We are currently living under a regime which is happily removing rights willy-nilly and, in most cases, appearing to get away with it. It seems that most people are quite relaxed about the fact that a child born in England (specifically) today has fewer rights than one born 13 years ago. That should bother all […]
Nature in Dartmoor National Park is in a poor state. A new piece of legislation being debated this week in the House of Lords could help change that – and put nature’s recovery at the heart of the purpose of all our National Parks and AONBs. But will the Government do the right thing? Dartmoor […]
We’re well into Plastic Free July and here’s another area where you can cut your plastic usage and help stop the blockages in our sewers and the pollution in our waterways. Wet wipes – why are we so addicted to them? Surface wipes, face cleansing wipes, floor wipes, make-up remover wipes, baby wipes, personal hygiene […]
Renewable energy specialist James Miller finds reasons to be cheerful as the demise of the fossil fuel industry looms into view. We’re bombarded daily with doom-laden stories about climate breakdown and natural disasters that threaten our very existence on this planet, and many devastating aspects of climate change are already inevitable. But emerging from the […]
Two women from the South West were among a group of campaigners at the Supreme Court last month fighting to ensure that fossil fuel developments are not given planning permission without a proper assessment of their climate impacts. Sarah Finch, from Exeter, fronted the case on behalf of a network of campaigners called the Weald […]
On Friday 14 July at 19:15, we will be hosting a panel event to be live-streamed from the Byline Festival, which is being held for the first time at Dartington Hall. The theme? Dartmoor’s future from political, agricultural, societal and environmental perspectives. Your panel for the evening: Caroline Voaden: the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for […]
Plastic Free July is an initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation, originally started inAustralia in 2011 and which has now spread worldwide. One of its core values is that “small changes add up to a big difference”. So, how about resolving to further reduce your ‘consumption’ of single-use plastic packaging? Start with baby steps and […]
I have just finished reading Professor Dave Goulson’s gripping, disturbing but ultimately inspirational book – Silent Earth. Averting the Insect Apocalypse. I cannot be alone in noticing that insects seem to have almost vanished from our gardens, parks and countryside, particularly this summer. No more walking through fields kicking up a squadron of grasshoppers. No […]
We import nearly 50 per cent of all our food in the UK …. and yet waste one-third of it. Food waste alone, if it were a country, would be the world’s third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after China and the United States, and the way our food is produced is a major […]
Environmental campaigners from across Dorset met on Sunday June 11, to protest about the continued extraction of oil in Poole Harbour by Perenco. Daniel Glennon from Extinction Rebellion Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (XR BCP), said that “local groups from Wimborne (XRW), Purbeck (XRP), and Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland (XR DWP), supported the event, demonstrating against […]
Vote for the Changemaker of the Year Award! Voting is open from 12 June to 17 June. ‘The Changemaker of the Year Award celebrates devoted volunteers, individuals or groups who have gone above and beyond their role working in National Parks. Their passion is unmatched and their dedication to a future where National Parks and […]
A group of Green Party campaigners including Baroness Jenny Jones gathered outside the office of Cherilyn Mackrory MP in Truro on Saturday to present a bottle of ‘Chateau Sewage’ as a reminder that South West Water is continuing to pollute Cornwall’s rivers and beaches on a massive scale. The bottle contained water taken from Swanpool […]
Following their successful march to Perenco’s Wytch Farm facility in Dorset, environmental campaigners Extinction Rebellion are returning to Poole Quay this Sunday, June 11 from 12:30. On this, their third family friendly protest, they will gather to demand that Perenco’s operating permits and license be revoked as the risk that Perenco’s extraction poses to the […]
One of the easiest, cheapest and most visible means at new councillors’ disposal to prove that they are different, is to act like nature is a priority….because it should be! The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and the simple truth is that if we wipe out invertebrates, we not […]
When news broke of the destruction of some 136 mature trees in central Plymouth in March 2023, I was unimpressed by reports of local council plans to replace them with semi-mature trees and claims of an increase in local biodiversity as part of the new development. I’m not knowledgeable about trees or arboriculture, but I […]
People understand sewage. It stinks. So does the system that has allowed privatised water companies to make huge profits while failing to upgrade our sewage treatment system. Over the last eleven years the companies have paid out £16.8 billion in dividends while sewage discharges continue to be unacceptably high. Graphic pictures of raw sewage spilling […]
Dear Editor, Great to see that the CEO of the parent company of South West Water (SWW) has only earned 1.6m in the last year. I really can’t see how we expect her to manage on such a small amount!. She obviously doesn’t invest in hose pipe manufacturers. We have a hose pipe ban in […]
I was recently invited onto the board of trustees of an inclusive cycling charity called Wheels for Wellbeing, which is doing amazing work, changing attitudes and the road network, to make it safer for everyone who cycles, regardless of ability or disability. I had to go to London for a meeting with the other trustees; […]
Dear Editor, Some of your readers may have seen coverage of the protest by Just Stop Oil at Chelsea Flower Show. The Daily Mail reports a Conservative MP as responding: “When a very, very tiny minority is ruining the lives of other people, action needs to be taken.” The MP totally misses the irony of […]
I had a quick check of some key food prices on international markets as a result of comments left on another piece I wrote this morning with regard to inflation. This data comes from Trading Economics: The chart is of US wheat prices. I stress that I do know that we use little US wheat, but wheat […]
If you are incensed by the water companies pumping sewage into our rivers, waterways and seas and bitterly resent the fact that WE, the consumer, will be paying for them to clean it up, then join a protest! The water companies have been making huge profits, which they have partially distributed to shareholders, and paying […]
In the most significant leap forward for all of those campaigning for public access to nature, the Labour front bench committed to replace a ‘default of exclusion [to the countryside and nature] with a default of access.’ Reacting to this news, Right to Roam campaigner, Guy Shrubsole, tweeted: Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas, […]
A number of local newspapers, including the Totnes Times and Ivybridge Today, published excerpts of a letter by the Stars are for Everyone (SAFE) campaign group to Totnes MP, Anthony Mangnall, complaining of bias and the “gaslighting of constituents” in his article published in the Totnes Times in February. SAFE invited Mr Magnall MP to […]
Not a single arrest of climate, ecological and societal crises protesters: a report from the front line at Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) United Action, April 2023 I and around 50 others from North Devon and Torridge attended the massive climate and ecological crisis event in London, on 20-24 April 2023. This report is from the XR […]
The Conservatives are now criminalising peaceful protesters for no more than demanding that we follow the science and stop drilling for new oil and gas. What are people supposed to do when their Government ignores the world’s scientific experts who say we are ‘firmly on track to an unlivable world’? Would you sit meekly on […]
Dear Editor, A recent video released by members of Insulate Britain has chilled me to the bone. Young people protesting our national lack of action on the climate emergency are not only on trial for causing disruption but are now also being arrested on charges of perverting the cause of justice for stating their […]
Campaigners call for Poole Harbour oil leak company Perenco to lose its operating permits and licence. Support the rally to end fossil fuel extraction in the county. On 26 March 2023, we woke to the news that 200 barrels of oily liquid had leaked into Poole Harbour, causing extensive pollution and endangering the health of […]
The CPRE (formerly the Council for the Protection of Rural England) seeks to protect our countryside and accepts that its biggest threat is from climate change. CPRE’s strategy on renewable energy forms an important part of its remit, but some have questioned whether its approach is being influenced by a CPRE membership that is often […]
Reading Tony Whitehead’s piece in West Country Voices (‘Failing nature on Dartmoor‘ ) exploring some of the realities behind the outpouring of protest from the farming industry and lurid claims that Natural England has a secret (and no doubt cunning) plan to “rewild” Dartmoor, has enthused me sufficiently to write a blog. I don’t intend […]
There has been much heated debate over the past few weeks about the future of livestock farming on the Dartmoor commons. Tony Whitehead takes a closer look at the issues … all is not what it seems … Throughout this tale, one key thing must be borne in mind. A large proportion of the Dartmoor […]