Bex Cartwright

Blueberries 😀 Good harvest this year.

An image of half text and half photo. The photo is of a beautiful flowery hay meadow, with ox eye daisies, thistles, dandelions and tall grasses reaching up to the sky, against a backdrop of a yellow sunset. The text says: “WEL reaction to final Sustainable Farming Scheme design: Whilst this is an improvement from the previous Common Agricultural Policy and a step forward towards sustainable agriculture, it will need continuous further improvements to meet the challenge of the nature and climate emergency. We welcome that BPS payments will be tapered, and the indication that the funds will be channelled into the upper layers; the universal layer should be seen as a first step, and we hope to help farmers in their journey to the truly regenerative approach that our land needs.”

The Sustainable Farming Scheme design is finally done; check out our full reaction here. We’ll continue to work with Welsh Gov and all others to make it as good as it needs to be for nature and climate: waleslink.org/response-to-...

Some stunning wildflower areas today. With many thanks to local EA @lincswildlife.bsky.social @naturalengland.bsky.social staff for coming along to a workshop today on Rare Bees of the Lincs Coast. @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social

Big Meadow Search 2025 starts today until 31st August. Everyone welcome, you dont need to be an expert, just record species you know. Please help us add more sites to the map.
There will be daily plant ID or plant association posts to look out for.
bigmeadowsearch.co.uk

I’m always finding dead shrews. Pygmy, Common & occasionally Water Shrews. It’s like they’ve suddenly run out of steam and keeled over. I wonder what is going on? Is it that I just happen to find them where they die naturally or do they have such high energy needs that they run out of fuel?

Even today in these grazed systems, the ridges and furrows are still providing drainage, especially on these heavy soils and a varied topography and sward that can benefit grazing livestock.

Cattle grazing ‘ridge & furrow’ grassland in Rutland. The characteristic corrugated pattern we see now is a ghost of Medieval agricultural practices where the land was ploughed to pile topsoil into raised strips and forming sunken ditches, providing drainage and good growing conditions for crops.

Ah awesome. Love Wilco!

Beech trees. Love this bit of woodland. It’s like a natural cathedral.

Find out about Wales Nature Week events on the WBP website and follow @WalesNatureWeek on social media.
bit.ly/44zVzDx

Narrated by Iolo Williams, the Red List documentary, directed by Ross Pierson, follows botanist Dr Kevin McGinn racing to save 25 of Wales' most endangered plants.

The film is being crowdfunded and you can find out more - and donate - here:

greenlit.com/project/red-...

Hi BlueSky folk. There's no search available at the moment for Starter Packs. Are there any UK agriculture, nature-friendly farming, regen farming Starter Packs that folk can share a link to please? @nffn.bsky.social @socialfarmsgardens.bsky.social

If not, I will curate one!

🐄🚜🌱🌾🐝🐞

Bumblebee-bagging in the Cairngorms - Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Visiting the Cairngorms this year? Go Bumblebee-bagging! Read more here! @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social www.bumblebeeconservation.org/bumblebee-ba... #Bumblebees

Came across this giant beast when I was gardening today. Maybe cockchafer grub? #Beetle

CUCKOO!!! 🐦

An image of a grassland with the text: "Grasslands store carbon, produce food and support our wildlife. But the UK Government has no strategic plan for them."

Did you know there is no dedicated team or person in Defra for grasslands, despite them covering 40% of England? 🤯

We're joining @plantlifeuk.bsky.social & partners in calling for the Gov to establish a Grassland Taskforce to unlock their value 🌱

Learn more: www.plantlife.org.uk/our-work/the...

I’ve just coined a new term #BeeWashing. It’s when UK organisations state they are acting on the #BiodiversityEmergency by putting in honeybee hives. Please share far & wide!

An important and insightful article that explains the difference between managed honeybees and our 270+ species of wild bees.

And more oil beetles! They seem to be having a good year.

Did my @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social #Beewalk today. Felt like I saw more bumblebees today than the whole of last year. Eight species on my walk today! Flower of the walk was Bilberry, in full flower now #wildflowerhour

Sounds amazing Charlotte. Enjoy!

Spotted an oil beetle excavating a tunnel in a molehill this week to lay her eggs. @mole-hills.bsky.social

Saw my first adder of the year this week. Tiny youngster, barely bigger than a pencil. A few common lizards about but no grass snakes yet or slow worms, we get all four of these reptiles in the garden here! #ukreptiles

Lovely to see fresh red-tail queens on our bee ID day today too. (She was released from the pot and went back to foraging).

Seeing lots of oil beetles at the moment. These are all different individuals seen on different days in the last week. @liamolds.bsky.social #oilbeetles

Done :-)

Made my day to see this!

Red-tailed #bumblebees - Bombus lapidarius - had a dreadful year last year. Here's hoping this year will be better for them

Use of pesticides on UK farms to be cut by 10% by 2030 to protect bees Campaigners welcome long-delayed proposals to reduce pesticide-related harms to pollinators

Great to see a pesticide reduction target finally published. It’s a step in the right direction especially recognising toxicity. But to make real progress, we need proper support for farmers to shift to nature-based approaches that work for people, food & wildlife www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Hi Megan 👋 Andrena nigroaenea male, Buffish Mining Bee looks a good bet

How to build a mini drainpipe wetland Do you wish you had a pond, but don’t have the space? Here’s a great idea to turn your drainpipe into a mini-pond with built in water supply – you’ll have your very own wetland reserve. And it...

We don't need a huge space to add a mini drainpipe wetland. Video tutorial for a great biodiversity weekend project by the #WWT #WildfowlandWetlandTrust

Includes UK and Ireland plant list

www.wwt.org.uk/discover-wet...