Author Archives: Miles King

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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.

Sheepwrecked or a World Heritage Site? Thoughts on the Lake District

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Miles King

As the inevitability of President Theresa May being crowned on June the 9th seems without doubt now, we are hurtling, possibly out of control towards the exit, or rather the hard Brexit. This means the UK tumbles out of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Agricultural Policy, farm subsidies, farming, George Monbiot, Lake District, Uncategorized | 27 Comments

Tory Manifesto commitments on the environment and farming: is this the end of direct farm subsidies?

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Miles King

  The Tory Manifesto has been published and you can read it here.     “we are committed to grow more, sell more and export more great food.” Does this mean food that isn’t regarded as great will not be … Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 general election | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Four Years of a New Nature Blog

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Miles King

I can’t quite believe it but I wrote the first post on this blog four years ago today. Since then I have written 387 different posts with a total of over 250,000 page views. You can see which posts have … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A further peep behind the curtain of Defra’s thinking about Environment and Agriculture after Brexit

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Miles King

Thanks to the impending General Election, Defra has allowed us another peep behind the curtain to show their thinking about the Environment and Agriculture after Brexit. A hastily thrown together response to the House of Lords EU Environment and Energy … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, Brexit, Common Agricultural Policy, Defra, environmental policy | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Dorset Chalk downland damage: Natural England respond.

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Miles King

        Following yesterday’s story about the damage to chalk downland in Dorset, I’ve been contacted by Natural England and I thought it would be useful to let you know what they have said. I approached the EIA … Continue reading →

Posted in chalk downland, farming, grasslands | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Dorset chalk downland site sprayed with herbicide and re-seeded for farming.

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Miles King

It seems almost inconceivable that 20 years has passed since a Chalk Downland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) was ploughed up in Sussex. The Offham Down case became a minor cause celebre during the election campaign of 1997 which … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, Downland, EIA, farm subsidies, Natural England | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Time to rename Defra the Ministry of Agriculture and Fieldsports

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Miles King

While all talk of the Greenest Government Ever (anyone remember that?) has been quietly abandoned, another question arises. Is the fieldsports lobby getting unprecedented access to ministers in the Environment department and are the Environment NGOs being squeezed out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrea Leadsom, blood sports, countryside alliance, Defra, farming | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Medway Council love birds, as long as they are not Nightingales

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Miles King

As Nightingales return to England, the Brexit juggernaut lumbers on, crushing all dissent as it goes. But the resulting mulch is full of contradiction and confusion. Take our current commitments to protecting Birds for example. Until 2019 (and perhaps for … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds Directive, European environment policy, housing, Lodge Hill, Michael Gove, New Towns, Nightingales, People Need Nature, Recreation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

No gathering Eggs for May: it has to be Easter

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Miles King

Can it really be true that there isn’t enough to keep our Prime Minister busy these days? Theresa May, while cosying up to the Extreme Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, still finds time to lambast the National Trust, for removing … Continue reading →

Posted in easter, National Trust, symbolism, Theresa May, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Badgers eat Nightingales, according to Dorset MP Richard Drax.

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Miles King

Badgers and their culling found its way back on to the agenda at Westminster yesterday, where a Westminster Hall Debate took place, thanks to the petition led by Simon King (no relation.) You can read the debate here and there … Continue reading →

Posted in badgers, Brexit, Nightingales, Richard Drax | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments