Archive for nature writing

My year planting trees

January 28, 2019 Ben Damph, Ben Damph Estate, environment, highlands, nature, nature writing, Rewilding, rhododendrons, scotland, Torridon, trees, Trees for Life, Uncategorized, wester ross, wildlife Comments Off on My year planting trees
Aspen planted in 1.8m tubes by Loch Torridon.

Aspen planted in 1.8m tubes by Loch Torridon.

Over the past year I have been involved in a project to plant 3,500 native trees on Ben Damph Estate in the Highlands of Scotland. It was a part of a Forestry Commission Scotland grant to improve woodland in an area previously infested with rhododendron ponticum. This blog is an attempt to exchange knowledge on the challenges of planting in a landscape shared with red deer and rhoddies, and a little bit of philosophy about the joys of planting trees…
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The pine martens make a meal of it, until the badger comes along

May 1, 2017 aigas, animals, badger, beaver, countryside, environment, highlands, nature, nature writing, photography, pine marten, Rewilding, scotland, Uncategorized, wildlife Comments Off on The pine martens make a meal of it, until the badger comes along

A pine marten looking for danger - and peanuts.

A pine marten looking for danger – and peanuts.

A few weeks ago I spent a very enjoyable evening in the hide at Aigas Field Centre, where BBC Springwatch is filmed, watching a pine marten happily munching peanuts – until a badger came along…  Read more

Photo stalking the red deer stags on Ben Damh

October 11, 2016 animals, Books, Country sports, countryside, deer, environment, ethical carnivore, field sports, Game of Thrones, highlands, Meat, nature, nature writing, Outlander, photography, scotland, stalking, Uncategorized, venison, wildlife 4 comments

This 8-pointer stag is in the height of the rut, roaring to demonstrate his willingness to fight for the chance to mate with the hinds.

This 8-pointer stag is in the height of the rut, roaring to demonstrate his willingness to fight for the chance to mate with the hinds.

If you have already read chapter 14 of The Ethical Carnivore, you will understand this is a little bit of a postscript… Read more

Tagging gannets on the Bass Rock

July 20, 2016 bass rock, birds, east lothian, environment, gannets, nature, nature writing, north berwick, pheasant, science, sea, wildlife Comments Off on Tagging gannets on the Bass Rock

Tagging gannets on the Bass Rock.

Tagging gannets on the Bass Rock.

I was lucky enough to visit the Bass Rock with Leeds University scientists to tag gannets. A short piece has already appeared in the Guardian Country Diary so I just wanted to add a few photos here and note my family connection to the island.

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Blowing my cover…

June 13, 2016 animal ethics, animal rights, animals, Bloomsbury, Books, eating, environment, ethical carnivore, ethics, Meat, nature, nature writing, publishing, Uncategorized Comments Off on Blowing my cover…

The cover of The Ethical Carnivore published by Bloomsbury September 2016

The cover of The Ethical Carnivore published by Bloomsbury September 2016

After much deliberation, The Ethical Carnivore has a cover and the build up to publication has begun. Read more

New Year 2016, Glen Clova

January 5, 2016 animals, deer, environment, nature, nature writing, roe deer, scotland, wildlife Comments Off on New Year 2016, Glen Clova

A roe deer skull I found on Glen Clova. The back of the antlers were black so I wonder if it was running from the muirburn? Or died before the heather was burnt off?

A roe deer skull I found on Glen Clova. The back of the antlers were black so I wonder if it was running from the muirburn? Or died before the heather was burnt off?

One of my many New Year’s resolutions, is to learn to describe better my two great loves: food and nature. So here’s a start:

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