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A Life with Nature – Wild and Tame.
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Q8: What Would It Take for Us to Truly ‘Value’ Nature?
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Military Land – A Conservation Success. By Graham Wellstead.
Introduction: When we think of military land, conservation isn’t often the first thing that comes to mind. Yet, as Graham Wellstead highlights in this fascinating guest post, the UK’s military-owned land has become an unexpected sanctuary for wildlife. Spanning 600,000 acres, much of this land has remained untouched for over a century, offering a haven…
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Q3. What Happens When We Treat the Planet as Disposable?
Our world is one of convenience. Use it, bin it, move on. Fast fashion. Single-use plastics. Endless consumption. Just spend five minutes at a rubbish tip and watch what gets thrown away. This can’t end well, can it? Here’s the thing: the planet isn’t disposable, and its resources aren’t infinite. We contribute to the problem…
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Q2. What Does It Mean to ‘Belong’ to the Earth?
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Introducing: 24 Questions to Save the World.
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Did You Know Britain’s Birds Are Disappearing?
Featuring recent findings* on wild bird populations and actionable steps towards reversing their decline. Birdsong, once the soundscape of the British countryside, is (as Rachel Carson predicted in her book Silent Spring) fading. Recent data on wild bird populations in the UK paints a picture of a species under strain. Birds are affected from farmland…
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Learning to Let the Leaves Lie
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Shrinking Biodiversity: The Impact of Human Actions on Wildlife.
Recent reports paint a stark picture of the challenges our planet’s wildlife faces today. The World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2024 sounds a chilling alarm: there has been a catastrophic 73% decline in monitored wildlife populations over the past 50 years. Freshwater species have been hit even harder, facing a staggering 85% decline. This…
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Tortoises, Terrapins, Turtles and Temperature Changes.
The British Chelonia Group Spring Symposium in Cambridge, 9th-10th March 2024. Report by Margaret and John Cooper. The British Chelonia Group Spring Symposium, held in Cambridge on 9th-10th March 2024, was a landmark event that united experts and enthusiasts in a comprehensive discussion on the impacts of temperature changes on tortoises, terrapins, and turtles. This report encapsulates a…
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BADGER TROUBLES
By Graham Wellstead. Understanding Badgers: Conservation Efforts and Controversies Introduction: In this blog post, FFON contributor Graham Wellstead shares his personal experiences and insights into the complex relationship between badgers, one of our native wildlife’s most iconic creatures, and human society. Drawing from years of observation and a deep-seated respect for nature, Graham discusses the…
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The Girl, the Owl, the Deer and the River
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Maxwell Knight: A Visionary in Environmental Protection
Today, we delve into the fascinating world of Maxwell Knight – an unsung hero in the history of environmental conservation. Known predominantly for his enigmatic role in MI5 and as the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s “M”, Knight’s true passion lay in the quiet, observant world of natural history. Born in the early 20th century, a…
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Echoes of the Past: Learning Conservation from Maxwell Knight
What can a spy teach us about nature? In the echoes of history, we often find timeless wisdom. This is particularly true when we revisit the legacy of Maxwell Knight OBE, the legendary ‘Nature Detective’ and MI5 spymaster. Knight, a figure who intriguingly straddled the worlds of espionage and natural history, left behind a legacy…
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The Camberley Natural History Society (CNHS)
Memories of the Camberley Natural History Society By John E Cooper It was on 1st December 2022, in a message from Dr Pat Morris, that my wife Margaret and I learned with sadness that there was to be an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Camberley Natural History Society (CNHS) on 16th January 2023. The…
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The Nar Valley in Norfolk – A foot safari during the Covid lockdown.
John and Margaret Cooper’s Pentney to King’s Lynn ‘safari’ 13 – 15 July 2020. A report on our walk – and the natural history that we saw – for the FFON Armchair Naturalist website: https://thefrightenedfaceofnature.com/ Part 1. Last month we decided, as a break from our fifteen-week Covid-19 “lockdown”, to explore the River Nar on…
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Growing close to nature during the lockdown
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“Habitat is King”; look after the habitat and all will be well
By Mike Gadd. As a great lover of wildlife art and sculpture, I fell into the fascinating world of taxidermy and have tried to recreate the beauty of nature ever since. My morning walks always bring ideas and inspiration, as I see the seasons change and the amazing wildlife along the River Wharfe and woods…
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2 – What’s going on out there?
Episode notes: Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today is “Resources and help for Armchair Naturalists” and they take a look at the useful equipment for natural history, but not before discussing the exciting comings and goings of wildlife during the international lockdowns. Please visit http://www.ffon.co.uk to find out more about our ‘Armchair Naturalists’ project or email thefrightenedfaceofnature@gmail.com with…
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“It’s been an exciting week for us two Norfolk Armchair Naturalists”
Written by John and Margaret Cooper. Easter, but it doesn’t feel like it because of the personal, national and global concern about Covid-19 and growing number of deaths. However, as the Queen said in her Easter message “Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever”. This morning, as we are doing everyday…
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Bats, birds, bold foxes and stargazing: is nature reclaiming the city of London?
Written by Helen Jeffries – our London correspondent. Since the clocks went forward I’ve been seeing some beautiful dawns as I walk to work through deserted London. Because a lot of central London architecture uses glass walls, the dawn catches the glass and blazes in reflected pinks and yellows. It feels strange to go out…
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If you are self-isolating, you must: make the most of nature’s playground daily…
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What happens when humans ‘turn off’ for a moment.
Written by Chris Middleton FLS. What a great idea Armchair Naturalism is. A perfect time to make some observations, and to encourage others to do the same. I like to think people might also use the time constructively to perhaps learn a new study discipline or new language, or just further their general knowledge. On…
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Is the climate finally right for a change?
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“The mysterious Mr Knight: spymaster to be celebrated.” – Cage & Aviary Birds magazine July 18.
Thanks, Cage & Aviary Birds for the article “The Mysterious Mr Knight: spymaster to be celebrated” in this week’s publication. Registration for the Maxwell Knight Symposium is via The British Herpetological Society website Organised by the British Herpetological Society (BHS), with support from the British Chelonia Group (BCG), the Amateur Entomologists Society (AES), the Institute…
