Shelly Dennison
@dennisonshelly.bsky.social
I help not-for-profits write things. I also write other stuff. https://shellydennison.co.uk/
I'm not saying the relentless hot weather and overtiredness is getting to me but after not seeing our garden hedgehogs for weeks I caught sight of one at 2 am and genuinely got a bit teary with relief because I thought the heat might have done have for them.
Firmly of the belief, rooted in the history of those very hills around Snake, that the countryside belongs to everyone and everyone deserves to enjoy it. But sod me if people don’t make it hard to cling to that belief sometimes.
David Higham@oldtrotter.bsky.social · 2d agoExtraordinary
After plenty of fictional works written about the #Dunwich fire in certain other publications, it's great to read this excellent piece of #NonFiction by @patrickbarkham.bsky.social and @pippaneill.bsky.social at @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
‘These are human fires, not wildfires’: Dunwich reflects on the devastation
As residents, nature wardens and experts consider the damage to the heathland and how to restore it, the climate crisis is foremost in their minds
theguardian.com
yes a thousand times @juliabuckley.bsky.social
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan@london.gov.uk · 3d agoClimate denial is getting louder. Reality is getting harder to ignore. When parks are brown, rivers are shrinking and firefighters are battling blazes across the globe, governments must accelerate climate action, not slow it down.
As the temperatures begin to rise again over this week, it is the ideal time to take a short walk in the park and enjoy a breath of fresh air. My Saturday piece for @yorkshirebylines.co.uk
Yorkshire Bylines@yorkshirebylines.co.uk · 3d agoA breath of fresh air: a brief history of the West Riding’s public parks From Victorian ‘urban lungs’ to modern community spaces, Yorkshire’s public parks have been transforming city life for 170 years By John Heywood
I've signed the petition calling on the Government to make wildfire prevention and climate resilience a national priority. Join me and help protect the places we love. campaigns.nationaltrust.org.uk/page/196457/...
I've signed. Will you? Add your name to help make wildfire prevention and climate resilience a national priority, and stand with the communities affected by wildfires.
campaigns.nationaltrust.org.uk
I've been working with a community group taking their first steps on social media and this week I've been reviewing their Facebook* stats to see how the first couple of months have gone**. I've got a blog post with some tips to help decide what to measure. shellydennison.co.uk/2025/10/07/w...
Drowning in data
Which communications statistics should I be measuring?
shellydennison.co.uk
I've given the charities section of my website a bit of a spring (August?) clean. It's now much more writing focused and puts the content strategy stuff into that context rather than it sounding like a completely separate thing. shellydennison.co.uk/communicatio...
Working with charities
Supporting small charities with their communications.
shellydennison.co.uk
I'm at an age where I don't want to wish away time, but I will be so glad when this summer is over.
This month's A brief history of Bedfordshire in plants and animals post looks at the extending of the Great Ouse navigation to Bedford and the growth of trade in the county town. shellydennison.co.uk/2026/08/03/e... #LocalHistory #NatureWriting
Extending the Great Ouse Navigation
Over their beer, the boatmen are dreaming of cargoes and chances.
shellydennison.co.uk
After days watching Suffolk burn via the news it did me good to get out and watch some birds for a bit, the air ringing with the peewit call of lapwings, sand martins skitting across the water, tufted ducks and coots swimming, and elegant egrets and cormorants resting on the scrapes. #NatureWriting
'We need to talk about how we talk about nature and climate [...] How the misuse of tongue, teeth, mouth and throat can be as violent as a naked flame in an open, dry moorland.' Blue Kirkhope unpicks how the English language can catalyse the climate crisis www.caughtbytheriver.net/2026/07/word...
If you can, please support our appeal to help the recovery of Dunwich Heath. Your donation will help restore habitats, protect wildlife and build resilience for the future. Donate here: nationaltrust.org.uk/dunwich-heath-appeal
nationaltrust.org.uk
Ed Miliband already showing that he is prioritising the climate crisis in his role as Foreign Secretary And if climate breakdown is a national security emergency then you can’t drill for more oil in the North Sea… & you have to make our landscapes wilder & more resilient bsky.app/profile/leoh...
Leo Hickman@leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 2w ago++BREAKING++ The UK and Spanish governments have issued a joint statement overnight: "[We] agreed that this summer’s wildfires demonstrated that climate change was now a national security emergency facing Europe and threatening our way of life." www.gov.uk/government/n...
This is a really interesting read on how wildfires in the UK and beyond are being reported. theconversation.com/wildfires-wh...
Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make the climate connection
A wildfire can be explained by today’s barbecue, yesterday’s wind direction, a dry spring, four decades of land use change, or a century of emissions.
theconversation.com
It's actually raining. *Sobs in relief from the East of England*
Very sad. 😢 The blaze has spread to parts of #RSPBMinsmere nature reserve. Adam Rowlands, an RSPB area manager, said the scale of the blaze was “unprecedented in living memory” and the damage was “quite devastating” #wildfires #natureemergency #drought
Holiday park evacuated as 90 firefighters tackle Suffolk heath wildfire
Major incident declared, Sizewell B power station closely monitoring blaze and RSPB nature reserve closed to visitors
theguardian.com
This sounds promising - the priority for increasing Green Investment is particularly welcome. This will be vital in breaking free from our dependence on fossil fuels.
Leo Hickman@leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 2w ago++BREAKING++ The UK and Spanish governments have issued a joint statement overnight: "[We] agreed that this summer’s wildfires demonstrated that climate change was now a national security emergency facing Europe and threatening our way of life." www.gov.uk/government/n...
The wildfire footage this summer has been awful across the UK but there's something particularly upsetting about seeing pictures from somewhere I know well. I hope Dunwich is brought under control soon.
I wrote a thing about heritage, community history, collective memory, and public parks. wp.me/pa6hjN-Jy
Bells and belonging
Exploring Queen’s Park in Loughborough.
wp.me
I am investing way too much hope in this forecast for next week.
Having to stop even earlier today as it's already 29° in the study.
Shelly Dennison@dennisonshelly.bsky.social · 2w agoIt's too hot for writing any more words so I'm giving up for the day and flaking out with my book (Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh).
I'm growing to really dislike that 'what has the BBC ever done for me?' ad that they are using on loop. And I'm broadly supportive of them so goodness only knows whether it's going to have the desired effect.
It's too hot for writing any more words so I'm giving up for the day and flaking out with my book (Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh).
It’s Beatrix Potter’s 160th birthday, which is as good an excuse as any to reshare this post about one of her lesser known works, ‘The Fairy Caravan.’ shellydennison.substack.com/p/joining-th...
Joining the circus with Beatrix Potter
This post is part of a series revisiting my favourite childhood reads.
shellydennison.substack.com
I have fond memories of using these on summer holiday days out by train when I was at school in West Yorkshire.
Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳@ancestralenq.bsky.social · 2w agoMerrie England cafe chain which has branches in Huddersfield, Halifax & Brighouse to close after 60 years. 👇 BBC News - Huddersfield cafe chain Merrie England shuts after 60 years - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
