I was recently lucky to spend some proper time down on the marshes. I say lucky because so much is happening at the moment that I rarely get time to just be in the place. I rush down to check camera traps or to make sure things are okay, but am forced to dash back … More Autumn quiet
It’s always nice to get someone else’s views on what you are doing, so one day I met up with the very lovely Alick Simmons to show him round the fields and chat about all things rewilding. NOTE: I have recently set up an organisation dedicated to returning nature to the Somerset Levels through distributed … More Guest post – Alick Simmons
Hi everyone. Sorry for the silence. Its been a busy time, wrestling with lockdown and all the rest. However I am very pleased to announce the launch of a new not-for-profit called Somerset Wildlands dedicated to raising money to buy land for nature, starting in the Somerset Levels. You can check out the new holding … More Introducing Somerset Wildlands
As the Covid-19 virus rages, people’s minds are obviously on the crisis, their loved ones and the economic and social fall-out. I don’t believe the pandemic tells us much about the environment, but one thing that is being startlingly exposed is the fragility of many of our systems, including the food supply. Put simply, shocks … More Rewild our countryside and refarm our cities
Okay, this is a somewhat overblown and perhaps slightly unfair analogy, but stick with me. It is said with a good deal of love and I think it illustrates a valid point. I also want to make it clear that this is not aimed at any group or person, but is an attempt to express … More Imagine if UK conservation managed the jungle
Wow. It is an absolutely magical time on the fields as they undergo their annual submersion. Perhaps it is my imagination, but this feels like the biggest flood for several years. Even if it only lasts a short time, the impact is huge, and romantic. Walking through the sodden grass this morning, with water approaching … More After the flood
Hey everyone – I am working on something longer looking at ideas to help set the countryside free but I’ve been getting bogged down in other work. At the same time, like everyone else, I have been watching in horror as the Arctic and the Amazon burn, and feeling that now familiar mix of anxiety, … More Antidote to ecological despair
Hi folks – since I started this project three years ago I’ve been asked quite a few questions about the practicalities and ways of doing things, so here is my attempt to bring together a few of the lessons I have learned. Needless to say it is still early days for this project, and I … More 18 tips for small scale rewilding
Sorry for the long absence, but I’ve been busy with other things! However, the marshes have not been idle, and recent camera trap footage shows herons, deer, ducks, and a fox with a cub all using the scrape in the south field. In the northern fields the ditches are full of tadpoles and dragon flies, … More Harvest mice
Amazing news. I was checking the camera traps on one of the fields in Godney, and this otter was wiggling its way along the bank next to me (see video at the bottom of the page). It’s very exciting. I didn’t realise otters were in this area, although I knew they were nearby in Westhay … More Otters!!!
