Jonnytench

[me, a journalist who spends all day every day on a social media app where the discovery algorithm is personally controlled by its owner, captain birdseye] you know, a lot of people are talking about fish fingers, we should probably cover that

🥰 Good News Friday! RSPB Newport Wetlands is home to Wales’ only breeding colony of Avocet, the bird on our logo - and this year we’ve got a fantastic 13 Avocet chicks! Da iawn to all the dedicated staff and volunteers at RSPB Newport Wetlands!

📸 : Ben Andrew

We have a target to support over 1,000 people with more secure employment. This is how we’re doing it. James Pritchard, Deputy Leader Caerphilly County Borough Council The role to which a Council can take to support people into employment, should not be underestimated. Whilst a Council can does not pro...

The stereotype of a valleys authority is one where there is a lack of employment opportunities, but the latest figures demonstrate employment levels in Caerphilly County Borough are higher than the Welsh average ✍️James Pritchard, Caerphilly County Borough Council

How to increase private investment in nature » Green Alliance In this briefing, we set out options to drive more private finance into nature

5/ Markets need both supply 𝐚𝐧𝐝 demand. The UK government has historically focused on market architecture, which is great, but without policy to drive business investment, these markets risk failing before they start so this call for evidence is really welcome.

Learn more in our briefing ⤵️

📢 Excellent news: Defra has launched a call for evidence on expanding the role of the private sector in nature recovery.

We’ve been advocating for progress here alongside others. A thread on why this matters and what's next.

🧵 /5

Reform UK and Plaid Cymru vie for gains in Labour stronghold of Wales Plummeting support for Keir Starmer’s party points to impact of some policies that have proven highly unpopular

@jaclarner.bsky.social from the Welsh Election Study: “Looking at the areas now voting Reform, they’re the same areas that always voted Labour, and it’s very easy to just make the logical mistake to assume it’s the same people doing it. That isn’t what we see” #Senedd26
www.ft.com/content/668f...

Was also quite pleased with this intro: Blackpool, Cardiff, Teesside, Kirkcaldy: Rachel Reeves’s spending review speech was peppered with more regional shout-outs than a drive-time radio show.

This is a WEL statement next to a photo of a chaffinch (a beautiful small songbird, with rusty orange on its front, and black, white and grey feathers for its wings), beak open as though it's speaking the statement itself, although is probably just a lovely song. It's perched on an old fence post, against a fuzzy background of trees. You can learn more about chaffinches and hear their song here: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/chaffinch The text of the statement itself says: Wales Environment Link welcomes the Environment (Principles, Governance, and Biodiversity Targets) Bill and urges for stronger protections for nature This Bill is a crucial chance for the Welsh Government to respond to findings in recent reports by the Senedd and Audit Wales, which highlighted that the nature emergency hasn’t been enough of a priority for Wales. They must catch up to England and Scotland and deliver action for the environment in Wales. For this Bill to deliver its full potential, it must: Clearly enshrine environmental principles and a duty of integration of environmental protection in law, recognising biodiversity as the foundation of a healthy, sustainable planet Establish a genuinely independent governance body, with the authority and resources it needs to fulfil its remit Introduce a robust and ambitious targets framework that drives immediate action for nature

We're pleased to see Welsh Gov finally introduce the Environment (Principles, Governance & Biodiversity Targets) Bill to the Senedd today. Bring on a Nature Positive Wales! business.senedd.wales/mgIssueHisto...

Here's our response, below + in more detail here: waleslink.org/wp-content/u...

Did you know:

UK eats twice as much meat as the global average

Third of meat children eat is processed despite health risks

Young men (19-40) eat largest amount of processed meat

Big report out today by @foodfoundation.bsky.social

Junk food adverts delay quote card

❌ Yet again we see a government caving to industry pressure by delaying advertising restrictions on junk food!

Policymakers know the power of marketing - and unless we protect our children and shift the balance we're going to stay in a cycle of poor diets/health outcomes.

🔗 bit.ly/3PR0Gal
#HFSS

Fires cause record loss of tropical forests in climate threat Tropical forests provide a buffer against climate change, but disappeared faster than ever recorded last year.

Despite world leaders’ pledge to end deforestation by 2030, tropical forest loss reached record highs in 2024.

Fires were the main cause, overtaking land clearances from agriculture for the first time on record.

See more from my colleagues’ analysis here: 🧪

Opinion | In a World of Addictive Foods, We Need New Weight-Loss Drugs We may now be at the brink of reclaiming our health.

New weight loss drugs “are not a panacea for the obesity crisis that has engulfed the nation,” writes David Kessler, a former F.D.A. commissioner. “But their effectiveness underscores the fact that being overweight or obese was never the result of a lack of willpower.”

Tonnes of Change: Welsh Veg in Schools publish latest report | Sustain With the right planning and with significant investment in infrastructure, around 25% of all veg in schools across Wales could be Welsh organic by 2030.

With the right planning and with significant investment in infrastructure, around 25% of all veg in schools across Wales could be Welsh organic by 2030.

▶️ Read new report by @foodsensewales.bsky.social on #WelshVegInSchools
www.sustainweb.org/news/apr25-w...

👀 Yn lansio ar 29 Ebrill..
Adroddiad Cenedlaethau’r Dyfodol 2025 – yn dod ar-lein ac yn ein Uwchgynhadledd Weithredu* i helpu arweinwyr i wneud bywyd yn well i bobl a’r blaned nawr ac yn y dyfodol.
*Galwadau i weithredu Comisiynydd yn gynwysedig.Heb ei wneud gan ddefnyddio AI. #llesdyfodol10

Dear DEFRA: Where's the public food sector? Professor Kevin Morgan on why public sector leaders must have a seat at the table.

📝 Dear DEFRA: Where's the public food sector?

In a guest blog for FFCC, Prof Kevin Morgan asks why the public food sector has so often been overlooked when it comes to government advisory bodies – including Defra's upcoming Food Strategy.

Read 👉 ffcc.co.uk/conversation...

Rainfall map of the UK

Much of England & Wales had the driest March for over 60 years, with less than 1mm being recorded for the entire month. April is now predicted to have little significant rainfall. It's the main planting season for crops... we need to start talking seriously about #FoodSecurity & reducing #FoodWaste.

The Story: How to buy a happy chicken Britain’s obsessed with chicken - we eat more than a billion birds a year. And to (literally) feed our hunger, many farmers have turned to fast-growing birds. But now, a new initiative is persuad...

What is chickens dirty secret? Just 3% of the meat bought in Britain is free-range. So what can we do to buy a happy chicken?

🎙 The Story podcast
🔗 pod.fo/e/2c4f2e

New evidence shows industry lobbying blocking local efforts to stop harmful food advertising | Sustain New research published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reveals the advertising industry is blocking healthy food advertising policies at a local level, as Sustain argues UK government needs to ba...

New evidence by @bmj.com shows industry lobbying blocking local efforts to stop harmful food advertising.

▶️ Fran Bernhardt, Sustain's Commercial Determinants Coordinator comments, who also took part in the research, comments. www.sustainweb.org/news/apr25-l...

Today I did an interview which comes out in a couple of days with explosive info on inequality in Wales.
Watch this space!
The running pic is just for lols… I never give up on an issue I care about

Our Approach to Climate Policy Has Failed. It’s Time for Climate Realism U.S. policymakers need a new strategy to confront the risks of climate change, compete in the global energy transition, and stay the course regardless of which political party is in power. A doctrine…

We've failed to do what's needed, so it's important that, going forward, we stop trying. www.cfr.org/article/our-...

Living Streets: Event highlights benefits of pedestrianised high streets An event at the Senedd in Cardiff this week highlighted how streets that are better for walking can boost local businesses in Wales. Data from Living Streets’ updated Pedestrian Pound report shows tha...

An event at the Senedd in Cardiff this week highlighted how streets that are better for walking can boost local businesses in Wales

Sustain finds London councils taking strategic approach to improving food choices in the capital

New report ▶️ www.sustainweb.org/news/mar25-l...

Cycling plans in Wales at risk, warn campaigners Warning as Welsh government moves focus away from building cycle infrastructure.

Stonking run of Welsh politics news this weekend

My piece for Politics Wales on the TV was about cycling, and the Welsh government's move away from bike lanes to fixing pavements for disabled people - concerns it could damage efforts to get people cycling

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Spring Statement 2025 – some implications for Wales Showcasing current research, comments and analysis on the law, politics, history, culture, government and political economy of Wales from the Wales Governance Centre.

🚨 NEWYDD 🚨: Ymateb Dadansoddiad Cyllid Cymru i Ddatganiad Gwanwyn y Canghellor - beth fydd ei effaith yng Nghymru? 💷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨: Wales Fiscal Analysis's reaction to the Chancellor's Spring Statement - what will be its impact in Wales? 💷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

>> blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...

Diddorol. @calvjones.bsky.social @cwmpasceo.bsky.social @harrythompson.bsky.social

This is the first time Bluesky has truly felt like old Twitter, in that my entire feed is just increasingly esoteric jokes about a single news event (new phone, houthis?)

Weeks after ‘No Other’ Land won the Best Documentary Oscar, Palestinian Hamdan Ballal, one of the film’s four directors, is missing following an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Susiya in Masafer Yatta, where the documentary was filmed.

Wales’s 20mph speed limit has cut road deaths. Why is there still even a debate? Research suggests the scheme may be more popular than thought, with consultations dominated by a loud minority

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

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