conservation
The National Trust’s plans for Clandon Park are a travesty
In April 2015, a fire raged through Clandon Park, destroying much of the 18th-century Palladian mansion’s prized interiors. Contrary to…
Beware the bat police
My friend Andrew is angry. He has just had the bat people round to look at his building project in…
The sad history of the Hawaiian crow
Sophie Osborn describes how this sociable, inquisitive, loud-cackling bird became extinct in the wild – and her own efforts to save the California Condor from the same fate
The good old ways: nature’s best chance of recovery
Traditional agricultural methods still operating in pockets of Europe maintain an enviable balance of ecology and economy and an extraordinary diversity of wildlife
The craft renaissance
As long ago as the 1960s, the poet Edward James was worried that traditional crafts were dying out. Having frittered…
Do we really want to bring back the wolf?
The apex predator is making a startling resurgence in Europe – many say to the enrichment of the landscape. But it’ll take a lot to convince the British of that
Between woods and water
Patrick Barkham pays tribute to the much-missed nature writer, whose core response to the call of the wild animated everything he did
The plunder of the seas
David Profumo wonders whether newly created marine reserves can really reverse decades of devastation
Women on the warpath
One thing that Covid lockdown made us appreciate was the importance of being outdoors. When we were finally allowed into…
Home truths
The perils of living in a listed building
Dam nation
We shouldn’t celebrate the return of the beaver
Ashes to ashes
Can Britain’s trees be saved?
How coronavirus could kill conservatism
‘No corporate bailouts,’ says Michigan Rep. Justin Amash as lawmakers debate an economic stimulus package in response to coronavirus. Washington…
John Ruskin: the making of a modern prophet
At the time of his death in 1900, John Ruskin was, according to Andrew Hill, ‘perhaps the most famous living…
Root and branch: Richard Powers is determined to save the world’s trees
This is a novel about trees, written in the shape of a tree (eight introductory background chapters, called ‘Roots’; a…
Pliny on the joy of elephants
In order to deter poachers, hundreds of tons of elephants’ tusks are being incinerated in Kenya. But even for Romans,…
Of geese and men
They’re noisy, filthy, scary – and glorious. No wonder we have such complicated feelings about them
The soul takes flight
Last month, at Edinburgh School of Art, I was interested to come across a student who’d chosen Marlowe’s Dr Faustus…
Sharks are awesome!
If naturalists accept they’re terrifying, we’ll have a better chance of saving them
Bogs and fogs
In his poem ‘Eden Rock’, Charles Causley conjures up a dreamy memory of a childhood picnic ‘somewhere beyond Eden Rock’.…
Is there honey still for tea?
The importance of biodiversity, a handy concept that embraces diversity of eco-systems, species, genes and molecules, has been promoted for…
