Ben

A lone Cormorant perches on a ledge at dusk, silhouetted against a golden sky. In the background, a blurred view of Westminster’s clock tower and nearby bridge structure rises behind it: politics and power in soft focus, nature sharp in the foreground.

In today's Budget, the Chancellor spoke about building the economy “brick by brick” but left out the very foundation that underpins it all: nature.

The same Government that promised to restore our natural world appears instead to have wiped it from their agenda.

Exciting! Fungi commenced from this year's CHEGD surveys packaged and nearly ready for sending off for DNA barcoding by the awesome Mycopunks as part of this year's Autumn Mycoblitz!

Amendment 40 to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill has been voted down.

Had it passed, it would have meant more precious wildlife would have retained existing protections.

Instead, MPs have bought into the false 'nature vs growth' narrative.

A patch of long, wild grasses and reeds sits between rows of new-build houses. The space is alive with greenery, showing how wildlife can cling on at the edges of development, a reminder that how we build shapes the nature we keep.

The Planning Bill is back in Parliament today.‼️

From the start, it’s been controversial: risking damage to precious wildlife and habitats.

Peers reduced some of those risks.

Now MPs get to vote: keep those protections, or strip them out.

Don't blame the bats, Labour – you're not just damaging nature but your own poll rating too It wasn't meant to be this way. Sixteen months on from winning a massive majority, off the back of a manifesto that promised 'to restore and protec...

A well worded piece by Craig Bennett, The Wildlife Trusts CEO. A warning to Labour over their misguided attempt to cast nature as the enemy to force through planning policy. Will they listen in time? www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

#ukpolitics #labourparty #planningbill #ukgovernment

Developers met ministers dozens of times over planning bill while ecologists were shut out Exclusive: Leading ecologists say warnings over threat to wildlife have been ignored in drive to build 1.5m new homes

Labour blinkered rush to wreck UK nature protections has cost them dearly with many in the professional ecology sector as well as wide public. All so unnecessary.

Developers met ministers dozens of times over planning bill while ecologists were shut out www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

My favourite find from last week just in time for Halloween. The Powdercap Strangler.

This rarely encountered fungus parasitises the Earthy Powdercap hijacking it to explode from the stipe and replace the host cap with its own, allowing it to spread its own spores

#fungiphotography #grasslandfungi

CHEGD grasslands are a major omission when it comes to the UK list of irreplaceable habitats, not even yet listed as a Priority Habitat. These fungi communities take hundreds if not thousands of years of develop good levels of richness and are easily lost to disturbance or fertilisation of the soil.

Exciting site found last week near Anglezark reservoir. Likely meets county level significance for grassland fungi and may well have been developing it's species richness for hundreds of years. Good number of species of global conservation significance present.

#CHEGD #Grasslandfungi

Those who defend nature against Labour’s growth agenda are not ‘traitors’ | Letter Letter: The environment is not a barrier to growth, or an internet meme, says Sally Hayns in response to the government’s social media post based on the popular BBC show The Traitors

The Labour party, one major disappointment after another... I never would have believed they would stoop to this kind of behaviour.

Those who defend nature against Labour’s growth agenda are not ‘traitors’ | Letter www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Just some waxcaps.

@teamlabouruk.bsky.social I still wish you would recognise trashing nature protection is not a good thing. You've lost my vote until you do.

@theguardian.com @cieem.bsky.social

@teamlabouruk.bsky.social @zackpolanski.bsky.social should be better at this by now.

Overhead friends chatting in the pub tonight and spending a lot of time explaining the 'disabilities' and 'conditions' of themselves and their friends in a very hierarchical way.

I worry young people hyper focused on what they perceive they can't do and how they have to react to protect themselves

I swear Northern Rail just said "we will shortly be arriving in Ireland". I swear I only just left Preston and didn't have that much to drink!

Delemere Forest, a beautiful place once you get away from the crowds. A little surprised to see a few Dragons darting about the Black Lake.

Brief reminder that the application window for our new Environment Officer with Lancashire Environmental Records Network at Lancashire County Council closes this week!

fa-esms-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Bit more fungling about on the moors today checking on the predictive mapping. Reckon this area could be a bit of a hotspot in about a month time.

Lancashire Waxcaps The distribution and locations of important fungi grasslands in Lancashire are poorly understood. However, the large amount of long-term, low input pasture combined with the local climate suggest that...

We're capturing data via iNaturalist and have an ongoing project here: www.inaturalist.org/projects/lan...

Out looking for fungi grasslands last weekend around Rivington and the West Pennine Moors. Loads of potential and looking forward to going back in a few weeks to see what's there!

Really need help from naturalists in Lancashire to find more though. Comment/message for details.

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On the very unlikely offchance a Deed or Dade descendant interested in genealogy stumbles across this post.

I have FamilyTreeDNA page for unraveling the various origins of Deed and Dade family history.

If you're interested, drop me a message.

www.familytreedna.com/groups/deed-...

Out on site surveys this week and ended up at a bit of a hidden gem. This valley runs from Rossendale from near Scout moor into Bury. A combination of species rich grasslands, heath and wetland along a river.

Cool little crystalwort from a grassland this week. Small and easily overlooked you'll often find them scattered on damp bare and disturbed mud and soil. Some even float!

Incredibly diverse calcareous grassland up Silverdale way this last week. Always nice to go somewhere that's still in good condition! To many sites left to neglect or lost to ignorance.

Zack Polanski ‘open to’ working with new Corbyn and Sultana party Green leadership candidate says any decision on alliance would be one for party members

Well responded by Zack Polanski. The focus of Corbyn as with his previous leadership attempts is unlikely to include well considered nature or climate actions. I remember Corbyn refusing to ally with the Greens but IMO that should not rule out a future alliance.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Now going further by undermining Biodiversity Net Gain demonstrates the absolute disregard they have for biodiversity, legal obligations and an entire sector of professionals.

Through total ignorance of threats to nature by the reality of the planning process or deliberate disregard. Labour is significantly weakening protections via a rushed, Ill informed part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and refusal to acknowledge concerns from an entire professional sector.

Wildlife trust criticises new biodiversity net gain proposal A wildlife trust warns the government's new biodiversity net gain plan could devastate local nature.

I voted @teamlabouruk.bsky.social because of their pledges on nature and because I trusted them to tackle nature recovery better than the conservatives.

How wrong was I.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Angela Rayner stands behind a green-lit gameshow podium labelled “Nature or No Nature”. Above her, a question reads: “When the Office for Environmental Protection called your planning bill a ‘regression’, were they…” with four multiple choice answers: A) Just joking, B) Office of what, now? C) Wrong, D) Absolutely right

Time for another round of Nature or No Nature!

Angela Rayner, you said Labour's planning bill would be a win for nature.

Yet your environmental watchdog says the opposite.

To help clear up the confusion, your question now...

Thanks Hilary it really is a beautiful place.