Robson Peisley

Check out @wclnews.bsky.social for more info on the proposed amendments, including provisions for access to nature, and read my guest blog post to hear my thoughts as a young person on the joint nature and housing crises: www.wcl.org.uk/young-people...

🦋Create communities where people and nature can thrive together.

🌳Amendments proposed by @wclnews.bsky.social and other environmental organisations to be implemented, including access to nature provisions, environmental monitoring, strengthening protections for endangered species, and ensuring rare and irreplaceable habitats are safe.

🪲Building homes doesn't have to destroy nature, sustainable development has the potential to help protect it.

So what do we need to happen?
🐛We need to build smarter and use land more effectively.

🌿The idea we need to build extensively on protected habitats to meet targets of 1.5 million homes is also false, @cprecountryside.bsky.social estimates we can build at least 1.2 million homes on brownfield sites and this doesn't account for vacant properties and empty second homes.

The #PlanningAndInfrastructureBill has been full of controversy and criticism. There is a rhetoric from the Government that nature is a barrier to development which is simply not true:
🦇Just 3% of planning appeals mention bats and newts, reducing their protections will not speed up house building.

Time spent outdoors has incredible benefits to our health and wellbeing. #AccessToNature is not a nice to have, it is fundamental for communities.

Research found from @wclnews.bsky.social has found that areas in England first time buyers are able to buy in are areas with low access to nature. In fact every metre of green space lost is associated with an extra 494 first time buyers purchasing in an area 🤯

Young people are having to live with low access to nature, this needs to change.

We all know that spending time outdoors in green and blue spaces can have incredible impacts on our wellbeing, yet young homebuyers are being priced out of areas with good access to nature.

@wclnews.bsky.social

Fungi season is here! 🍄 Join #WaxcapWatch — our citizen science project to help protect ancient meadows by recording waxcap fungi. No ID skills needed!

🌾 Part 2 - go.bsky.app/782TCU1

🐞 These packs compile 300 projects, individuals, and organisations working towards nature restoration in the UK!

🌿 Now is probably also a great time to highlight the starter packs I’ve made around this very topic, nature and environmental restoration in the UK!

💐 Part 1 - go.bsky.app/LNv5K8h

🍂Excited to be on my way to Bristol for the first ever @wildsummituk.bsky.social, organised by @wclnews.bsky.social!

🦡This event is bringing together people from across the UK who are all working to reverse the decline of nature and biodiversity.

🐝If you're going, comment below and let's chat!

Final remaining online tickets for #WildSummitUK, with just 3 days until we welcome you all to Bristol & online 📆

Book now👇

wildsummituk.eventbrite.co.uk

So excited to be attending! 🙌

✨ Here’s a summary of Day 2 as a whole!

🌾 Stay tuned for tomorrow where we’ll dive deeper into the challenges faced by environmental defenders and explore some tangible actions we can take, as well as some time to explore Strasbourg!

A list of speakers from different European organisations.

A document detailing the 10 key messages for the environment from the Council of Europe.

💭 After lunch, we engaged in peer learning and sharing our own lives experiences, thoughts, and insights. We also got to chat to experts from different organisations such as the European Court of Human Rights and the Council or Europe.

🌿 Everyday we wrap up our work with reflection groups and time.

Part of European Parliament.

A European Firebug - Pyrrhocoris apterus.

A cormorant photo taken through binoculars.

5 young women attending the workshop, who are all environmental defenders, having a photo in Strasbourg.

🏢 The European Youth Centre in Strasbourg is right next to the European Court of Human Rights, the European Parliament, and the Council or Europe, so it’s been great to explore our surroundings in our breaks.

🐝 We’ve also had some wildlife finds, including damselflies, lizards, and cormorants!

A staff member of the Council of Europe, discussing the youth priorities.

🇪🇺 On to Day 2 of the @yeenetwork.bsky.social study session on environmental defenders, where we started off the day learning more about the Council of Europe, its Youth Department, and their work/priorities.

🗺️ We also looked at mapping existing frameworks which support environmental defenders!

🌿 Day 1 of the @yeenetwork.bsky.social study session on environmental defenders completed!

🌍 With attendees from across Europe and different backgrounds, I’m excited to see how things progress across the next few days.

✨ Lots of introductions and admin today, check out the full rundown below!

A photograph of a laptop screen, showing the episode page for the latest UK Youth for Nature podcast - Your Wild Streets

🌾 Listening to the latest episode of the Your Wild Streets podcast from @ukyouthfornature.bsky.social (hosted by icons Rois and Alena) on my journey.

💐 Such an interesting episode, discussing rewilding, the importance of native plants, pesticides, and more!

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

A photo showing the announcement on a Eurostar service with the destination “Paris”

🇫🇷 On my way to France for a very exciting week!

🌿 I’ll be representing @ukyouthfornature.bsky.social at a @yeenetwork.bsky.social workshop in Strasbourg, which is centred around environmental defenders!

✨ Will be sharing updates on here, so follow along to find out more!

A beautiful day at Kew Gardens last week, filled with beautiful water lilies, wildlife, and some spectacular plants 🌿

#KewGardens #WaterLilies #Cacti #TropicalPlants #BotanicalGardens

I'm very excited to be attending the upcoming (and inaugural) Wild Summit on the 11th September - a day packed full of workshops, talks, and panels with attendees from across the environmental sector!

Arranged by
@wclnews.bsky.social, find out more on the event page @wildsummituk.bsky.social

Tompot Blenny on Chalk Reef habitat

We're taking legal action to stop 100,000 tonnes of sediment being dumped in Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone every year for the next 10 years. This should not be allowed in a protected area.

buff.ly/GEfcxEz #StopDumpingOnOurReef

Ofwat to be abolished and a new, single, powerful regulator to be established to cut water pollution in England’s rivers, lakes and seas, and protect families from massive bill hikes
c-js.co.uk/3GytfZi

I am really excited to see how the Alliance develops over time, and thanks to the team at @campaign4parks.bsky.social for their work in developing this project.

However, National Marine Parks present an exciting opportunity to address environmental and social justice, as well as to explore and address barriers to participation.

A lot of opposition is centred in the fear of the unknown, and marine environments have a large number of stakeholders which will need to be engaged and worked with.

Plymouth Sound National Marine Park is our only current example of a Marine National Park in the UK, working on a self-declared basis as an independent organisation. It was insightful to hear about their journey and challenges.