snails for a chance at a richer life 🐌 www.caughtbytheriver.net/2026/02/shad...

Escaped sheep, nuclear warheads, fractured memories of road protests and this year's damp February days. Just part of the many lives of Britain's common lands open.substack.com/pub/commonpl... helenbaczkowska.com

'There's no common land left in England', someone told me once - there is and it is still being fought over. @patrickbarkham.bsky.social shows how vulnerable commons can still be. Enclosure for development this time - always about profits from land. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

FACT OF THE DAY. 21 February 1946. Aneurin Bevan announced the Labour Government’s proposals for a National Health Service. The service began on 5 July 1948. Its introduction represented one of the greatest social reforms in British History which helped every citizen.

“After the snow has melted, western winds have brought mild weather, and when the sun shines many signs of springtime appear” Writer: EL Grant Watson Artist: CF Tunnicliffe ‘What to Look for in Winter, 1959’

Like the bright orange of witch's butter, scarlet elf cups draw the eye on a dreary winter's day and give a little moment of joy.

New post/ substack on missing the snow, the Bloomsbury lot at home, a doodlebug, a rallying winter ghost of 1947 (& when the snow buried a train & 1,000 people.) It took me an age to write, & is free. Tho' if you'd like to, there is a Ko-Fi button. Love & thanks x nicolachester.com/2026/02/21/g...

Honoured to be at the private view of Poppy Matthew's exhibition of flint today. Real flints, paintings of flints, words and photos of sea flints and church walls. At St Margaret's on St Benedicts Street for next week if you are in Norwich.

Heartbreaking: Right now, thousands of Puffins are washing up along our coasts and further afield. It is devastating to see. These birds are Red-listed in the UK and already under serious pressure. Mass deaths like this, known as a “seabird wreck”, can take years for colonies to recover from...

Very much needed and welcomed.

Anti-nature policies are a dead end for Labour. You don’t secure lasting growth by risking long-term harm to the ecosystems we rely on. The public knows this. There’s no need for the Government to pick a fight with voters on nature. It’s bad policy and bad politics.

My local murmuration is back - was its two year absence due to a local bypass being built? Either way, glad to have the starlings back, dropping into the reeds in small groups, presumably to avoid air traffic collusions.

🔔🚨 New Publication Alert! Research has shown that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is a climate tipping element. We found: it’s not one — it’s many. 📄 Paper (open access): www.nature.com/articles/s41... 📢 Press release: www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late... Tread below 🧵👇

Pristine chalk streams have crystal clear waters even when in flood. They are set in wet woods habitat, there are no floodbanks & they are full of wood which the river has to move around. Hard to cast a fly but full of fish.

February Filldyke, painted 1881 by BW Leader. There are ducks on the fields around here too, today and the ruts on the tracks are also full. The painting was not popular with Victorians - too realistic and unpicturesque I suspect.

Me too

Just mind-boggling that climate breakdown isn't even mentioned in this piece Despite the fact that it is driving more powerful storms, higher sea level, bigger waves and more intense rainfall People - apparently even the reporting journalist - still don't get it www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Point-of-no-return’: Lock-in of a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, warn scientists - Continued global heating could set an irreversible course by triggering tipping points, but the public and politicians are largely unaware #climatecrisis Story by me www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Forests are paying the price for corporate profit. An anti-deforestation law is being watered down - but the European Commission’s President can still hold the line. Public pressure now matters. Add your voice for forests. action.wemove.eu/sign/2026-02...

'One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds', wrote Leopold, describing ecologists as a 'doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.'

A stone row on Dartmoor, a reminder of how many different lives this land has lived. I wonder if people always worried about its future, the changing climate, the declining of species, or is this just the anxiety of our age?

A rare article that is inclusive, well argued and well written. Journalism like this is gold dust and yet so needed.

Returning oystercatcher are one of the first signs of spring in Shetland, their shrill cries the harbinger of changing season. The weather is still wild, with weeks of storms and raging seas, but these birds remind us calmer days will come #Shetland

It is hard to find words for the seasonal shift that is February, especially in the endless rain and mud and a cold north easterly breeze. But it feels like all of us, human and wild, are looking outwards again, no longer drawing in and down against the dark nights.

Two nights running last week I was woken by barn owls shrieking blue murder at 1 am. One night it went on so long, I had to get up and shut the window. Noisy neighbours, but forgiven because of their eerie beauty.

Responding to questions about ongoing media coverage of proposed amphibian reintroductions, ARG UK wishes to clarify its position, building on our Policy Statement Concerning Reintroductions, and ARG UK Advice Note 12 Amphibian and Reptile Reintroduction Guidelines. www.arguk.org/get-involved...

All those who wrongly believe that nature collapse might be 'sad', but won't really affect them in any way, badly need to wake up. Nature isn't just 'nice to have'. Planet Earth is only liveable – for *us* too – due to the regulating effects of natural ecosystems. share.google/NoVLRatfUoH5...

If it were up to me, geriatric would-be invaders of Greenland would be sent out on an ice floe or maybe just rethink their life goals from an extended meditation retreat period atop the ice sheet. Perhaps a polar bear could discuss arctic life with him too?

Tomorrow we honor the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. I remember the "good trouble" that occurred 65 years ago. I believe it’s time for some good trouble again. Some thoughts... https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-thought-a-time-for-good-trouble

Just the thoughts I have been having the last few days.

Brilliant fishy #pond conservation. At Kelling Heath Holiday Park, Norfolk, E. England they have fish & non-fish ponds. Science says that having some ponds with native pond-associated fish & others without fish increases biodiversity at the landscape-scale.

Over on Substack @iainrobinson.bsky.social writes of finding it hard to write in the times we are living in, in the rapid unravelling of so many former certainties. I feel the same, my thoughts frayed and concentration hard won. At least my favourite local tree is still dispensing its wisdom.

🌸Got a botanical study in mind?🌾🌼You can apply for a helpful @bsbibotany.bsky.social Study Grant- but do it soon: the deadline is 31 January. More info at bsbi.org/learn/grants.... @atu-ie.bsky.social @uniofgalway.bsky.social @tcddublin.bsky.social @phoebeobrien.bsky.social @mikekally.bsky.social