The news I can finally share, although I can still barely believe it - honoured to have made the Wainwright Prize shortlist alongside books of such calibre!.

Sorry but this photo of my parents’ rescue dog from Sri Lanka being walked in the rain kills me

RT @whstancil: How is it that the richest man on earth can share this kind of openly white supremacist and misogynistic trash and it be met….

Thank you Dave 🤩.

A highly readable account not only about the life-generating powers of beavers, but also the hard graft of campaigning often required by passionate individuals and fleet-footed small NGOs to make positive change happen. 2/2.

Loved @argatyredkites’ new book on his ultimately triumphant battle to save #beavers from being shot & bring them to his land in Scotland. 1/2

Raced through this book (coming soon from Canongate) - had no idea of the issue of illegal gold miners in South Africa!.Compelling storytelling throughout.

It's wonderful to see the Wainwright Prize going from strength to strength, and to see so many deserving books on the longlist this year!.

As awful as this story is, I desperately hope it doesn’t lead to kneejerk reactions by councils, private land owners etc chopping down trees due to the potential (& statistically tiny) risk of loss of life. Risk is a fact of life. We need our trees.

Why would you be proud that you spend over £100 a month on clothing?.Why is this article written as if we should empathise with people contributing to the planetary crisis through their fast fashion addiction?.

Dear @CSquireMagazine, your recent article by Bert Burnett is amusingly / woefully inaccurate. White-tailed sea eagles haven’t been reintroduced to East Anglia & there has never been a wild boar reintroduction project (just escapes & illegal dumps).

Love this article about Raynor Winn’s THE SALT PATH and excited for the film, but the Wainwright prize is for nature-writing, not travel writing @BBCNews!

This article about the boom in baby lions as pets in Thailand is… one of the most disgusting things I’ve read in a long time.

BRISTOLIANS! Sophie Pavelle, @hedgehoghugh, & I are at @smallcitybooks this Thursday eve, talking about the tightrope line between care and control of the environment. Do join us!.

… as I said in my book GROUNDBREAKERS, we need ‘schools of wilding’ to help the UK reach a wilder future full of free-roaming livestock, wild boar, bison, and elk, & perhaps even carnivores bigger than foxes… 6/6

People in Slovenia accept that they share their lands with bears & that they have responsibilities as a result. Quite the contrast with the ‘I’ll do whatever I want’ mindset of many in the UK. We’re missing our bears but… 5/6

I watched Jernej run an educational session for schoolkids at the Centre – basically all Slovenian kids learn how to behave in their forests to minimise the risk of getting on the wrong side of a bear 4/6.

The Dina Large Carnivore Centre (near the bear watching) is also well worth a visit. It has one of the most creative & engaging exhibitions I’ve ever experienced – about the ecology of bears, wolves & lynx, & how to behave in a bear forest 3/6

Firstly, Slovenia is amazing & if you go you MUST book a bear watching trip with BEARoundme, run by the estimable Jernej Zgur: 2/6

Feeling invigorated & inspired by my recent trip to Slovenia to explore how people there rub along pretty darn well with a population of about 900 brown bears 1/6

I love stumbling on unexpected books in charity shops. This is my latest - a well written and compelling account from the 1970s of building an oxhide boat based on a monk’s writings and crossing the Atlantic in it… (w/ a few charming wildlife encounters along the way)