Ben Eagle

Taking part in the GWCT UK Big Farmland Bird Count and the state of British Farmland Birds

Yesterday morning my family and I set out to take part in the Big Farmland Bird Count, an event organised by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust to assess the state of farmland birds across the country. Our farm in Essex is of mixed land use including arable and permanent grassland. We decided to doContinueContinue reading “Taking part in the GWCT UK Big Farmland Bird Count and the state of British Farmland Birds”

Fresh Water availability – a looming crisis for this century?

Provision of fresh water is one of the key basic needs for a growing world population. There is much discussion in many circles about food security and how best to provide enough food for a future human population vastly bigger than today. However, to what extent is the concern regarding water provision held up onContinueContinue reading “Fresh Water availability – a looming crisis for this century?”

A Change of Focus for the UN

You are excused if you do not know that this year is the United Nations International Year of Soils in the same way that you would be excused if you were not aware that 2014 was the International Year of Family Farming. It has not been terribly well advertised. This is certainly true if you live inContinueContinue reading “A Change of Focus for the UN”

Nature writing, John Clare and a case for conserving the everyday

When I speak to conservationists more often than not the conversation will turn to interests in specific species and this will probably include a discussion of their interest in a particularly rare species. A prominent example in my own local area is a project to conserve populations of Fisher’s Estuarine Moth (Gortyna borelii lunata) andContinueContinue reading “Nature writing, John Clare and a case for conserving the everyday”

The Rally for Nature

Although one wouldn’t know if relying on BBC news to learn what is happening in the world, today was the day that the crowds descended on the politicians to protest about conservation’s low profile in British politics. Twitter however, a much more reliable source of true news than the papers or certainly the BBC willContinueContinue reading “The Rally for Nature”