Category Archives: Natural England

Another top wildlife site trashed – landowner given paltry fine and let off costs

Posted on September 2, 2019 by

News has been dripping out, about a significant incident of damage to an SSSI in North Yorkshire. The first we heard was on 21st August, when Defra announced a successful prosecution of a SSSI owner in North Yorkshire. The owner … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural England, SSSis, Uncategorized, wildlife crime | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Shooting Birds and Biased Reporting – a tale of two BBC presenters

Posted on April 30, 2019 by

I can’t honestly remember a time when environmental stories have been so high up the news agenda-  and for such a long period. Perhaps, it’s a reaction to the never-ending and increasingly tedious coverage of Brexit  – which suddenly disappeared … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Neil, BBC, Chris Packham, countryside alliance, Natural England | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Why EU laws to stop pets chasing wildlife (and livestock) are not comical.

Posted on March 19, 2019 by

  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 →

Posted in dogs, Michael Gove, Natural England, Tony Juniper | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Time in Nature helps our children’s mental health & wellbeing

Posted on March 13, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in MENE, mental health, Natural England | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Natural England uses its legal powers to protect our best grasslands

Posted on February 11, 2019 by

  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

Lodge Hill Saved

Posted on December 17, 2018 by

There was some very unusual good news late last week as Homes England announced that it was no longer pushing for housing development on the protected areas of Lodge Hill – the former military training ground (and munitions works) on … Continue reading →

Posted in Lodge Hill, Michael Gove, Natural England, Nightingales, SSSis | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Chronicling the Sad Demise of Natural England

Posted on November 28, 2018 by

One of the more interesting consequences of having written a blog about Nature and politics for eight years, (aside from a short break between July 2012 and May 2013), is that you can look back at earlier ramblings, thoughts and … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Sells, Natural England, Think Tanks | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Unicorns in Brexitland: Panto seasons starts early this year

Posted on November 21, 2018 by

What does Christmas mean to you? John Lewis adverts? An excuse for some retail therapy? Religion? Or Pantomimes? It’s a long time since I went to a Christmas pantomime, but they seem to continue to be very popular. This year, … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, climate change, Defra, Michael Gove, Natural England | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Evicting feral ponies, trophy-hunting feral goats. Who decides what goes where?

Posted on October 31, 2018 by

What should we be conserving? Which animals should be free to roam the British countryside; free to behave as naturally as they can. And who gets to decide?  These questions have come to the fore once again in recent weeks, … Continue reading →

Posted in commons, Fell Ponies, hunting, Natural England | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Natural England Titanic.

Posted on August 24, 2018 by

Natural England chairs come and go, and today’s publication of the advert inviting applicants to be the next chair, gives me an opportunity to look, once again, at the absolute state of Natural England. Some may feel all I do … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Sells, badgers, countryside alliance, Europe, Habitats Directive, Natural England, SSSis, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments