I interviewed the NFU’s president at the Hay Festival on a range of matters from Defra’s consultation paper, food imports, mixed farming, wildlife schemes, bog management, mental health, WTO, soils, robotics, emission regulations. Of course, both The Times and Guardian only reported the ‘beauty parlour’ reference to the ‘Health and Harmony’ paper… see my blog for detail http://robyorke.co.uk/2018/08/nfu-blues/
Image courtesy of A. Bond
I slipped in a letter to the Guardian on ‘apocalypse now’ wildlife around oversimplified narratives, and a related food/enviro opinion piece in Farmer’s Guardian - where I baulked at using the phrase ‘wicked problem’ – even though it is. Guardian letter below.
My piece for ECOS now online with references on rewilding drew some attention, in seeking to broaden the narrow base beyond the usual voices.
Wildfires got everyone worked up and the ‘ipaper’commissioned a ‘cool’ piece from me on farmland, forest fires, public access, BBQs, muirburn and moorland.
In ‘Bugbears – bioblitz, buzzard, beaver and bat’ for Inside Ecology, I probed tensions between human interests, conservation and extolling braver collaborative for wildlife.
Over the next few weeks I’m speaking and chairing at the Abergavenny Food Festival (16 Sept), leading a walk near Hay on changing countryside conversations (13 Oct), heading to Scotland for curlew (and more…) plus giving talks to ecology students at Oxford University and Reading University.
