Some positive thoughts here on the increasingly controversial biodiversity offsetting approach to planning. The key aspect to stress from this post is 'local'. Local systems, local offsetting, local partnerships, local responsibility and local biodiversity. Personally I am not a big fan of biodiversity offsetting as a concept (as you can see in a previous articleContinue reading "Biodiversity Offsetting – lose a wood, gain a wood"
Can we make nature exciting?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWqrbYwn7K4&feature=player_detailpage This post was my first to be published at activisionary, a new independent group focusing upon environmental writing within which I am volunteering as an environmental journalist. Take a look at their site and my first article here. The automatic response to the posing of the above question may be one of disbelief forContinue reading "Can we make nature exciting?"
Seeking sustainable crops
I'm a strong believer that we need to be innovative. I'm a GM sceptic but all the same welcome this posting on support of researching new crop varieties.
Gleason Ranch: Risking Everything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IP3zeyCvxjo This short clip advertises a documentary following the lives of the people running a 5th generation family ranch. Illustrating the harsh realities of real life farming and real life struggles I encourage you to read more about the story at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gleason-ranch-risking-everything/.
Wolves Dogs and Sheep
some interesting statistics here…
Where’s the wolf Fido?
By User:Squigman (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
I used to be quite good at statistics, but that was a very long time ago. Now I marvel at my colleagues at Footprint Ecology, who painlessly manipulate huge datasets, often with complex spatial elements to them.
But here are some simple statistics that I can get my head around, from the June Agricultural Census . There are 32 million sheep and lambs in the UK. This is a staggering figure – but what is even more amazing (to me anyway) is that the UK has the largest number of sheep in the EU – by quite a long way. Next biggest sheep producer is Spain then the rest are way behind (2o1o figures).
Nearly 100,000ha of “sole right rough grazing”, that is mostly upland grazings of heathland and acid grassland, has disappeared from the statistics in…
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