Author Archives: Miles King
A Net Loss for Nature
An extremely unpleasant new craze is sweeping the nation: It involves wrapping up lengths of hedgerow or even mature trees in netting. The idea is that once a hedge or tree has been netted, birds are unable to nest there. … Continue reading
Why EU laws to stop pets chasing wildlife (and livestock) are not comical.
It’s always tempting, when writing a weekly column, to return over and over again to a well chewed bone called Brexit. And despite Westminster having descended into full-blown Whitehall Farce territory last week, I am going to resist the temptation … Continue reading
Time in Nature helps our children’s mental health & wellbeing
It’s fair to say that as a society we are only just waking up to the problems our children and young adults face. To what extent the mental health crisis facing children is linked to increasing social media use is … Continue reading
Squirrels, Pheasants and Beavers: the confusing world of animal releases
Scotland is once again ahead of the game (or at least ahead of England) as far as legal protection for wildlife is concerned. Scottish Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham, announced recently that Beavers would be given the strict protection afforded … Continue reading
School Strike for the Climate
It’s still February but already feeling warm (update: winter temperatures records smashed) Thirty or forty years ago, the middle of February would normally have been the depths of winter in England, but no more: Buds are breaking, the grass is … Continue reading
40 days to a crash-out Brexit (well….35 now).
To me, forty days is a nice round number. It doesn’t fit in well with our time cycles of days, weeks and months, but it undoubtedly has great symbolic meaning, the most famous of which, perhaps, is the 40 days … Continue reading
Put a Beaver in your River
Summer, nearly six years ago, and I was doing a lot of walking. That day, Chesil beach, with the long thin lake of the Fleet behind, was sunny and I found myself thoughtlessly kicking a large lump of peat. Peat? … Continue reading
Natural England uses its legal powers to protect our best grasslands
This Natural England press release has just been published: Some of the country’s rarest and most threatened fungi will be better protected after Natural England announced the notification of two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). 2019 marks the … Continue reading
further thoughts on the Net Gain consultation
Following on from my general critique of the Net Gain proposals, here are a few specific comments in case anyone is thinking about responding to the consultation before the deadline of the 10th February. 1. On page 6 of the … Continue reading
Accountancy will not save nature: the problems with “Net Gain”
It’s difficult to believe that while we watch – ok, there are probably only a few of us now hanging on to the bitter end, as most will have given up and gone off to do something more sensible – … Continue reading
