Dear Radio Times … cont’d

My e-mail to the Radio Times, regarding how they reported on BBC Wildlife Magazine’s “The Wildlife Power List”, has been responded to. Much as I appreciate that they did respond, I am less impressed by what they said:

Thank you for your email and comments.

I will note your concerns though I can assure you it wasn’t based on gender but on names that regular users to our site will be familiar and more likely to view the story.

Kind regards

DAVID K. HODGES

Radio Times

I have just sent off my response to them, I wonder what they will say to my questions?

Dear Mr Hodges,

Many thanks for responding to my e-mail, it is much appreciated. I must admit, that I find it hard to believe that your readers would be unfamiliar with Jane Goodall. There is, after all, a reason why she was voted top of the list – few people haven’t heard of her and/or her work.

Additionally, you haven’t really addressed the points that I laid out in my initial e-mail. As well as the men that you have mentioned, you could have easily included Jane Goodall’s name in the title and photo in the article. As I pointed out before:

“[The portrayal of women] in the media is not just a symptom of this [imbalance] but is also a driver of it. Reams of evidence show that people’s attitudes and perceptions are, in part, affected by the media they consume. Your (perhaps unintentional, but I doubt it) portrayal of “The Wildlife Power List” is yet another example of this type of sexism, and I am very disappointed in the Radio Times as a result. I hope that you address this in future, and perhaps change the article as it currently stands.”

Will you take steps to change this article, and your portrayal of women in future articles?

Best wishes,
Ms Megan Shersby

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Day One of Megan & Matt Go Wild!

day 1

Welcome to our joint-blogging series for the Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild Challenge – you can read more about the campaign and ourselves in our introduction page.

Megan (in coastal Dorset)

As discussed in this week’s blog post, the start to my 30 Days Wild challenge, has seen me distracted from stunning landscapes by a roadside verge … unexpected perhaps, except if you know me. This roadside verge turned out to be rather wonderful in different ways. My mum was intrigued by purple flowers (Bugle), whilst I was practically diving into the vegetation as I peered at the insects there. I have been discussing the challenge with my mum as she is taking part too! She has decided on a theme for her month – identification! She is going to take a photo each day of something she sees a lot, and identify it, and try to remember it.

I was very pleased to find 12 beetles of just one species. Initially I thought it was a Cantharis fusca soldier beetle – a Nationally Scarce insect (found at Lorton Meadows recently), but now I am feeling that it might be a different Cantharis species. I am going to see if I can get a confirmed identification of these beasties. Another thrill was finding an Oak Eggar moth caterpillar (Lasiocampa quercus) – belonging to the best group of insects.

So my 30 Days Wild theme today was an admiration of roadside verges. These habitats are increasingly more important for our wildlife, particularly amongst areas of intense agricultural activity. Well-looked after roadside verges can provide miles and miles of wildflowers for our insects. So take a look at a nearby roadside verge (safely of course), and make sure your local council are looking after it for wildlife!

Matt (at a conference in Germany)

On the first day of 30 Days Wild I awake in a rather wet Bonn, Germany. I’m going to be spending the next four days cooped up in zero daylight conference rooms at the UN World Conference Centre. Putting aside some time for nature in my day will be pretty important to keeping me motivated. It will also be a pretty important reminder to myself about why I’m here – these are the UN climate negotiations, and climate change poses the greatest long term threat to wildlife around the world.

Anyway, my trip began well as even on my train journey over I kept a beady eye peeled for wildlife and happened to spot a hobby just after we crossed into France. 30DaysWild tip number one from me – train journeys can be one of the best wildlife watching opportunities.

As I race from meeting to meeting or when I woke up at 5.30 in my hotel room this morning, I’m glancing tiny bits of wildlife, even in the heart of a conference campus filled with delegates in suits and ties.

Swifts swirled over the park outside my hotel room window.

And I never thought I’d be so glad to see a woodpigeon as I was when I spotted one alight in a tree on a tiny patch of green amongst the architecture.

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A bit of this, a bit of that – but mainly insects

I have very exciting news for you – the kestrels are nesting (again)! There is a new female, whom the male has been keeping sweet with dead mammals and rodents, and last week she laid her first egg. As I type, I can see on the live webcam that there are now four eggs! The kestrels have also featured in the local news – Dorset Echo!

I also put together a video (my first) of their activities – seen via the screen in the Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7CzDKdbTik

Matt came to visit at the weekend, which was fantastic as expected. Despite me working on Saturday, we had a wildlife wander during my lunch hour to admire the beautiful array of wildflowers and butterflies on the reserve.

A quick changeover occurred as Matt left Weymouth (for UN conference no less) and my mum arrived. Due to engineering works, I actually picked her up in Wareham and we had a lovely wander round the town – particularly as Purbeck Arts Week is on. We then decided to head over to Corfe Castle, as I have only ever driven through it. Only a few steps out of my car, and I was distracted – butterflies!! First I spotted a Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), flitting about on a very steep slope by the car park. My ma was most bemused at me clambering up and down.

And then I spotted a small orange butterfly … a Skipper! My first orange Skipper of the year, the others being Grizzled and Dingy Skippers. But damn, I was out of practice at identifying these butterflies. It crossed my mind that maybe it could be a Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon). After all, I was in the right area (coastal Dorset) and they had started flying, but I doubted I would be that lucky, and decided it was probably a Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris). A back of camera shot uploaded onto Twitter, and I was proved wrong in doubting myself, it WAS a Lulworth Skipper! Lucky me indeed!

A stroll around the castle and town was fab – there are some really lovely shops, and I can confirm that the National Trust tearoom does a wonderful afternoon tea! In addition, my mum has proved herself to be useful as an assistant for spotting interesting insects … she may regret doing so as I now I will definitely be taking her out on more walks!

Back by the car park again and I was scrabbling around on the slope looking for Lulworth Skippers. Cracking little butterflies!

With very strong winds forecast for late afternoon, we ought to have left the house earlier on Monday, but neither of us could resist a lie-in. Additionally, my landlord’s cat was delighted to find me sleeping on the sofa and had made herself comfortable on my belly. In the end, we headed off but it took us a while to get to our destination as we pulled into a layby to admire Chesil Beach. Then again, distracted by nature – read more in Day 1 of Megan and Matt Go Wild.

Not long after, we stopped off again, this time for a quick lunch and browse at Felicity’s Farm Shop. Mind you, the browse wasn’t quick … or cheap. I can’t resist scrumptious local produce! Eventually we got to a blustery Lyme Regis, where we definitely got our fair share of sea air!

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In Admiration of the Green (and Blue) Spaces of Weymouth and Portland

Rather than describing the wildlife I have seen over the last week, as I normally do, I want to shout out about the incredible area in which I am living. Just before then, I’ll direct your attention to a couple of things that I think will be of interest to you.

This week I have been appreciating the fact there are so many wonderful green spaces in Weymouth and Portland – I don’t think I even know of all the reserves here yet, but there are plenty I do know of and love:

  • Lorton Meadows
  • Two Mile Coppice
  • The Fleet
  • Lodmoor
  • Radipole Lake
  • Broadcroft Quarry
  • Tout Quarry
  • Kingbarrow Quarry

Each one is a fantastic spot to explore and to discover a wide range of species – be it wading birds, dragonflies, meadow wildflowers and more!

But let us not forget that non-reserve green spaces are also wonderful places – roadside verges for example. I love my commute to Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve as I can see countless Ox-Eye Daises (and other flowers) dancing in the breeze next to the road.

Hamm Beach, just across Portland Beach Road from Chesil Beach buzzes with bumblebees and butterflies, whilst skylarks trill overhead and turnstones forage along the shoreline.

In terms of gardens, I don’t usually peer into people’s gardens all that much – you tend to get very suspicious looks if you attempt to do so. However, I am sure there are some wildlife-friendly, beautiful gardens around. I bet that the majority are the back gardens now, as most front gardens are paved over!

What about the blue spaces? Portland Harbour is (I believe) the largest man-made harbour in the world and teeming with wildlife. Last year I went out to the Harbour breakwaters to ring Great Black-backed Gull chicks, and on the way back we saw a seal! I know divers who go in from Chesil Cove, and come back excitedly describing the underwater creatures they’ve seen – such as starfish and cuttlefish.

I wonder how many of the residents of Weymouth and Portland truly appreciate how marvellous their open spaces are? Or even know that they are there! Working the weekends at Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve, I have met quite a few local residents who didn’t even know that this huge (73ha!) reserve was here. Or they knew it was, but had never visited!

As a Londoner in origin, I grew habituated to the sight of buildings with the odd park around. Moving down to Weymouth and Portland has been thrilling, as I discover what seems like endless places to have adventures and find wildlife in – both in the local area and slightly further afield (such as my recent trip up to Cerne Abbas).

For my Vision for Nature blog post, I wrote about what the Tory win could mean for nature and wildlife. However, my own personal Vision for Nature is for people to start connecting with nature more.

My Vision for Nature, taken at the AFON conference (c) Beth Aucott

This doesn’t necessarily mean that people need to visit national parks or reserves, but rather looking at what is around them. Mind you, around here, it is incredibly easy to visit the nature reserves. Many people live or work right on the edge of them! Hopefully by connecting with nature, it can lead to starting to help their local wildlife. Perhaps (and ideally) going further and thinking about our natural environment both nationally and globally?

I would say I’m a pretty good example of that. Growing up, I can consider myself very fortunate to have had many opportunities to engage with nature – taking the dog to the local park (which usually included rolling down hills or wading through streams), hiking up Mount Snowdon with my dad when I was around 7-8years old, making and racing small bamboo rafts when I was with Guides. You will agree I’m sure, it was idyllic and not every child is so lucky.

However, I am not sure I appreciated nature then as I do now (or perhaps I just don’t remember doing so?). As my experiences in the natural world have grown, and I have become more aware of the problems it faces, I have begun to connect with nature more. It started locally – being easily distracted on walks as I peer in wonder at a spider’s web, the metallic sheen of a sawfly or the delicate drops of dew on a ladybird. I wonder why the council had planted a verge of just grass when it could be filled with wildflowers.

Now I believe I am engaging on a more national level and looking long-term – I take part in campaigns run by conservation NGOs, and work in environmental education hoping to inspire a next generation of naturalists who will care for the environment as they grow. I have co-ordinated the Vision for Nature blog series for A Focus On Nature, and written e-mails to MPs and both Red Magazine and the Radio Times. I have started to think globally, but I need to start acting in such a way. At the same time, I need to make sure I don’t disengage with my local wildlife and its issues.

This is one of the reasons I love the 30 Days Wild Campaign by the Wildlife Trusts, because we can all engage with our local wildlife. Nature really is all around us! We just need to remember it and appreciate it a bit more!

During the 30 Days Wild Campaign, I will be jointly blogging with Matt – even though we are in different parts of the UK (Cambridge/Dorset). Discover more about the campaign and two of us on this page of my blog.

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Dear Radio Times …

There has been much controversy and discussion surrounding BBC Wildlife Magazine‘s “The Wildlife Power List” in this month’s issue – who should have been on there (but wasn’t), the ratio of females/males, the use of the word “Power”, the use of ranking rather than listing, etc etc.

Some people have written blog posts discussing it, others have written their own power/inspirational list. I may or may not write my own list. What I am writing today is related, but not aimed at BBC Wildlife Magazine. Rather a different magazine: Radio Times. They ran an article last week about the List, and I am rather annoyed by it. Read my e-mail to them below:

Dear Madam/Sir,

I congratulate you on including conservation news stories/a story on your website by writing about the BBC Wildlife Magazine’s “The Power List”. On the whole, conservation and nature are often ignored in the media; or worse, awful scare-mongering stories are the stock in trade (e.g. the majority of false black widow spider stories in 2014).

However, I am concerned by the content of the article in question. First, your main title lists three of the men included on the list. True, they are all well-known for their contribution to conservation and they are all high on the list. However, it is only in the short paragraph below that you mention the #1 on the list, Jane Goodall, who is female.  I am confused about why the list’s winner is not featured in the title.

Screenshot from article

Second, and continuing on the main theme, your photos just below this are of David Attenborough and Prince William, who are both wonderful and inspiring; but again they are both male. Where is a photo of Jane Goodall?

Screenshot from article

Some people will say I am reading too much into this and you did this unintentionally. But this must have gone through various editorial decisions, so it can’t be unconscious. There is already an imbalance in the ratio of men to women in positions of power across society, and the same is true in conservation, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as a whole and countless other areas. Their portrayal in the media is not just a symptom of this but is also a driver of it. Reams of evidence show that people’s attitudes and perceptions are, in part, affected by the media they consume. Your (perhaps unintentional, but I doubt it) portrayal of “The Wildlife Power List” is yet another example of this type of sexism, and I am very disappointed in the Radio Times as a result. I hope that you address this in future, and perhaps change the article as it currently stands.

Yours faithfully,

Ms Megan Shersby

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The hills are alive, with the beating of wings

Crikey, what a week indeed! It has been a real cracking few days for seeing wildlife – with the exception of Thursday where it just poured down with rain! Otherwise, I have been out and about looking for different animals all over the place!

A team meeting summoned me to Brooklands Farm (the HQ of Dorset Wildlife Trust), where I did my best to pay attention rather than being distracted by the butterflies just outside the window (and the cake waiting on the table for our break!). Lunch was a quick affair, speedily munching food before heading out to the meadow with Steve and Steve (yes, two!). We were hoping for some blues (butterflies), but no joy. However, there was an incredibly fresh and clean Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) butterfly. As the name suggests, they are normally a bit duller in colour – it must have been newly emerged!

The sunny weather continued when I got back to Lorton Meadows, and duely spent some time by the pond after work. Just wonderful. I have actually been inspired to write a poem by the pond, my first poem in 7+ years! I need to tweak it a little, but maybe I will share it here one day soon.

The latter part of the week was particularly lovely as Matt was visiting. We may have gone a little OTT with our wildlife watching, but it was fantastic! Some really spectacular species seen (and heard). A visit to Cerne turned into a bit of a recce – the weather was just a little bit too chilly and windy for butterflies I think. We did see some wildlife of course, the highlights being a Green Carpet moth (Colostygia pectinataria – my first of the year) and a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major – feeding on the ground which is a little unusual).

The sightings of awesome wildlife continued with a trip to one of the local RSPB reserves – Lodmoor. My second Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) of the year was seen, though it landed rather awkwardly in the middle of some nettles (see top left photo below). However, I managed to get a decent photo of it despite that (see top right photo below)! Not long after, a male Orange-tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) was showing off the undersides of its wings (see bottom left photo below) – you can really see that green/white patterning! Another insect of note was a stunner of a dragonfly, a female Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa – the male has a blue abdomen in comparison). What a beauty (see bottom right photo below). Others insects seen: Peacock butterfly, Comma butterfly, Small White butterfly, Brown Tail moth caterpillars.

In terms of birds at Lodmoor – crumbs where to start?! I’m not going to lie – some of these were heard rather than seen, and Matt identified most of those (although I’m getting better at them!). I’ll go alphabetically:

  • Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Canada Goose, Chaffinch, Chiff chaff, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Tern, Coot, Cuckoo (seen not heard!), Dunnock, Gadwall, Great Black-backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Wood Pigeon.

The wildlife didn’t stop there. The sun was at its zenith high above us, and we continued on to our next appointed location. The local branch of Butterfly Conservation were running a guided walk along Weymouth Relief Road. This sounds a little odd, but actually, when they put the road in, they created habitat for butterflies and 22 species has been recorded there! Annoyingly, I managed to park in the wrong place, but even walking over to meet them – there was plenty to be seen (and also lots of prickly / stinging things to hurt myself with, d’oh!).

Upon joining the group, I was relieved to see that not all members of the walk were the usual crowd that I find at naturalist outings (60+ years, ~80% male). Not that their is anything wrong with the usual crowd! But it is always good to see diversity. The walk was fantastic, albeit breezy and I got to see my first (non-Holly Blue) Blues of the year! And a very rough-looking Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) too poor thing!

On Sunday, the sun was out again and not deceivingly-so, it was actually rather warm! We headed over to Cerne Abbas for a second time, feeling hopeful this time, to join another Butterfly Conservation Dorset Branch walk (joint with the Devon Branch). I was particularly excited as I had seen reports during the week of Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) and Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina) butterflies being seen here (hence the first visit!). Would I be in luck? As we drove via the Dorchester relief road there were clouds ahead and I started feeling a little down. Second time unlucky too? Pulling into the car park, further assessment of the weather / temperature and we decided to continue feeling hopeful.

And boy oh boy we were in for a treat! Butterflies and moths galore – including those mentioned just now. The patchy sunshine meant that the butterflies were not actually flying around that much, which is just perfect for photographing them! They were incredibly patient models, posing nicely whilst we gathered round awestruck at their patterning.

I am not going to lie, I fell in love this weekend. With a Duke of all things. But can you blame me? A wonderfully delicate butterfly, and those contrasting colours are just gorgeous! And that isn’t forgetting that by seeing this lifer at the weekend – I have just completed another of my 2015 Wildlife Resolutions! To see 2 new butterfly species this year. The first was the Grizzled Skipper in mid-April at BC’s Lankham Bottom, and now I’ve seen a Duke of Burgundy too!

In other insect news – I also found (I think) the nesting site of a bumblebee at Cerne, plus an odd-looking wasp-type creature.

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Letter to Red Magazine Cont’d

My original e-mail to them can be found in this blog post. In short, I was writing about the lack of wildlife / conservation mentioned in their magazine plus the minimal amount of politics covered in the magazine (not online) around the time of the election.

Kudos to them, they actually responded to me:

Dear Megan, thank you for your email and for your considered thoughts on our editorial content.

You raise a couple of concerns. Firstly, the content of our Anti-Apathy portfolio. In championing a selection of spirited women, we were aiming to highlight the power of activism, whilst being aware that there were many other causes we could have covered. Nature being one of them. No doubt there are countless others. We are confident that our women presented a balanced and varied cross section of the inspiring causes out there. You also raise our political coverage. We have to take issue with you on this one!

Over the past 12 months we have interviewed MPs David Cameron, Ed Milliband, Nick Clegg, Yvette Cooper, Esther McVey, Sarah Champion, Chuka Umunna, Jo Swinson and many more. We have also launched the Red 1000 panel (in print and online), a brilliant group of 1000 Red readers, recruited to voice their opinions on the daily political issues facing women in Britain today.

If you’d come along to the Red 1000 hustings, you’d have seen Yvette Cooper, Nicky Morgan and Jo Swinson up on stage, discussing issues like the NHS, education and the economy. The event was livestreamed and reported on Redonline.
Incidentally, we live Tweeted throughout all the TV debates and during last night’s election results.Politically inactive? Absolutely not.

I hope this answers your comments – and thank you again for taking the time to get in touch with your feedback.

Best wishes,

Naturally I did the polite thing and replied:

Good morning,

Thank you ever so much for responding to my e-mail, I really do appreciate you taking the time to do so.

I completely agree, the women (and man) represented do cover a wide range of causes and as I said previously, it was so inspiring to hear their stories and their work.

I strongly believe that along with climate change, the decline of wildlife and nature is the biggest crisis people face over the coming decades. This means it will affect not only us but also our children and future generations. As with many crises, globally, women are more vulnerable than men to the effects.

However, in the UK and across the world there are powerful and inspiring stories of women working and coming together to challenge these problems and solve them.

I was wondering if you think a way to improve your coverage on this particular issue would be an article or feature on one or more topics related to nature and wildlife. If you agree, I’ve had some ideas and would be happy to send you through a more detailed pitch. (Because why not? And I do actually have some ideas that I think would make some brilliant articles)

Regarding political coverage, I have loved your interviews in the magazine, they were wonderful and I enjoyed reading them. I don’t at all believe that you are politically inactive – but I do believe more could have been done in print around the time of the elections. Perhaps your next issue will discuss the manifesto of the Conservatives or women in politics? I know I’ve seen these online, but that’s only because I went searching specifically. I am one of your readers that currently only engages with you through the print media and I know for certain that I’m not the only one.

Best wishes,

Ms Megan Shersby

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Nature is full of drama

What a week of drama! So much wildlife has been seen and there have been stories worthy of a TV soap opera! And oh yes, there was that general election thing as well. I’ve written about that too.

In terms of the caterpillars, they are all still alive and munching their way through large quantities of leaves. I did get quite worried about the Garden Tiger Moth caterpillars at one point as they were not moving much, or eating much. And then I found what looked like half a caterpillar! But I still had three … turns out it was the skin of one! Evidently they outgrow them and shed them. It wasn’t long before the other two went through this as well. Just after they shed it, their hairdos look particularly fresh! They are called Fluffy 1, 2 and 3, whilst the green caterpillar has been nicknamed Jade (as suggested by Jennifer Hunt).

At Lorton, we have had a couple of school groups in looking for minibeasts – pond dipping, using sweep nets in the meadow and searching under logs in the wood. An interesting beetle, caught by a little girl, caught my eye and I took it back to the centre. My line manager identified it as one of the soldier beetles, and with a bit of further investigation I do believe it is Cantharis fusca which is Nationally Scarce species. [ID was confirmed by NHM Coleoptera, I said previously that it was a Red Data Book species, but it was downgraded in 2013]. In the woods, one group found a caterpillar, so I promptly potted it up (with some leaves of course). This one is called Fusspot as he/she seems quite fussy about food.

We had a bit of a work jolly on Thursday. As part of being a volunteer at the Chesil / Lorton centres, training is provided. In this case, training took the form of a trip over to Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve where we had a lovely wander in the sunshine (surprisingly pleasant weather considering the wind we’d had the rest of the week!). We found yet another caterpillar – now potted up and named (Arnold – suggested by Chris Calow), as well as plenty of flowers and even my first Wall butterfly of the year!

After our wander, we were given a guided walk by one of the rangers, during which we saw some more fantastic wildlife!

Back at Lorton for the weekend, and I was anxious during Sunday morning – the eggs had been unattended all morning, with just the quickest visit from the male Kestrel. Later on, he sat on them for a good long time, though as I type at 8pm, he is absent again from the webcam. My fears were confirmed when someone found some wings and feathers in the meadow near where their box is … Kestrel wings, and according to Sean Foote, they look to belong to a female!

To cheer myself up after this tragedy, I spent an hour or so sitting by the pond after work (busman’s holiday!) looking at the insects and listening to the birds. As you can see, it is a lovely spot to relax at. I watched a damselfly nymph crawl across a lilypad, attempt to climb a vertical leaf a couple of times, before it fell into the water. I saw a bright red beetle lurking in the shade of a post, and a spider waiting for its next prey item to appear. A fellow naturalist appeared and we discussed wildlife, before he spotted a damselfly on a nearby bush – my first of the year! Just after, I spotted a dragonfly exhuvia attached to a plant near the pond – a different shape to the one I found last week, thus a different species presumably!

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Challenge Accepted – my Vision for Nature blog

This post originally appeared on A Focus On Nature‘s blog as part of their #VisionforNature series in the run-up (and just after) the general election 2015. Amongst the questions asked to prompt thoughts were: What do you want the natural world to look like 2050, and how do we get there? What is special about the relationship between young people and nature? 

I was incredibly honoured to be asked to co-ordinate this series of blog posts, and associated social media promotion, and it was greatly inspiring to receive so many fantastic pieces of writing from a variety of AFON members. I had originally thought I would write about engaging people with wildlife for my topic – after all, that’s what I do with my blog and my paid work. However with the Tory win for the election, I took inspiration from others (such as Georgia Locock and Matt Shardlaw) to look at their manifesto and what their win would be for wildlife and their environment. 

                                                                                                                   

So the votes are in, and the Tories are here to stay for another round. Whatever your views on this, at least we can all take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief that all that election bumph is over … until next time.

Right then, back to business. I will start with laying something out clearly – I am not going to analyse these political results too deeply. After all, they say to write about what you know, and I am very much a beginner when it comes to understanding politics. However, I will try to get my head around what this means for wildlife and our environment. I do hope it won’t be too depressing to read.

To begin, I shall refer to Georgia Locock’s excellent post on her own blog where she analyses the different manifestos offered up by each main political party – and let us look specifically at what she found for the Conservatives. Here’s a link to their full manifesto.

From Georgia Locock's blog

There are some positive actions in that list, I’ll give them that. I am thrilled that they are supportingcharging 5p for plastic bags. In Wales, this has been in place for a number of years already and is proving to be very effective (note: that link doesn’t provide very recent data). Of course, I would like to see further actions taken – ultimately a ban on plastic bags, but that is a long-term goal and the 5p charge is a realistic and feasible step in reducing plastic usage / waste.

I am encouraged by their aim to tackle international wildlife trade. I’ve been to South Africa and watched in awe as elephants and rhinos have wandered past on their daily business, these animals are magnificent and wondrous – but they are dying in their thousands. I hope that the Tories also plan to focus on the less well-known animals being trafficked – lorises, pangolins, birds and more. These species also need our help.

I’m intrigued by their Blue Belt plan. However, considering that the last government failed to fully implement the Marine Conservation Zones, designating only 27 when many more were actually recommended – I don’t hold out high hopes for our marine areas and associated wildlife to receive the true protection that they need.

Ok, I’ve had enough of being positive … time to look at those actions which make me wince. Although wince is a mild word – more like they make me want to shout at people and hit cushions in anger!

Opportunity to repel the Hunting Act?! What on earth are they thinking? Do they have no compassion for our wild animals? Don’t get me wrong, I do support some hunting – i.e. when it is (a) needed in order to feed people and (b) done sensibly with minimal distress to the animal. However, I don’t believe it is that hunting foxes, chasing hares, or using dogs is acceptable.  To me, it is just cruel and morally wrong.

Then there is going ahead with HS2. There are a variety of reasons why I don’t agree with HS2 – the demolishing of listed buildings, damage to the chalk aquifier system (and thus affecting water supplies in North London, which is where I’m from!) and so on. The main reason I don’t agree is that the HS2 proposal threatens 83 ancient woods (according to the Woodland Trust) – cutting straight through the heart of some woodlands. I am a big fan of ancient woodland, these habitats are rare and wonderful, full of spectacular species. There is no point in discussing biodiversity offsetting here, one’t can replace ancient woodland by planting new trees – the clue is in the name! Ancient woodland is ancient! Also, by supporting the HS2, they are surely contradicting their pledge to keep forests in the trust of the nation?

Now onto that topic which is well and truly controversial – culling badgers to control bTb. As Georgia Locock has pointed out:

In the UK badgers are one of the most protected species under The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 however they are the most persecuted.

I’m sure that we are all in agreement that something does need to be done to tackle the issue that is bovine Tb and it’s terrible effects on both the cattle and farmers. The scientific evidence suggests that culling badgers is not the best way – in fact, it could lead to worsening the problem. Why do the Tories support this action which will actually result in a worse outcome? It just isn’t logical, and whilst we waste time and money on it, numerous badgers are suffering as a result, often inhumanely. We need to use common sense and our morals here, listen to the evidence and act accordingly. In my own opinion, formed from what I have read, I believe that increase biosecurity measures and vaccination programs are the way forward.

I would quite like to write a bit about the Conservatives views on hen harriers here … but aside fromprotecting shooting, hunting and fishing as previously mentioned, I am not sure what they are.

I know I haven’t covered everything – unfortunately there is just so much to worry about! Declining pollinators, climate change (and all that relates to it), nature deficit disorder, pollution of water sources and more. To write about all of them would take an awful long time, more than the hours I have available today.

Let us be honest. Overall, it is all rather depressing. As an eternal optimist, that is quite a hard thing for me to say. There are hints of good things occurring, but it’s just not enough. We need to mobilise ourselves and make sure that our wildlife, our environment and our natural world as a whole are protected. And by “we”, I don’t mean just the A Focus On Nature network. I don’t even mean just conservationists and naturalists. By “we”, I mean everyone. We all need to get involved. It’s a big ask I know, and likely not realistic, but I like to dream big and optimistically.

How do we go about doing this though? How do we go about getting our voices heard? I am afraid I don’t have the answers – I’m still learning about politics and campaigning, it is going to be something I discover in the next couple of years, you can be guaranteed that I will try my best to get my voice heard (if you’ve met me in person, you know that I am not exactly quiet/unopinionated!).

We need to let the politicians know that they, and society as a whole, will suffer if they make bad decisions. Our Vision for Nature blog series is just the beginning. The Vision for Nature report is coming together, the material from the focus groups, surveys and more is being collated and analysed as I type! Of course, we will be sending it the government and making sure that they know we are determined to protect what belongs to us all.

It is going to be a challenge and a half, but I accept that challenge, do you?

Some posts concerning the election that are worth a read:

Some tweets from fellow young conservationists that have been inspiring me today:

Megan Shersby is an aspiring naturalist and science [particularly nature] communicator. She is currently based in Dorset, working as a Seasonal Assistant for Dorset Wildlife Trust at two of their centres. She is passionate about inspiring others to explore the natural world, and can usually be found in nature reserve examining the local wildlife. If that fails, look for the nearest moth trap, as she’ll probably be peering into its depths for the latest catch. You can follow her on Twitter at: @MeganShersby, or via her blog at: mshersby.wordpress.com

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I just did a cool thing

Hm, it seems that the general election has inspired me to write! As well as writing my Vision for Nature blog post, I’ve finally got round to writing an e-mail to Red Magazine concerning some thoughts of mine on their recent issues. I know that there are more articles on the website (I particularly like this one about Political Women To Watch in 2015), but in the e-mail, I am just writing about their magazine.

It’s not a perfect e-mail and, having sent it, I can see where I could’ve expanded my views or written more clearly. But the point is, I’ve done it.

I always say I’m going to write a letter/e-mail about my thoughts (be it customer service, pot holes, etc), but aside from TripAdvisor reviews, this is the first time I’ve actually done it! Concerning one of my favourite topics – conservation! And what with the election just now, the minimal mention of politics in their magazines!

I wonder if they will respond? I’ll keep you updated of course!

Good afternoon,
First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on your Anti-Apathy feature in May’s Issue. As a young woman in my mid-twenties who is keen to help make the world a better place, it was inspiring to read about such fantastic role models.

However, I felt a bit let down – where was nature? You may argue that Thomasina Miers “The Pig Idea” represented this aspect of activism, but I would have preferred an additional piece on conservationists, there are plenty of female role models out there who are all making a difference:

  • Lucy McRobert – Co-Founder and Creative Director of A Focus On Nature
  • Miranda Krestovnikoff – President of RSPB
  • Stephanie Hilborne – Chief Exec of the Wildlife Trusts
  • Brigit Strawbridge
  • Kate Humble
  • Michaela Strachan
  • Rosie Woodroffe
  • and many more!

Nature and environment are intricately linked to humans – mental wellbeing, economic growth, and so on. I feel that conservation should feature more in Red overall if I’m honest. For one thing, many readers will have children, and our most recent generations have been suffering from nature deficit disorder.

Onto a separate issue, I was very disappointed by the minimal amount of politics in your recent issues. We’ve just had a general election! Whilst I’m not saying your whole magazine should have been devoted to politics – there should’ve been more discussions on each parties views on the matters close to your readers hearts – housing, maternity leave/rights, etc etc. I look to Red as a magazine with interesting articles, but recently I feel it has been lacking and I hope that you up your game.

I could write more about the lack of technology featured, the language used to describe women (the descriptions about Christina Hendricks’ body when it wasn’t being discussed by her!), my personal view on the excessive amount of advertising (mostly on brands and objects – when you’ve recently featured an article on not spending money on objects!), but I feel that they are for another time.

Yours sincerely,
Ms Megan Shersby

Note – Red Magazine do have an online article on the Conservatives Manifesto (though no mention in the article about the environment, hmph!). I hope that something similar (with nature/environment included) appears in their next issue!!

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