Category Archives: grasslands

Eat wilder meat for the climate

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Miles King

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

Berrier End Farm Tree Planting Fiasco – update

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Miles King

You will remember the fiasco I wrote about last Autumn, of Berrier End Farm in Cumbria. This was about 100 acres of valuable wildlife habitat, including large areas of peat bog and wildlife-rich grassland, which was damaged by tree-planting, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Forestry Commission, grasslands, heathland, peat bog, tree planting, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

All flesh is grass

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Miles King

Are we just slaves to a few members of the grass family – the gramineae? Is there something in these grasses that, like the common parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which elicits an increase in risky behaviour after infection, causes people to … Continue reading →

Posted in grass, grasslands, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ten Years of Blogging

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Miles King

Ten years feels a bit like a significant anniversary – and a long time. Perhaps the last ten years feels longer than many decades have, given what has happened (and is about to happen) over that period. Ten years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, grasslands | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Another wildlife-rich grassland planted with trees

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Miles King

Following last week’s post about tree planting on a very species-rich grassland in Cumbria, organised by the Woodland Trust, I’ve been contacted with another story of a similar nature, in Cheshire. This time it’s a piece of lowland acid grassland … Continue reading →

Posted in grasslands, semi-natural, tree planting, Woodland Trust | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Chronicle of a Grassland Saved

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Miles King

For those of us of a certain age, The Milky Bar Kid was part of our childhood. A boy, dressed as a cowboy, implored us to eat white chocolate  – which was not particularly popular back then. By coincidence one … Continue reading →

Posted in 2019 general election, grasslands, tree planting, Valuable Grasslands Inventory, Woodland Trust | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Natural England uses its legal powers to protect our best grasslands

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Miles King

  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 →

Posted in grasslands, Natural England, SSSis, waxcap grasslands | Tagged , , | 3 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

Rampisham Down: We Won!

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Miles King

            Regular readers will recall the story of Rampisham Down and the plan to build a solar farm on a nationally important grassland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). I have written about this case … Continue reading →

Posted in grasslands, Rampisham Down, Solar Farms | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

The Answer Lies in the Soil

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Miles King

As Arthur Fallowfield, the farmer character in the legendary Radio 4 comedy series’ Beyond our Ken and Round the Horne, would have said, “The arnswer loies in the soil”. I read with interest and increasing disbelief, an article by George … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, carbon storage, George Monbiot, grasslands, grazing, uplands | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments