Craig Bennett's Avatar

Craig Bennett

@craigbennett3.bsky.social

CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, UK. Advisory Commissioner, 2030 Clean Power Commission. Senior Associate, CISL. Associate Fellow, Homerton College, Cambridge. Judge, The Wainwright Prize. Formerly CEO Friends of the Earth

2,433 Followers  |  1,974 Following  |  28 Posts  |  Joined: 22.11.2024  |  1.8807

Latest posts by craigbennett3.bsky.social on Bluesky

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I had good fun reviewing the papers with @darrenmacca.bsky.social @skynewsrss.bsky.social on Tuesday morning.

If you weren't awake and watching at 6.40am, do check out some of our conversation here...

04.12.2025 18:07 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I had good fun reviewing the papers with @darrenmacca.bsky.social @skynewsrss.bsky.social on Tuesday morning.

If you weren't awake and watching at 6.40am, do check out some of our conversation here...

04.12.2025 18:07 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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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. SixteenΒ months on from winning a massive majority, off the back of a manifesto that promised 'to restore and protec...

BY ME at #HouseMagazine at #PoliticsHome

The #PlanningAndInfrastructureBill #PiB is a microcosm of where #Labour is getting it wrong...

www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

11.11.2025 19:49 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
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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. SixteenΒ months on from winning a massive majority, off the back of a manifesto that promised 'to restore and protec...

BY ME at #HouseMagazine at #PoliticsHome

The #PlanningAndInfrastructureBill #PiB is a microcosm of where #Labour is getting it wrong...

www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

11.11.2025 19:49 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
Wild LIVE: Mud matters - How do we protect our blue carbon stores in UK seabeds?
YouTube video by The Wildlife Trusts Wild LIVE: Mud matters - How do we protect our blue carbon stores in UK seabeds?

Catch up with last night's Wild Live session on blue carbon and seabeds, featuring @sussexkelp.bsky.social's George Short with @craigbennett3.bsky.social and an expert panel.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2APd...

#Nature #Carbon #NetZero

29.10.2025 12:46 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Nature groups rebuke Reeves for β€˜cynical’ 11th-hour planning bill changes Chancellor accused of removing environmental protections to win short-term growth and save her budget

Make no mistake, this is a centralising Govt taking power&decision making away from people

And these shambolic amendments to #PlanningBill, tabled last minute, build on months of lies from #RachelReeves pathetically scapegoating nature for a struggling economy..

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

19.10.2025 21:37 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 3
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Nature groups rebuke Reeves for β€˜cynical’ 11th-hour planning bill changes Chancellor accused of removing environmental protections to win short-term growth and save her budget

Make no mistake, this is a centralising Govt taking power&decision making away from people

And these shambolic amendments to #PlanningBill, tabled last minute, build on months of lies from #RachelReeves pathetically scapegoating nature for a struggling economy..

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

19.10.2025 21:37 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 3

Very well put Tony

The #ClimateCrisis is obviously a huge threat to people, our economy, our security, our food production and our water supply...

And also one of the greatest threats to #nature

Any party that seeks to deny or dismiss climate science, is not fit for Govt

01.10.2025 20:41 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Very well put Tony

The #ClimateCrisis is obviously a huge threat to people, our economy, our security, our food production and our water supply...

And also one of the greatest threats to #nature

Any party that seeks to deny or dismiss climate science, is not fit for Govt

01.10.2025 20:41 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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"We can absolutely win for nature and win for the economy. They are not in competition".

Welcome comments from Minister @emmahardymp.bsky.social at
#LabourPartyConference

We need to hear this narrative more frequently and consistently from across the Government please, not least from No10 & No11!

29.09.2025 14:53 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Banking on Trumpington Meadows.

One of the best sites for butterflies in Cambridgeshire, has just got better.

@tonyjuniper.bsky.social @brianecambs.bsky.social @craigbennett3.bsky.social

27.09.2025 09:52 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Love it! Have a great time

29.09.2025 14:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Lead ammunition to be banned for hunting and shooting in England, Scotland and Wales Exclusive: Restrictions on ammunition containing toxic metal to be phased in over three years from 2026

At long long last...

(It really really should not have taken this long)

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

10.07.2025 08:19 β€” πŸ‘ 43    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Did you see our Chief Executive @craigbennett3.bsky.social on @channel4news.bsky.social speaking about a critical risk facing nature?

UK Government promised to protect nature – but new changes to the planning system threaten to do the opposite. More > buff.ly/3jTsoyL

22.05.2025 19:01 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Is a River Alive? by Robert Mcfarlane: A beautiful overture for our dying rivers There’s been a lot of noise about the state of our rivers these past few years, and quite right too. An Environment Agency report in 2020 revealed that not a single river, lake or stream in England wa...

My review in The Evening Standard of #IsARiverAlive, the latest beautiful book from @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social

"Macfarlane has yet again demonstrated his genius as an author in creating a book that is alive, that has personality, that talked to me".

www.standard.co.uk/culture/book...

03.05.2025 10:29 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Is a River Alive? by Robert Mcfarlane: A beautiful overture for our dying rivers There’s been a lot of noise about the state of our rivers these past few years, and quite right too. An Environment Agency report in 2020 revealed that not a single river, lake or stream in England wa...

My review in The Evening Standard of #IsARiverAlive, the latest beautiful book from @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social

"Macfarlane has yet again demonstrated his genius as an author in creating a book that is alive, that has personality, that talked to me".

www.standard.co.uk/culture/book...

03.05.2025 10:29 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Pope Francis: outsider whose reforming mission made him an ally of progressives The pontiff took on church traditionalists and rightwing populism, making powerful enemies on the way

I'm not religious, but I recognise & respect how important faith is for billions of people

With #LaudatoSi, #PopeFrancis offered a powerful analysis of the linkages between social & environmental justice, and a much needed call for action

#RIPPopeFrancis

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

21.04.2025 12:45 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Pope Francis: outsider whose reforming mission made him an ally of progressives The pontiff took on church traditionalists and rightwing populism, making powerful enemies on the way

I'm not religious, but I recognise & respect how important faith is for billions of people

With #LaudatoSi, #PopeFrancis offered a powerful analysis of the linkages between social & environmental justice, and a much needed call for action

#RIPPopeFrancis

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

21.04.2025 12:45 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Wild LIVE: Ecocide - should destroying nature be a crime? | The Wildlife Trusts During Wild LIVE we discuss some of the really important issues of the moment relating to wildlife and the natural world. Each episode we're joined by fantastic guests who share their thoughts and exp...

Looking forward to hosting this #WildLive tonight with a cracking panel: @debbietann.bsky.social, Jojo Mehta from @stopecocide.bsky.social, Jonathon Porritt, and #Ukrainian MP Yullia Ovchynnykova

Register via link below & join me online from 7pm UK!

www.wildlifetrusts.org/events/2025-...

15.04.2025 16:08 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€˜People love being here’: London development shows harmony between nature and housing Five thousand new homes alongside a paradise for newts appears to fly in face of government’s β€˜false wedge’

ThisπŸ‘‡ is how it should be done

We need changes to the #PlanningBill to make developments like this the norm rather than the exception

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

11.04.2025 19:14 β€” πŸ‘ 115    πŸ” 40    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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β€˜People love being here’: London development shows harmony between nature and housing Five thousand new homes alongside a paradise for newts appears to fly in face of government’s β€˜false wedge’

ThisπŸ‘‡ is how it should be done

We need changes to the #PlanningBill to make developments like this the norm rather than the exception

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

11.04.2025 19:14 β€” πŸ‘ 115    πŸ” 40    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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🌳 We have to get this right. Nature should never be an after thought.

βœ… We agree with @craigbennett3.bsky.social, CEO of @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social:

❌ β€œThis is the biggest dismantling of nature protections we’ve seen in decades. We need to take the time to get the Planning Bill right.”

09.04.2025 18:29 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€˜A symbol of hope’: environmentalists choose their favourite invertebrates Politicians, campaigners and charity workers make the case for their top picks, from bumblebees to blue beetles

@theguardian.com is running Invertebrate of the Year , with voting opening soonπŸ¦‹

But what are the choices of leading nature voices?

From grasshoppers to bumblebees, find out what @craigbennett3.bsky.social, @carolinelucas.bsky.social & more have gone forπŸ‘‡

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

28.03.2025 09:38 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

Yet again, #DowningSt shows itself to be trapped in a misinformation and disinformation bubble when it comes to nature laws.

Meanwhile, the PM seems to have very little to say about housebuilders that are sitting on 100ks of granted planning permissions, but not actually building houses!

14.03.2025 11:57 β€” πŸ‘ 83    πŸ” 42    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2

Yet again, #DowningSt shows itself to be trapped in a misinformation and disinformation bubble when it comes to nature laws.

Meanwhile, the PM seems to have very little to say about housebuilders that are sitting on 100ks of granted planning permissions, but not actually building houses!

14.03.2025 11:57 β€” πŸ‘ 83    πŸ” 42    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2
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Microplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds, threatening millions with starvation Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decades

Analysis estimates that 4% - 14% of the world’s staple crops of wheat, rice & maize is being lost due to impact of microplastics

Crop losses could be of a similar scale to those caused by the climate crisis in recent decades

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

11.03.2025 07:02 β€” πŸ‘ 224    πŸ” 118    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 10
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The founding fathers baked reason, truth and free speech into the US. That’s all gone now | Will Hutton Donald Trump’s actions go against the Enlightenment values that gave rise to the constitution. His might-is-right politics have nothing to offer Britain

Very good piece from @willhutton1.bsky.social @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

09.03.2025 16:49 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Today - 01/03/2025 - BBC Sounds Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

Thanks @bbcradio4.bsky.social Today Programme for inviting me to talk Who Owns the Clyde podcast #RiverRights & our petition to grant River Clyde rights of personood with @craigbennett3.bsky.social we're on at 8.30am www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

01.03.2025 13:35 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

I'll be on @bbcradio4.bsky.social #TodayProgramme just after 8.30am this morning to talk about #RightsForRivers

...perhaps mentioning #beavers once or twice too πŸ˜‰

01.03.2025 08:21 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
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Government Scraps Construction Project After Beavers Finish The Job Themselves β€œThe beavers beat [us] to it ..."

Lovin' the story from #Czechia

"The #beavers beat [us] to it, saving us CZK 30 million”

β€œThey built the dams without any project documentation and for free."

www.thedodo.com/daily-dodo/g...

09.02.2025 08:52 β€” πŸ‘ 167    πŸ” 62    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 9

@craigbennett3 is following 19 prominent accounts