A brief round-up of blogs on other platforms that I have written or contributed to in recent months.

First a couple on the Beth Chatto Gardens website The Beth Chatto Gardens Blog:

Ten top plants to bring wildlife into your garden ten of the top plants that can be used to attract wildlife, especially beneficial and attractive insects, to your garden. It includes native and non-native species, plants for average, dry, damp and shady gardens, and explains a few general principle about choosing plants for their wildlife benefit.

What happened when we stopped mowing the grass? describes the exciting developments in the former overflow car park this summer. A significant area has been allowed to grow unchecked by mowing this summer, and it has resulted in a magnificent piece of nature recovery – dry sandy grassland with more than 90 plant species, many of which are local dry ground specialists, mixed with ruderal (‘weedy’) species and escapees from the Garden. A truly eclectic, multicultural mix of plants forming a magnificent mosaic.

And finally, on a different tack, a blog on the ESG  Foundation website ESG Foundation. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) seeks to ensure those attributes are central to the thinking and operation of businesses large and small. My blog Going green or greenwashing? The trouble with trees…  is a think-piece that explores the folly of unthinking knee-jerk tree planting and challenges the conventional assumptions that planting trees is the best way to save the planet.

Also of interest perhaps is an article in the August 2021 edition of British Wildlife, our story of how local communities CAN defeat unscrupulous housebuilders and their bought consultants. Warning: contains demonstration of how Biodiversity Net Gain can be perverted.

HALL, J & GIBSON, C. (2021) Not just bats and reptiles: the importance of species recording in planning decisions. British Wildlife 32: 565-572.