1. This is a thread about the most powerful bird of all: a Guardian Giant. It’s essential to the recovery of nature – and could help farmers and landowners too. This thread explains how Eagle-owls could transform Britain: our island's most important avian keystone species.

We desperately need more trees on our hillsides to reduce these kinds of muddy run-offs after heavy rainfall.

What a moment! A #WhiteTailedEagle is born in England – the 1st for over 240 years! It hatched earlier this summer & has now fledged. It's the first breeding success of the birds released by Forestry England & Roy Dennis Foundation in a landmark project to return this iconic species.

Contrary to some claims, #rewilding is not about recreating the past. That said, we can use history as a barometer for the abundance of life that is possible in the UK. Yes, times have changed but ultimately it's about our tolerance of other species. theconversation.com/wildlife-wonde…

This is going to be a really important read. I couldn’t have written Rebirding without the Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds. This takes things to the next level and will reveal yet again how much we have lost - and could have back.

Can you help return missing species to Scotland? If so, this role might be for you. #WildlifeComeback scotlandbigpicture.com//Images/2023/0…

I can already imagine this view, with wild boar rootling in the evening light, cranes, beaver lodges along the river and lynx skulking through the plantation behind. This part of the Cairngorms feels like a national park should…let’s keep piecing the puzzle back together!

Just seen these remarkable stats on UK meat consumption. In the period 2008-19, lamb consumption dropped by 55% and beef by 30%. Currently 70% of UK is farmed and app 1% is #rewilding. Don't let anyone tell you we can't afford space for more of the latter. thelancet.com/journals/lanpl…

Hiking outside the UK can be one of the most powerful ways of understanding how naturally impoverished the British landscape is, particularly the high places and uplands. A thread following a trip to the Alps which vividly reminded me of what we're missing. 🧵

Too often, stakeholders considering the return of #LynxToScotland are characterised as being for/against, but in truth, for many, it's a much more nuanced debate, eliciting conflicting feelings that reflect the complex costs and benefits this potential reintroduction presents.

When will this fiendish British obsession with orderliness and tidiness in the countryside end? It’s not a green and pleasant land when it’s been mowed, flailed and strimmed to within an inch of its life. Roadside verges ought to be refuges for biodiversity… Plantlife

#Aspen trees prefer moist soils and are an ideal riparian species, providing vital shade for cold water dependent #salmon. Their leaves also boost nutrients in upland systems while deadwood shelters fry and diversifies flows➡️healthy rivers. #Riverwoods #PaintingScotlandYellow

Science now says more than half of all species on earth live in soil. So why do we pay fertilizer and pesticide companies to wage chemical warfare on them? They call it agriculture but it's really ecocide. Time to bring legal charges against firms making our planet unliveable

Working in “land”, I know any praise of Chris Packham can land one in trouble - but one doesn’t care. This is the most eloquently-narrated, well-crafted series I’ve ever watched in the field of science education. Every sentence brings revelation. It’s why we pay the licence fee.

After 3 years of some amazing debates & engagements on Twitter, I’ll be migrating to LinkedIn where I’ll be sharing (in longer articles) the ecological restoration journey we’re starting at RESTORE. A huge thanks to all my followers - let’s keep up the dialogue/challenge/debate!

Look what I got for Christmas - one chapter in before lunch - excellent ⁦Benedict Macdonald⁩

Delighted to see the launch of our Restore flagship project, the Pertwood Plain, in The Guardian today. This is an exciting chance to restore at scale; reinstate lost processes and demonstrate what a true living ecosystem should and can become. theguardian.com/environment/20…

A gorgeous book every orchardist and cider maker should read. Orchard, by Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates. In fact a good read for anyone with soul. Mine is well thumbed now. Great text , great woodcuts. #cider #orchards #books #ecology #conservation

Arriving back in #Wales from Switzerland and you immediately see why we are so #nature depleted. Barren hillsides with few trees or wildflowers compared to hillsides full of flowers, birds, insects, trees and cattle. The difference is mind blowing. We need urgent change.