Great to see @theguardian.com reporting on the Bluetongue crisis. It’s causing a lot of stress in rural communities in Exmoor. @exmoornp.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Alarming surge in bluetongue disease reported among UK sheep

Farmers advised to vaccinate after recent hot weather provides ideal conditions for virus-carrying midges

theguardian.com

Great news about the eagles returning to Exmoor. Can’t wait to see them flying over the farm!

Exmoor National Park@exmoornp.bsky.social · yesterday

The return of white-tailed eagles to England has taken another step forward with the release of six young birds in Exmoor National Park - here's the moment the first eagle left the pen....

Any media folk interested in reporting on the Bluetongue pandemic in Devon (out of control among sheep, especially) then get in touch. The reporting and testing system is creaking and farmers are in despair. This is a rural crisis in the making. @dpcarrington.bsky.social

How did the Green Party lose its way so badly? Moderate environmentalists used to feel at home there, even if they disagreed with some of the radicalism. But now the party is repelling reasonable people, which will not go well for them.

James Austin@jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 2d ago

A party that was actually anti-racist would be kicking this person out, not allowing them to run for the Governing Committee. There are many decent Greens who will be disgusted by this and I wish them all power fighting back against it. We know from experiance how hard that is.

Despite wildfire risk in National Parks, some campsites still promoting ‘open campfires’ & barbecues on social media. NPAs have no powers to ban open fires, even today. But if you want to dig a pond, you’ll need planning permission… @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Well, this looks like a poor quality study that @theguardian.com liked as a clickbait headline to irritate its readers. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Organic eggs have worse impact on climate than eggs from caged chickens

Adopting organic free-range model in UK could lead to greenhouse emissions equivalent to 2,316,000 tonnes of CO2, study suggests

theguardian.com

We need @themerl.bsky.social to adjudicate this discussion. I reckon the ‘Absolute Unit’ could handle Matt Damon in full armour.

Dominic Elson@73foundation.bsky.social · 2w ago

Sheep surprisingly strong, especially their necks. You can come to the farm and try to flip one of our Exmoor Horns if you want proof!

If you know who Richard Sylla is you'll know why I'm beyond giddy about this.

This is a great series on Indonesia for anyone teaching modern Southeast Asia or Indonesian History. A group of terrific young Indonesian scholars and great prep and questioning by Denvir. @asianstudies.org @avick.bsky.social @tompepinsky.com @anu-chl.bsky.social

Daniel Denvir@danieldenvir.bsky.social · 2w ago

We just completed Nusantara, @thedigradio.bsky.social's 8-part series on the history of Indonesia. The fourth largest country is barely understood in the West and yet has decisively shaped the world: from Dutch colonialism to third world revolution to US-backed mass anti-communist genocide. 1/

NEW: JK Rowling and other gender-critical campaigners have reacted furiously after a report from Amnesty International called them 'anti-rights' organisations The author has accused human rights group Amnesty of believing women don't deserve rights in response

JK Rowling claims Amnesty 'don't believe women deserve rights' in report row

thenational.scot

1/3 We’ve really enjoyed working with Ilfracombe Friendship and Social Group Well Combe and Ilfracombe & District Community Transport Association this Summer to run creative workshops to help people connect to Exmoor’s nature and landscape – as well as make new friends and improve their wellbeing

Very useful report about climate change impacts in SIDS. Timely, too, as we are increasingly being asked to support Indigenous communities in small islands.

Shouro Dasgupta, PhD@shourodasgupta.bsky.social · 3w ago

1/n In the 2025 @lancetcountdown.bsky.social #SIDS report, Prof @profejzrobinson.bsky.social & I track the impact of increasing frequency of #heatwaves & #droughts on access to food, through impact on crop yields, disrupted supply chains & price stability. #CMCC @granthamlse.bsky.social

In Scotland, our position with natural heritage is a little better thanks to the Gaelic concept of "duthchas" that integrates people & place, to which some conservation bodies have started to pay heed. See scholar @gaelicmichael.bsky.social Michael Newton: gaelicmichael.substack.com/p/duthchas-a...

Dùthchas: An Archaic Gaelic Term Gets New Attention

Some personal reflections on Gaelic scholarship and human ecology

gaelicmichael.substack.com

Former Exmoor NPA board member Dominic Elson @73foundation.bsky.social - “What strikes me, living and working with these communities, is that they begin from a place of emotional and spiritual connection to their landscape. They articulate what the land means to them.” www.cnp.org.uk/blog/renewal...

Great piece, Dominic. 'Connection to place' and 'emotional and spiritual connection to their landscape' critical to fostering care of NPs

Love this piece Dominic, thank you for writing it. This nails it: “A board that has never collectively articulated its own connection to the landscape it governs will struggle to weigh trade-offs well, recruit the right people, or explain its decisions in terms that resonate with the public.”

An offbeat proposal for improving National Park governance - My article for CNP: www.cnp.org.uk/blog/renewal... @guyshrubsole.bsky.social @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Reform UK plans to jail candidates for using Irish, Gaelic Or Cornish on their election leaflets. Nigel Farage’s party propose amendment to the elections Bill which would mean candidates using Irish and Scottish Gaelic would face up to six months in prison bylinetimes.com/2026/07/13/r...

Reform UK Plans To Jail Candidates For Using Irish, Gaelic Or Cornish On Election Leaflets

EXCLUSIVE: Nigel Farage's party propose amendment to the Government's elections Bill which would mean candidates using Irish and Scottish Gaelic would face up to six months in prison

bylinetimes.com

This piece on the "load-bearing internet people" and how AI-code writing is overwhelming the web's unheralded maintainers by @samlearner.bsky.social is absolutely terrific: brilliantly accessible without being patronising:

Who cleans up after the vibe-coding party?

Our obsession with AI code-writing tools is overwhelming the web’s unsung human caretakers

ft.com

Calling a by-election over the sovereign right of every MP to take secret gifts from a convicted criminal. What a time to be alive.

In my quest to meet @naomialderman.bsky.social challenge to read more, I dive into ‘Careless People’, because oligarchs don’t want me to read it. And seeing who wrote the Foreword is an unexpected coincidence…😉

“None of them seem to understand that an apprentice needs an employer.” - fantastic piece on why the UK’s politicians keep calling for apprenticeships while providing fewer and fewer:

Everyone loves apprenticeships. So why can’t Britain create more of them?

With a million young people out of work, we need to revive the tradition of ‘learning on the job’

ft.com

I love @rspb.bsky.social and it is good to know they have experts who can help us muggles spot the difference between a dachshund and a mallard.

Some good news: a former refugee from Somalia who made Bristol his home 15 years ago, studied in the U.K. and represents his ward since 2021, pushing for improving local conditions, now fills the ceremonial role of Lord Mayor of Bristol.

I especially love this diagram.

Excellent

Emma Monk@monkemma.bsky.social · last mo.

It was inevitable, wasn't it🙄 Of course the Telegraph would run with something like this👇 So let's remove some of the rose-tinted spectacles and also look at some of that data comparing 1976 with modern heat waves Because the 1976 nostalgia porn is wearing a bit thin at this stage 🧵1/23

All of France is scorching hot today. Except for one village in the northwest...

Ironic (and disappointing) that today I had to cancel my trip to London for Climate Action Week, because of heat-related transport problems. I was looking forward to sessions about coastal communities and transition minerals.

James Dyke@jamesgdyke.info · last mo.

There is the risk that some events at London Climate Action Week will be cancelled this week because of an extraordinary heatwave. The @metoffice.gov.uk has just upgraded to red alert on Wedneday with London at 40°C. Previous June record was 35.6°C. This is an emergency.

This is the reality of accepting refugees in the UK. Lovely stuff. #NiceThings

Community tea garden created by refugees opens in Barnstaple

Promoting unity with Project Unitea – a new tea garden feature has opened in Barnstaple today

northdevongazette.co.uk