patrickbarkham.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Another reason to celebrate today. FANTASTIC news for biodiversity in England. Important to recognise when Labour, Defra & @naturalengland.bsky.social do something really hugely positive for nature, both symbolically and in practice. Well done them. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

Down with myopic spine-sidedeness and become non-spinary.

submitted 16 days ago • 1 comment

Take a moment out of your doom spiral and vote! Invertebrates are fascinating

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

We seem to be specialising in grey, sunless winters these days so this morning I am celebrating this. HOORAY! Spring!

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Spring is here at last! Just seen my first butterfly of the year – a brimstone, against a bright blue February sky. Hooray. And don't forget to nominate your Invertebrate of the Year here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

Can't wait for this exciting night at @norwichartscentre.bsky.social – I'll be interviewing @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social about his superlative, world-changing new book IS A RIVER ALIVE? May 12th, tickets here: norwichartscentre.co.uk/event/robert...

submitted 20 days ago • 2 comments

Big news. Our Invertebrate of the Year competition is going global this year. Up with the unsung heroes of the planet! Down with myopic spine-sidedness! Please nominate your favourite invertebrate here: www.theguardian.com/environment/... @savebutterflies.bsky.social @chrisgpackham.bsky.social

submitted 20 days ago • 4 comments

I've written a news story about part of Whitewebbs Park being handed to Spurs for a new women's football academy. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

submitted 20 days ago • 6 comments

I've written a news story about the worrying slow-down in Natural England designating SSSIs. NE is full of brilliant people, working so hard for nature. But it appears almost impossible at moment for them to designate sites under immediate threat of development. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 20 days ago • 5 comments

Spring is coming... This is lovely by @levparikian.bsky.social For me, the first blackbird song is a key moment. Then the brimstone bursting from a hedge. What's yours? www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 22 days ago • 5 comments

Ireland has around 1% native forest cover left, out of an estimated original of 80%. How do we, as a nation, care for that little that somehow managed to survive? Pack them with highly invasive species like feral goats or sika deer, which ensure the forests will, over time, die off. That's how.

submitted 22 days ago • 3 comments

There's such a lesson here for nature-depleted UK and Ireland: "A beaver colony has gained overnight fame by (...) creating a natural wetland exactly where it was needed. It saved the local authorities 30 million crowns, and has the public cracking jokes about public administration and red tape".

submitted 22 days ago • 3 comments

Hugely heartening news from Essex. Middlewick not saved yet but bravo Colchester City Council for listening to expert advice & having the courage to change their minds. In the current anti-newt-and-bat climate that's especially admirable. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

Oh yes! The badger wins it! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Intertidal, by Yuvan Aves, is an extraordinary book: a passionate study of the ancient conversation between sea & land; a work of meditation, activism, field-naturalism––& vast generosity. I love it so much I've written a foreword to the UK edition: pub. 6 Feb. Recommended with all my heart.

submitted 33 days ago • 8 comments

This was always one of my children's favourites (alongside the jackdaw rap). Hooray for newts!

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

We can easily spare a tenth of England for nature without affecting food production! 20% of our land produces just 3% of our food. Vast swathes of our uplands are owned by about 150 wealthy landowners who use it for shooting grouse, and set fire to our biggest carbon sink, our peat bogs...

submitted 32 days ago • 48 comments

"Starmer accuses objectors of having 'slowed down our progress as a nation'. But when that 'progress' is a demented rush towards the precipice, perhaps a slowing down – and a change in priorities – would serve us well." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

Interesting response to Heathrow third runway from Dale Vince: "This is the old economy, it grew 0.1% last year while the green one grew 9%." And good analysis by my colleague Damian Carrington here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 34 days ago • 3 comments

It's always a delight to see my favourite monoecious plant (Hazel, Corylus avellana) coming into flower. Here are the male and female flowers side by side. A sure sign spring is on its way! #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Bats or great-crested newts? "Neither because I want growth" is simply one of the stupidest, immoral and most dismal political answers ever. I'm #teambat #teamnewt #teamhuman #teamhabitableplanet and this story I wrote over the weekend has been cheering me up www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

submitted 34 days ago • 6 comments

A #Starling #murmuration at @RSPBotmoor.bsky.social… #Winterwatch #winter #birds #birding #wildlife #nature @RSPB.bsky.social @RSPBengland.bsky.social

submitted 41 days ago • 6 comments

🌎 “Keir Starmer, we believe there is not only a moral, but an economic imperative to accelerate action on the climate-nature crisis. 🗳️ We’ll be watching to see if MPs show up on Friday 24 January to vote for the Climate & Nature Bill.” 👉 tinyurl.com/4n97dr9m

submitted 40 days ago • 1 comment

I've interviewed @markavery.bsky.social – always an interesting, strong voice for wildlife. His take is particularly interesting at the moment given that he's a Labour member and supporter. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 40 days ago • 6 comments

Populism seeks simplistic scapegoats for big, complex problems. Labour thankfully won't scapegoat the EU or immigrants but, shamefully, is scapegoating nature instead. This is bullying. And it is stupid when we need a habitable planet stay alive, happy and well. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

submitted 40 days ago • 2 comments

"The malevolence of a small, organised rural cabal that is opposed to any kind of wildlife recovery, and the stranglehold it has over weak-kneed government officials, simply cannot be overstated" www.spectator.co.uk/article/brin...

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

"The UK is suffering from a freshwater crisis – polluted rivers, floods, and the threat of drought... These are all linked and would benefit hugely from a cheap, natural solution: beavers." (& my colleague Helena Horton's exclusive is today's Star splash.) www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 48 days ago • 2 comments

Labour have kept: - 2-child benefit cap - bedroom tax - puberty blocker ban - s.35 block on the GRR Bill But reintroducing beavers is a Tory policy too far www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 49 days ago • 11 comments

Brilliant piece, work & welcome from access friendly farmers @righttoroam.bsky.social & @patrickbarkham.bsky.social Great discussions coming up @ #ORFC So much open-minded, good work is happening here, that busts myths & benefits us all; & dordi, we need change. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 55 days ago • 2 comments

Is releasing two lynx in the Scottish Highlands a "serious wildlife crime"? Genuinely interested in people's thoughts. (And really glad they were not shot dead.) www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 54 days ago • 4 comments

Petition to ban driven grouse shooting gaining momentum. A debate might just galvanise Labour govt to do something positive for wildlife, climate change and flood-prone communities. Sign here: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

submitted 56 days ago • 2 comments

The beauty of trees in midwinter!

submitted 57 days ago • 0 comments

POND GHOSTS & ZOMBIES. A film on our #pond #restoration #Ghostponds work in @uclgeography.bsky.social by RAZOR Science featuring Norfolk Ponds Project, Helen Greaves, myself & many. Pond restoration achieves nature recovery so quickly: youtu.be/SYkbDdaUMBY?...

submitted 86 days ago • 2 comments

And another heartening story about good stuff happening at grassroots in Britain – new wood for the community – by my colleague Jamie Grierson. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 57 days ago • 1 comment

Fascinating and rather sad piece by my colleague @pgreenfielduk.bsky.social – there's a book in this subject for someone! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 57 days ago • 0 comments

If you're feeling down about the state of nature in Britain, take a walk on a regenerative or wildlife-friendly farm – the Grays in Essex (and their ponds, and linnets) are one of many inspirational farmers changing the countryside for the better. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 60 days ago • 1 comment

On face value, last year's turtle dove stats show continued decline. But the spring/summer weather was so dire it may be masking a recovery in some places. There are signs of hope and if (big if) we get a more stable summer we could see a bounce-back in 2025. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 61 days ago • 0 comments

We strongly endorse this call from @slowwaysuk.bsky.social to introduce a right to access field edges. This is a key component of the wider right to roam in Scotland, facilitating landscape connectivity and providing safe off-road passage through the countryside. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

submitted 68 days ago • 7 comments