Richard Evans

Can gardens save the world? A new report from the RHS gives me hope that the role of gardens in the climate and biodiversity crisis might finally be realised.

open.substack.com/pub/katebrad...

'A huge milestone' - Community group takes ownership of Bridestones Moor Bridestones Moor, the dramatic 114-acre expanse above Todmorden, has been officially brought under community ownership.

Huge congrats to community group Bridestones Rewilded, who this week brought Bridestones Moor in west Yorkshire into community ownership:

www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/environ...

Find out more about their project here: bridestones.love

I always wish I’d kept notes, but never do!

I think you should. We've had very little success with surface sowing in our wildflower poly tunnels. I poke bigger seeds like knapweed about 1cm down and scrape some compost over the hole. With tiny seed we sometimes just cover with perlite/vermiculite.

Like pulling the plug of a bathtub: an incredible mass of #glacier ice disappearing at Griesgletscher (🇨🇭/🇮🇹) in one century.
It felt emotional to visit the exact same spot @swisstopo cartographers chose in 1919. The view was so different.
Simply unbelievable!!
@vaw-glaciology.bsky.social

Lovely! I know the Edge well – my partner grew up in the village, with a view of the Edge from the house.

Fabulous. They always seem to be nectaring on Red Clover don't they? The last one I saw (20 years ago) was in Sussex – walking along the Seven Sisters. We live in North Lancashire. Clouded Yellows much more unusual here than on the south coast I think.

A Clouded Yellow butterfly showing its underwings of soft greenish-yellow dotted with brown and white spots is nectaring on Red Clover against a background of green grasses.

My first walk into the field for 5 weeks and there's a Clouded Yellow right by the path. First I've seen for around 20 years. #ukbutterflies #ukwildlife

(Not Birds…) At least 40+ Small pearl-bordered fritillary seen on the Claife, Cumbria afternoon… seem to like the thistles in the emerging bracken… #ukbutterflies #butterflies

A Ribbon of Wildness Between Road and Pasture At first glance, the scene is an ordinary roadside wall – a strip of stone edging the tarmac footpath, with a fence and pasture beyond. Yet the top of this wall tells a richer, more hopeful story. …

Between tarmac & pasture, a wall-top blooms with Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Harebell, ferns and fine grasses. A narrow ribbon of biodiversity squeezed between two low-diversity landscapes. #WildflowerHour #Biodiversity #Cumbria forktail.co.uk/2025/08/27/a...

‘It has echoes of happiness’: life for gen Z in the seaside town I once called home The Guardian’s former north of England editor returned to Morecambe after 25 years to discover the place where she grew up has even fewer amenities for young people – and the feeling of being ‘left behind’ is stronger than ever

‘It has echoes of happiness’: life for gen Z in the seaside town I once called home

UK Butterfly abundance Indicators for 1976-2024 have been released, showing an 18% decline in overall butterfly abundance for the UK. Habitat specialists have fared worse, declining by over a third.

Check out the full statistics here ⬇️

buff.ly/1AIDB3J

4 orange and black Small Tortoiseshell butterflies nectaring on the purple flowers of a buddleia growing between some rusty iron railings.

Long time since we've seen multiple Small Tortoiseshell #butterflies in the garden. A joy to see 5 of them on a self-sown buddleia between us and our neighbour. #ukwildlife

Such an abundance of butterflies, bumblebees & hoverflies in the Devil's bit scabious #meadows. A joy to see.

It's a beautiful place, and quite unlike any other church I've been in.

Wild Ingleborough's upland plant nursery Set within Yorkshire's stunning uplands, conservationists and volunteers help to restore a wild landscape

🌿 The secret to saving Yorkshire’s wild plants? It starts in a tiny upland nursery! 👀

Read @jackwallington.com’s blog to discover how this hidden gem in #WildIngleborough is growing hope for our upland habitats. 🌱

www.wildway.info/p/wild-ingle...

#NatureRecovery

This morning's view while washing up the breakfast things: a female sparrowhawk dismembering and eating a jay on the garden wall. #ukwildlife

Black text on a white background: Due to rising costs and more competition for funding, we are having to scale back our work. We’ve had to make painful decisions, including staff redundancies. With staff and resources stretched to their limit, we are now considering which vital projects may no longer be possible. This comes when bumblebees are struggling to recover following their worst year on record. I’ve never been more worried, or more determined to fight for a future for bumblebees. We need to raise £50,000 right away to make sure we can continue our vital work. If you’ve ever thought about giving a donation, we’re asking you to please, make it today. Thank you, We’re facing the hardest chapter in our history. Gill Perkins, CEO Bumblebee Conservation Trust

A message from our CEO.

Please, donate today: www.bumblebeeconservation.org/give

On a mud-puddling site hundreds or even thousands of butterflies can gather for minerals (mostly males). During 40 years of butterflying I have see quite a few, but this site in SE France can now be added. Mostly Chalkhill Blue (P coridon).

Multiple Ringlets, Small copper & Large yellow underwing all on Ragwort.

Wasp Talk - shire-pest-solutions.co.uk I deal with wasps almost every day. So attending a wasp talk dedicated to saving wasps felt strange but hearing Professor Seirian Sumner.

As someone who's putting considerable effort into changing perceptions of wasps from "kill" to "appreciate", I often feel at odds in the company of pest controllers.

But Steve Light is a pest-controller who I hope represents a change. Read his blog.
#WaspLove
shire-pest-solutions.co.uk/wasp-talk/

The Extravagant Partisanship of the Leek-Green Faction When first I became a maker of wood-meadows, it was in response to the devastating losses in flora and fauna that we have witnessed during my lifetime. That over 97% of lowland meadows have gone un…

naturallatin.com/2016/05/30/t...

Rock garden, limestone and wild thyme, Arnside knott. Stopping to admire the flowers and catch my breath as I try to get my legs used to running again.

These horses have been grazing in this field full of ragwort for at least five years now with no ill effects

Here is the same Lime Hawkmoth caterpillar 24 hours apart.

The change in colour from green to grey shows it’s ready to pupate.

Nature is amazing! 🤩

#TeamMoth #NatureWithin @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Thank you. A happy accident!

A male Brimstone butterfly showing the yellow/green undersides of its wings taking nectar from pale lilac-coloured buddleia flowers.

10 #butterfly species in the garden today, including this male Brimstone – not common round here, and first time we've had one in the garden in summer. #ukwildlife

Great!

A small orange, yellow and black hoverfly taking nectar from a white verbascum plant with purple anthers.

The Marmalade Hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus, might be one of the commonest hoverflies, but I love seeing them – think it one of the prettiest. #ukwildlife #insects

Eryngium 'Big blue' has been anincredible magnate for pollinators this year, even in overcast conditions.