Interesting - I've only looked for P. primulae in one location in Suffolk and found it easily. I'll have to try more widely. I see much less C. majus...

A profession built on hope, strained by loss Earlier this month, Jeremy Hance’s “‘An epidemic of suffering’: Why are conservationists breaking down?” and the follow-up commentary “Emotional and psychological stresses beleaguer conservation profe...

This highlights the hidden mental burdens conservationists carry. The weight of loss every day - when the best I can often aim for is to slow the rate of loss - is heavy. To be honest, it is not the small wins that sustain me, but the moral duty to do what is right: news.mongabay.com/2026/03/the-...

I love stumbling upon a new gall - Sunday's surprise from my garden was my first Lasioptera rubi (Raspberry Gall Midge) gall, on a raspberry cane.

What happens when one of the greenkeepers is the county moth recorder! But, yes, credit to them for employing him specifically for a conservation focus...

Agreed, and there is certainly no pressing need for that, as the article misleadingly suggests - it could be done twenty years from now if that was ultimately seen by all stakeholders as the least bad approach.

This fabulous takedown of Matt Goodwin after his defeat to the ‘woke Greens’ is a supremely satisfying watch Spare a thought – only kidding! – for Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin, who despite all the huffing and puffing by Nigel Farage suffered by-election defeat at the hands of the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer. It...

www.thepoke.com/2026/02/27/t...

Help us make hope normal again.

Join the Green Party now.

@benphalan.bsky.social

I'm struggling to see what comment of mine you're replying to (still getting the hang of Bluesky!) I believe White Stork was native a long time ago & climate change has made the UK more suitable again, so I don't think it's cut and dry (not that I'm enthusiastic about its reintroduction, as I said)

You mean 'apart from when money is available for collecting an evidence base'? If so, I'd certainly agree, and perhaps that's more common in the UK, but it is definitely a rarity in international conservation funding!

My response seems to have provoked some criticism, so it may be useful to clarify - my key question is what would the counterfactual be if this project wasn't funded? Could it be much better engagement of people with nature to protect species truly at risk? Yes. *Would* it be? I don't think so...

I'm 100% for evidence-based logical decisions, but the reality is that funding pots don't usually have time to wait for good evidence.

I'm not convinced. It could just as easily be said that big flashy species are an easy entry engagement point for those not previously interested. That rings true to me - as a birder who then got into mammals, and now with a pan species interest - but I'd prefer to see evidence of either argument...

Perhaps... as I said, I'm much less familiar with UK conservation. However, I've seen few good efforts personally. This would be a much more compelling argument if it was shown a good effort was turned down in favour of the reintroduction, but my suspicion is that is not the case...

I completely agree that it's using populism to leverage funds for biodiversity. What unintended long term consequences do you see, and why?

I don't know total project costs, but see that £500k comes from the 'London Green Roots' funding pot, which is restricted to engaging local communities with nature. Many such funding pots in the UK have limited flexibility, and so much lower biodiversity conservation benefits from grants than this!

25 years in intn'l conservation has taught me money is most easily raised by a high profile story, preferably with charismatic megafauna. Stork reintroduction would not be top of my list, but if that's what it takes to raise funds to conserve habitats that support a range of species, I'm for it!

It’s time for soft secession How blue states can use their economic clout to stand up to Trump’s agenda—starting with California.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Over 50 years old, and I've just made my first ever donation to a political party because we really need HOPE in these dark times...
@zackpolanski.bsky.social @greenparty.org.uk

"If you go back a million minutes, get to the start of 2023. If you go back a billion minutes, you get to the Roman Empire. That's the scale of inequality we're living with." Zack Polanski

Such a brilliant illustration.

Trump: "Nobody knows what magnets are."

Some superb fungi in East Suffolk in the last couple of weeks. For starters, here is my first Piggyback Rosegill (Volvariella surrecta) - a species which feeds on decaying Clouded Funnel (Clitocybe nebularis)

Amazing! Would you mind dropping me a message, please? Your settings don't allow me to message you...

Joining is easy! join.greenparty.org.uk

Correct - lots of mildews around at the moment!

Delighted to add Radford's Flame Shoulder to my garden list in East Suffolk last night, arriving with an influx of Udea ferrugalis @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Impressive! What sort of time were they coming in?

My other half gets them every year in single figures in her garden in Woodbridge. We've had people over to see them before and could do so again...

@migrantmothuk.bsky.social
Crimson Speckled recorded by a friend at Bowers Marsh, South Essex today

Ooop!