I’m determined, this year, to Make More Things. My son said I should aim for something every month. So I’ve turned this collection of photographs of Keith Brymer Jones’ workshop in Whitstable into a limited edition photo zine (£10 +p&p, ten available - get in touch!). Made a badge in memory of Mark Pawson. And next up is my new collection of poems, Three Card Reading, which I’ve been playing with for over a year now. It’s a follow up to the Your England collection, and the short stories collected in Plimsoll Lines which came after that. If you ever want to visit my studio in Margate and see my back catalogue - lots of zines, artist’s books, and badges - let me know.
I haven’t camped since a particularly wet week in Devon about 15 years ago. But there’s a chance to camp at rewilding sites.
While the government are talking about not following a green agenda, Ed Miliband is quietly getting on with the work that needs to be done, including talking to China. I met him when he was Leader of the Opposition, and he genuinely impressed me - interested, asked good questions and listened for the answers, willing to change his mind and what he was doing. I think he’s a decent person.
And while there’s a lot of talk about China being the problem in the Climate Crisis - they can turn things around in a way other places can’t. What’s interesting about this project on the Loess Plateau is, it isn’t just rewilding - it’s accepting that what’s gone is gone, and making something new to address climate problems.
Alladale is a former sporting estate in the heart of the highlands of Scotland. For the past twenty years they’ve been restoring ancient woods and other natural habitats. They’ve got 23,000 acres and offer a range of accommodation and activities that allow you to relax and recharge, immerse in nature, and explore the wilder side of the Scottish Highlands. They’re looking for an Activities Ranger.
A new report commissioned by RSA Insurance shows that investing in beaver dams, bogs, ponds and other natural flood management delivers £10 of benefits for every pound invested.
A nine-month-old female lynx born at Newquay Zoo has become the UK’s first zoo-bred cat to be selected as a potential candidate for Europe’s prestigious Linking Lynx rewilding programme.
I love the architecture you find around docks and harbours - it so often blends function and understanding of materials with a deep understanding of place. And this boatshed in Switzerland is just gorgeous. It zigs, and it zags.
Whatever happened to the bournes of Brighton, and can we still find them? And what of the old ways of the Sussex Ouse? I have tracked lost rivers across England - from the lost river Kilbourne in London and the Sherbourne under Coventry to Thacka Beck in Penrith and the Margate Creek. So this event with David Bramwell and Vera Zakharov in Brighton looks interesting.
Hoverflies are helpful things - they eat aphids, recycle waste and pollinate plants. But, like many other insects, hoverflies need our help. As well as pollinators, they need shrubs, log piles and wild patches for hoverfly larvae. Take the Hoverfly Hero pledge today (as I write this, 396 people have signed up).
Olds Engineering, a frankly old-fashioned workshop and foundry, sits in Maryborough, Australia. It's not the sort of place you'd expect to find a new industrial invention in the 21st century. This one spotted by Ed. Not an AI in sight. I love the idea that not everything has to be high tech - sometimes the new inventions might just be down to old engineers seeing how to do something differently.
I'll take a copy of the zine! Send deets.