Where Will the Wild Things Grow?

With our future wide open, I explored the idea of starting our own small farm and uncovered the quiet crisis facing the next generation of farmers.

Curlew Headstarting - a valuable conservation tool

As eight juvenile Eurasian Curlew arrive at Wild Ken Hill, I am reminded of the immense effort required to get these birds ready for headstarting. With the bird's fate so perilous, this effort is necessary and worthwhile.

Lonely - The Importance of Human Touch and Interaction

Loneliness and isolation from the perspective of a farm vet and new-entrant farmer.

Insect-aggedon?

Let's get beyond the headlines and look at the actual science on insect numbers

Gone tomorrow: Are hares on their last legs?

Campaigners have called for Sir Keir Starmer to ban hare shooting in February but things are not quite what they seem

Dawn and the absence of humans makes wildlife playful and bolder

The face of the Heath by its own complexion added half an hour to evening; it could like manner retard the dawn” – Return of the Native – Thomas Hardy . …and here the garden ‘retards the dawn’, every plant and tree rooted in the night.

Is it time to take the countryside out of politics?

Calls have been increasing for the formation of a Royal Commission for the Countryside. How have we got here and what good could come from it?

Friday the 13th

Never trust a bull, even if you are wearing your lucky pants.

Uncovering the Legacy of Welsh Naturalist Thomas Pennant

Unexpected encounters with neighbours whilst dog walking usually result in an exchange of local gossip, but sometimes these impromptu conversations can open up more fascinating and rewarding topics.

Which has been of greater value, the imparting or the listening?

Reflections from the 2025 Why Moorlands Matter events and what I have learnt from listening to over 160 guests discussing our upland landscapes.

Reshaping policy: education, education, education.

Kids today can explain crypto but not compost. What if every child in the UK had a direct link to a real farm—mud, spreadsheets, biodiversity and all? Could reconnecting them with food and farming reshape not just their world, but ours?

Environmentalists have a history problem

The persistent desire to return to an earlier time is arbitrary and a practical impossibility, often sympomatic of ignorance, intolerance and an ultra-conservative political tradition.