John Marchant
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johnmarchant.bsky.social
John Marchant
@johnmarchant.bsky.social
Birds, moths and other British wildlife: I have helped record our declining bird diversity for 50+ years as a BTO staffer and volunteer - in retirement, enjoying what’s left, and paying more attention to other taxa.
Reposted by John Marchant
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
Labour seem determined to wreck what’s left of our natural world. So many broken promises.

www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/nightma....
Nightmare before Christmas: worst environmental regression in decades looms | The Wildlife Trusts
Labour’s list of broken promises mounts
www.wildlifetrusts.org
December 11, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
Seasonal field staff needed for @rspbscience.bsky.social projects in 2026 - advert live, closing date 11 Jan. Lots of #seabird (& non-seabird) opportunities!

Get in touch if you’d like to know more about any of the #seabird roles 🌊🐦

app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car... #seabirds #ornithology
Research Assistant and Senior Research Assistant - Seasonal Recruitment 2026 | RSPB
We are delighted to bring the details of our seasonal Research Assistants and Senior Research Assistants vacancies on a variety of projects within Great Britain in 2026.Full details of the roles curre...
app.vacancy-filler.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
The Home Office continues to use language that its own data refutes
December 7, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
"Region imported 438,000 tons of pesticides and herbicides in 2020, two-thirds more than in 2018. More than half of such chemicals used in Nigeria are highly hazardous, at least 40% of those can’t be sold in Europe"

#Pesticide colonialism
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Europe’s Banned Pesticides Are Poisoning Nigeria
Chemicals barred by the EU are widely available across Africa, threatening food and water supplies.
www.bloomberg.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
I’m hiring a caseworker. If you have experience in casework or similar work, and a passion for making a difference for individuals and the wider community, I want to hear from you. Join my team in Diss for four days a week. More info at www.adrianramsay.org.uk/jobs
Jobs — Adrian Ramsay MP for Waveney Valley
www.adrianramsay.org.uk
December 8, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
'The CPS has named Jonathan Bullock, Julia Reid and Steven Woolfe, saying they followed the script provided to Nathan Gill... when giving interviews to... a pro-Russian TV channel in March 2019."

How many apples have to be rotten before you discard the barrel?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Three more Farage bloc MEPs alleged to have followed Russian asset’s script
At least eight MEPs elected for Ukip or Brexit party now known to have been focus of efforts by jailed Nathan Gill
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
🔴 Nigel Farage’s Reform is more reliant on super-rich backers than any major party in modern British political history

75% of *all* Reform donations *ever* have come from just three rich men

Is this what democracy looks like?

New on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/75-of-refo...
75% of Reform UK’s donations have come from just three rich men
Calls grow for donation caps as Democracy for Sale research reveals that three-quarters of Reform’s funding comes from a trio of wealthy donors
democracyforsale.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
£54 million! 😮 That’s the estimated financial value of our incredible volunteers’ efforts in 2024. They contributed an estimated over 2.6 million hours to BTO work. 📝 A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers! #InternationalVolunteerDay

📷 Ben Igglesden / BTO
December 5, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot
I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
"When are we going to have a cost of living special?"

Zack Polanski on #BBCQT

join.greenparty.org.uk
December 4, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
Billionaires shouldn't be able to buy a bigger voice in politics. Add your name to ‪@electoralreform.bsky.social‬'s call to put a cap on how much they can donate in the #ElectionsBill
action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/179420/...
Sign now to demand an end to big money in politics
It takes 30 seconds
action.electoral-reform.org.uk
December 4, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
In case it wasn't already obvious why Farage and his party are spreading misinformation about the climate crisis and trying to blame the most vulnerable for the problems caused by inequality - they've just received a record donation from a jet fuel multimillionaire!
December 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
#Glyphosate - how much damage done in those 25 years, to #PublicHealth and #biodiversity.

We have to stop this #pesticide merry-go-round of new-wonder-chemical, concerns, then obvious disaster.

We need #agroecology

www.lemonde.fr/en/environme...
Influential study on glyphosate safety retracted 25 years after publication
A 2000 study that concluded the well-known herbicide glyphosate was safe, widely cited since then, has just been officially disavowed by the journal that published it. The scientists are suspected of ...
www.lemonde.fr
December 4, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
What is & who are Wensum Riverkin? Meet a river in trouble & meet the team who will never stop fighting for it - part 2 #wensumriverkin
December 3, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
"The Labour Government is laying the groundwork for further crackdowns on dissent, whistleblowing and protest if it removes juries from so many charges that have state or corporate victims." - @sianberry.bsky.social
December 3, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
One thing that stood out on our wander to Salthouse y'day was this distinctive seaweed that was really abundant along a half-mile stretch of beach. Looks just like Irish Moss (carragheen) but on the east coast? Puzzling...
@linnetincley.bsky.social
@norfolknats.bsky.social
@peediepuss.bsky.social
December 3, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
1/ The UK Biodiversity Indicators, some using BTO data, have been updated by Defra and @jncc.bsky.social ➡️ jncc.gov.uk/our-work/uk-...

Here’s how BTO contributes to these indicators, which show the state of #biodiversity, its pressures and conservation responses. ⬇️
December 2, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
This table from the new UK Biodiversity Indicators is particularly stark, bleak, and awful. Almost every major group of UK birds is doing badly in the long- and/or short-term. None are showing sustained recovery, most have been declining for 50 years. Awful. #ukbirding #ornithology
December 2, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
UK Biodiversity Indicators 2025 are now live jncc.gov.uk/our-work/uk-...

With contributions from nearly 100 organisations, they are useful tools for summarising & communicating broad trends 🧵

#TogetherForNature
December 2, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
Did you know our BTO HQ in Thetford was once a Benedictine monastery founded in King Canute’s time (1016-1035)? The site was then taken over by Benedictine Nuns & was run as a Nunnery until 1537. The oldest existing remains here date back to the late 12th century.

#ExploreYourArchive #EYAMedieval
December 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
Climate change isn’t something we can afford to put off any longer, we must take action.

www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-...

#climatecrisis #netzero #NEB2025
National Emergency Briefing
An unfiltered assessment of the latest threats to UK food supply, health and national security from eight leading experts to an invitation-only audience - also covering positive solutions. Westminster...
www.nebriefing.org
December 1, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by John Marchant
This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started
November 30, 2025 at 9:57 AM
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Just because it's reached the 100,000 threshold, doesn't mean anything will happen.

So keep signing and sharing, because we need to show MPs that there's a huge demand.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Petition: Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy
We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...
petition.parliament.uk
November 29, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by John Marchant
8,000 illegal waste sites
13 million tons of rubbish
No controls on waste dumped sometimes near rivers + in floodplains
Burning of waste
Little or no policing

How criminal dumping of waste became the 'new narcotics'

Our latest article, out now:

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
At least 8,000 illegal waste sites in UK, research suggests
Exclusive: Concerns over impact on health and environment, as well as £1.63bn in avoided landfill tax
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:41 AM