Such an interesting piece, thank you. Having you reporting from there with so much experience under your belt is why the BBC matters so much. PS I’ve listened to your reports from Russia for years but hadn’t ever heard you speaking Russian - a treat!
Extract from news feed
I got excited there for a moment…
Peacock butterfly caterpillars
Excellent to see them. Finding them in quite a few place at our Somerset site @healrewilding.org.uk
So pleased to have you on the programme, James 👍🏻 💜
Any minute now for us in Berkshire then 😊💜
Absolutely joyful moment, just heard a familiar scream overhead and saw my first swifts of the year in Enfield over my Mum’s house! Three so far. She has two twin boxes with long-established pairs using them. Fingers crossed they make it back safely. @katebradbury.bsky.social, any down your way yet?
Do read the brilliant essay in this weekend’s @financialtimes.com by Philippe Sands on nature’s (our) future and giving it legal ‘personhood’, with reviews on new books by @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social and @tonyjuniper.bsky.social. Inspiring piece. One day, we can but hope.
I will!
Ted Green, founder of the Ancient Tree Forum, and Jan Stannard co-founder of Heal Rewilding, in Windsor Great Park
Afternoon of tree talk with the venerable Ted Green (I asked if I could call him that). The ancient oaks of Windsor Great Park always make me feel humble.
Yes please Tom (I think still <300) and email and subject line noted 🤞
What an astonishing artist. Had never heard of him.
Ah yes, I missed the ambiguity. Clever person for sure.
Lyrics from A Day in the Life by The Beatles, the final track on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Global map of areas experiencing major drought events 2022-2024 from unccd.int
Grey skies again first thing today (England), same as it has been day after day for weeks and weeks, with only brief glimpses of blue. And so much rain: hosing, drizzling, dripping. Hard to endure, so I think about droughts, find this map and feel thankful for another wet morning.
Done
Have seen Cranes in Norfolk but not yet in the Levels. Do you know if they are there regularly or did you get a lucky break?
I learned something this morning! Who knew that barn owls ate wrens. Plentiful supply at least
So much better.
What a heartening and hopeful story! Thanks for flagging it.
We at Heal Rewilding, and me personally, have also left X but wanted to keep the archives there. I’ve not got round to it yet, but have read that there is a way of downloading all of one’s Twitter/X posts and then never go there again. Must try it. So happy to be here instead.
@katebradbury.bsky.social saw this and thought of you. It’s an American post, so wondering if applicable in England, if you know
Book cover image: The Good Slug Guide by Jo Kirby.
Reading this excellent new book by Jo Kirby. Who knew that there are 75 natural enemies of slugs and snails in the UK? The book gives a new set of strategies for reducing slug and snail damage and we’re going to try them in our new food garden at the Heal Somerset site.
Always trusted, @omahaill.bsky.social
Thanks for showing those two side by side, Guy.
@nationaltrust.bsky.social stick to reading @theguardian.com I reckon. People who put so much effort into being critical and negative (and so often mistaken, misguided or misinformed) are just not worth our time or attention.
This is such a wonderful story of environmental recovery. ‘California tribes celebrate historic dam removal: ‘More successful than we ever imagined’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
How can any decent person or responsible business/charity still be active on Twitter? Elon Musk is absolutely vile.
Such an exciting and astonishing project. The thread is great because it goes into the fieldwork detail and shows all these cheerful people collaborating. Thinking of Mary Anning and how she would have loved this!
I’ll never forget knocking out dead teasel heads for the seeds once and making several small spiders homeless by accident, felt ☹️
I’ve often done the same, not yet this year. However, yesterday I read a post which said that mulching is problematic for ground-nesting bees so I’m now 🤔
Nigel Farage says Elon Musk is "an absolute hero figure" to young Britons.
Simply untrue for most young people
YouGov had Musk approval
18-24
approve 10%
disapprove 74%
25-49
Approve 20%
Disapprove 64%