by Darcy White We are approaching the season of winter festivities and gift-giving, a time when grown-ups often enjoy gifting picture-books to the youngest members of our circle. I have been looking at the best of this year’s crop for those relevant to the difficult times we are living through. Talking with young children aboutContinueContinue reading “Children’s Picture Book Review”
Category Archives: Insects
Biodiversity Loss and Shifting Baseline Syndrome
By Darcy White Over the course of my life, I’ve had several stark wakeup calls about the profound loss of biodiversity we are facing. One was about 25 years ago whilst on holiday on the remote Llyn Peninsular in north Wales. Another was this summer whilst holidaying in Dumfries and Galloway, on the south-west coastContinueContinue reading “Biodiversity Loss and Shifting Baseline Syndrome”
The Inglorious 12th. It’s time to Reclaim our Moors.
On August 10th, I joined the “Reclaim Our Moors” walk on Moscar Moor near Redmires Reservoir (which was looking extremely depleted). This is an annual event which precedes the “Glorious 12th, or the Inglorious 12th as I prefer to call it, when people start again to pay £2000 each for the privilege of shooting RedContinueContinue reading “The Inglorious 12th. It’s time to Reclaim our Moors.”
Goodbye to 2024. Will 2025 be better?
2024 was a disastrous year for the environment, the climate, world peace and the future of our planet. It is set to be the hottest year on record and the 10 hottest years have all been in the last decade. But this blog has seen some successes which are worth celebrating. In January we challengedContinueContinue reading “Goodbye to 2024. Will 2025 be better?”
Shame on Syngenta
Activists from Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and other groups around the North of England, many from Sheffield, gathered in Huddersfield on Saturday, November 9th, to raise awareness about Syngenta’s shameful operations. The company exports dangerous pesticides banned for use in this country to other countries worldwide. Campaigners visited three city centre locations, startingContinueContinue reading “Shame on Syngenta “
Restore Nature Now march in Sheffield
A small but significant group of environmental activists gathered in Norfolk Park on Saturday. Led by Dave Dickinson of Sheffield Environmental we walked through Claywood to the Cholera Monument, South Street Park to the Canal Basin and the Grey to Green area by the Castle grounds, through the city centre to Devonshire Green. Along theContinueContinue reading “Restore Nature Now march in Sheffield”
Restore Nature Now!
Many Sheffielders joined 80,000 protesters in Central London on Saturday to demand politicians Restore Nature Now. The event remarkably united traditional conservation groups like the National Trust, Wildlife Trust and the RSPB with more radical groups like Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil and something like 300 other organisations, all crying out for policy changesContinueContinue reading “Restore Nature Now!”
Bees call on Dr Who, the Council, the Government and the public to do more to protect them.
Photos by Roan On World Bee Day, Monday 20th May, people dressed as bees swarmed to the police box next to Sheffield Town Hall. Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly threatened by human activities. Pollination is a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of theContinueContinue reading “Bees call on Dr Who, the Council, the Government and the public to do more to protect them. “
Glyphosate Use: Dangerous and Ineffective
Extinction Rebellion Sheffield has issued the following press release. Climate activists are calling for Sheffield City Council to stop using the herbicide glyphosate. Extinction Rebellion Sheffield (XR) has been calling for Sheffield City Council to stop using glyphosate on our streets and housing estates with studies showing the disastrous environmental effects on insect, animal andContinueContinue reading “Glyphosate Use: Dangerous and Ineffective”
Insect populations are collapsing at terrifying speed
Insects are not the most popular creatures on this planet. When I was a teacher there was nothing worse than the entrance of a wasp to the classroom, which was guaranteed to promote extreme anxiety in some of the youngsters. Some people positively hate insects and will reach for insecticide at the first sight ofContinueContinue reading “Insect populations are collapsing at terrifying speed”
