Author Archives: Miles King

About Miles King

UK conservation professional, writing about nature, politics, life. All views are my own and not my employers. I don't write on behalf of anybody else.

Guest blog by Vicki Hird: Horticulture Strategy Ditched: a Massive Backward Step for the Fruit and Veg We need

The Farm Minister Mark Spencer MP recently announced that the Government will not produce the Horticulture Strategy, promised in the Government’s food strategy. Sustain’s Head of Farming Vicki Hird vents her huge frustration at this backwards step and sets out … Continue reading

Posted in Food, food security, fruit and veg, guest blogs, Vicki Hird | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Ten Years of A New Nature Blog

It was ten years ago today that I started this blog. And for me, at the time, it was new, it was about nature, and it was a blog. You can see I put zero effort into thinking up a … Continue reading

Posted in blogging | Tagged | 18 Comments

Dartmoor’s Blanket Bogs

Reading Tony Whitehead’s piece in West Country Voices today, exploring some of the realities behind the outpouring of protest from the farming industry; and lurid claims that Natural England has a secret (and no doubt cunning) plan to “rewild” Dartmoor, … Continue reading

Posted in Dartmoor, peat bog | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Update and Request

I very rarely cross post between this blog and the People Need Nature website, for obvious reasons. I don’t want to tangle up my personal views about things, with what can and cannot be said on behalf of a charity. … Continue reading

Posted in People Need Nature, personal health | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Truss and the Attack on Nature

How long ago it seems when I was writing my last blog considering what impact a Liz Truss prime ministerial reign might look like. Now, just a few weeks later we have a clearer idea – and the vision is … Continue reading

Posted in deregulation, Liz Truss | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Will Prime Minister Truss abandon Johnson’s Green Legacy

It’s a long time since I’ve written anything remotely long form – as opposed to the extremely short form of a tweet, occasionally extending to a thread, which might add up to 3000 characters, perhaps 300 words. This has been … Continue reading

Posted in Liz Truss, Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Book Review – Wild Fell by Lee Schofield

This review has been rather long in gestation. Lee originally sent me a copy in early February. I started reading it in March, then had to stop half way through. My Migraines (which I wrote about here) were returning as … Continue reading

Posted in books, Common Agricultural Policy, Lake District, rewilding, RSPB | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

On Gallows Down: Place, Protest and Belonging

As I have mentioned recently, I’ve had a long standing health problem which has stopped me from doing much work, and even less writing. Reading became difficult to the point where I had to stop after about half an hour. … Continue reading

Posted in nature writing, road protests | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Eat wilder meat for the climate

Meat is on the agenda at the Glasgow Climate Conference. Meat and its climate impact is now at the forefront of public debate about how we the people can do our bit to Stop Climate Chaos. Naturally everybody is claiming … Continue reading

Posted in climate action, climate change, COP26, grasslands, grazing, Green Alliance | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Poetry for Climate Action at COP26

I’ve mentioned before about People Need Nature’s work with The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network. We’ve been working together for five years now, getting poets to write challenges that inspire young poets (across the world) to write about different aspects … Continue reading

Posted in climate action, People Need Nature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments