What a fantastic job!

Glad to see that the Cross-Government Nature Strategy (CGNS) should be published soon - good PQ by @chrishinchliff.bsky.social chasing the government on timings

The CGNS should set out how the whole government estate is restoring nature 1/

questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

Glowing trees and St Elmo's Fire There's more to thunderstorms than dramatic lightning strikes, as eerie glowing treetops are captured on camera for the first time.

Fascinating study! www.rmets.org/metmatters/g...

Snakehead fritillary in a meadow

Well, at least the fritillaries in Oxford offer good cheer #wildflowers

Huge News! Thank you for making your voices heard. The Conservation Alliance posted just 30 minutes ago that they are joining the movement to save the U.S. Forest Service and over 70 businesses have signed on! Stronger together!

There is still time to sign up for @eshackathon.bsky.social ESH-Norge. Join us in Trondheim for 3 days of collaboration, innovation, and hands-on work to push evidence synthesis forward in environmental research.
eshackathon.org/events/esh-n...

Essential, sober, terrifying read ..

I'm looking forward to Chairing the event on Risk Management on the 21st April - sign up link below

The earliest ever egg-laying in the 80 year long study of Great Tits in Wytham Woods happened this spring. Our first egg was laid on 23 March this year which beats the previous earliest record by 3 days. We've seen a shift of ~16 days in annual average egg laying date since the 1960s

USDA adds more chaos to dismantle Forest Service

Trump's USDA Announces Plans to Dismantle U.S. Forest Service. All 9 Regional Offices to be Shuttered.

Expect less public access to forests; Increased wildfire risk; More threats to clean air, clean water & wildlife habitat as federal lands sold to billionaires.

www.wilderness.org/articles/pre...

More on the USDA Forest Service decimation

Horrible news. The USDA Forest Service has been a beacon. What a terrible waste of all that excellent science and forestry knowledge.

Sand Martin over Oxford

Sand Martin over Oxford

Sand Martin over Oxford

4 Sand Martin over Warneford Meadow, Oxford, this morning were only the 3rd Lye Valley area record & the first in 7 years! This is a rare bird in urban areas with no open water. A memorable way to mark my 900th patch visit to the Lye Valley!
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
@patchbirding.bsky.social

The UK Covid Inquiry has laid bare the avoidable horror of the second Covid wave It is becoming ever clearer both how devastating the second wave of winter 2020/21 was, and how much of that devastation could have been avoided.

I wrote about the findings from the inquiry about the impact of the pandemic on the NHS, and the mistakes of the first year.

I hope it makes you angry - it should make us all angry.

open.substack.com/pub/christin...

Agh! *hedgerows* spelling urgh!

Great post on the importance of hedgrows in the landscape.

Being trialled at Blenheim Palace to attract marsh tits, the report says

Important fact checking of Ridley's false claims #science

Great thanks for advice. I don't actually know how to DM on Bluesky...I want a couple of books actually (and this time I have cash!)

Maybe @tombedford.bsky.social would know. I need to contact him to purchase his Birds of the Lye Valley book!

There's a pheasant in my urban garden (off Cowley Rd)...Should I just leave it to find its way out (if resident foxes don't do for him!)?...@friendlyevalley.bsky.social

A photo looking down into shallow water with a mass of tiny dark tadpoles. There are a few bits of green vegetation as well.

We've got tadpoles! Hundreds of tadpoles! Quite appropriate for #WorldFrogDay! 🐸
#UKWildlife #amphibians #nature #PondWatch
@judywebb.bsky.social @freshwaterhabitats.bsky.social

The British Woodlands Survey 2025 (BWS2025) was commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to support policy development, exploring awareness, action and aspirations in the forestry community in responding to environmental change. The 2025 survey has provided the third instance in a valuable time-series of similar surveys spanning ten years exploring environmental change across Great Britain. While this report reports on Britain-wide results, a separate supplement provides some specific and more detailed findings for England.

Report of the 2025 British Woodlands Survey published today exploring awareness, action and aspirations among Britain's forestry community relating to #environmentalchange @gabrielhemery.com @greenwoodtree14.bsky.social @forestresearchuk.bsky.social Read more and download: sylva.org.uk/bws

A panel with 6 photographs showing a selection of key symptoms observed during health assessments. Symptoms include needle discolouration, loss and browning.

Impacts of pathogens on tree species diversification efforts 🦠

Morton et al. conducted health surveys on 17 tree species to assess pathogen impacts and their implications for species diversification in UK forestry.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/fore...

Keep them coming! They're brilliant

Fascinating long post

Tracing the origins of Stradivari’s resonance wood Stradivari’s violins represent the pinnacle of classical instrument making, yet the origins of the wood used to construct their soundboards have long …

Dendrochronology and violins! Great paper🙂 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

This is so important. It's outrageous that irresponsible 'knaves' can spend 5 seconds casting aspersions on the integrity of elections, when so many people dedicate long hours to ensure legality and inclusivity.

How research led to policy change: Phytophthora pluvialis restrictions lifted Joan Webber is the Forest Research Principal Pathologist and works on invasive pathogens, including Phytophthora pluvialis. Collaborating with Forest Research and Forestry Commission colleagues, her r...

Following an extensive research programme, the UK Plant Health Risk Group has concluded that P. pluvialis does not meet the criteria for designation as a Quarantine Pest.

🔗 Read the full blog to learn more: forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk/2026/03/04/h...

Keith Kirby! Always worth listening to on things nature!