Apologies for the tabloidesque headline but these fellas are gorgeous.  Orange tip butterflies are just emerging and they look amazing when fresh like this male in Abney a couple of days ago.

The larvae feed on garlic mustard.  The adults emerge from April to May and are a sure sign spring is here.

Not content with stunning orange and white upper wings they also have…

I was in Abney yesterday and found a mining bee hole with it's little volcano entrance.  As I squatted and waited patiently for the bee to return for a photo an interesting sequence developed.

First a bee came along, appeared confused and went away again, possible because I'd interfered with the ivy above the nest and or there was a big lump of me that wasn't there…

This little beauty is called Cossonus linearis and it only lives in rotting willows and poplars.  This means it needs old trees that have a lot of dead wood that is at just the right stage of decay.  The maggot like larva live in and eat the rotting wood.  The Abney Veteran Tree Project has been working to preserve Abney's most wildlife valuable…

This amazing old ash tree in Abney is standing on one leg.  The whole of its north side has rotted away from beneath it, probably because a fire was set against it around 20 years ago.  The tree still stands only because it is sheltered from wind by Abney's woodland and because it has had its crown reduced to decrease its 'sail area'.

As part…

Monday evening saw the final meeting (before spring elections) of the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission (an oversight body of the Council but lacking budgetary and policy decision making powers which are confined to Cabinet Members). Lack of political support for local food growing was indicated by the failure of Nargis Khan (Lab – cabinet member responsible for green space) to attend, as commented upon by chair Cllr Havey Odze (Con). Nevertheless local food growers were well…

Clissold HLF kills 200 Year Old Giant Elephants

These two iconic trees of Hackney will die as a result of Hackney's Anti Tree bias. The twin London Planes are known locally as the elephant feet. The reason is obvious when you look at their stubby butts and solid trunks. Tragically their…

The plan to leave long grass around the new orchards is paying off for insects. Every time I weed in one of the orchards I discover lots of great creepy crawlies. Identifying them all is quite challenging but fortunately most are fairly common species and I'm even beginning to get my eye in a bit. Here's a selection from the recent orchard care day on South Millfields last weekend (16 Jan).

Hibernating …

There are a couple of initiatives in HAckney right now to get people using photo voltaic solar cells to produce electricity on roofs.  I'm thinking of installing a system on my roof in Dalston.  It should produce a good proportion of my electricity but only during the day.  There's no storage but it can feed back to the local grid (I'm told).

The other attraction is a feed in tarrif (FIT) return on the investment (about £10k).  The whole carbon economy is fraught with complexity…

2010 was a year of contrasts and contradictions as regards biodiversity in Hackney. Whilst amazing progress was made towards a long overdue Hackney Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), the reality on the ground was far less positive. Small, incremental improvements continue to be made by voluntary groups and dedicated individuals, and there were even a few …

Last Saturday Tree Musketeers turned out in the cold to plant under the snow. Many people think you cannot plant when there is snow on the ground (some TMs included, or at least thats why they said they were n't there!) but provided the soil is not frozen trees are happier planted than standing around…

The beautiful white carpet may be receding for now but winter is not over. The shortest day has passed but spring is still a long way off. We are fortunate to watch nature's display from the security of our homes with access to food. For us the harsh reality of a serious winter is cushioned by technology and plenty, so we should at least enjoy its ability…

Kynaston Gardens Destroyed

No more feeding waxwings, fieldfares, blackbirds or thrushes.

No insects, birds or other life exist in the barren, sanitised nightmare that is the new Kynaston Gardens. Tightly mown turf, a controlled, safe, lifeless lawn is all Groundwork think people of Stoke Newington deserve. The destruction, ignorance and lack of imagination is staggering. Are there people still stupid enough to cut down and dig up huge, old, …

Last week the huge diggers and other heavy plant in Clissold park were mysteriously silent. No contractors were working anywhere in the park. The reason for the hiatus?  Pressure on the Council and Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) after repeated damage to magnificent trees. Specifically the insane decision to do major works to exclude roots of the ornamental Dawn Redwoods from the West…

Reclaiming the Collective Super-ego

To Escape the Asylum of New World Order Ideology

[These notes are somewhat condensed (rich?). I hope to develop the text to aid interactive understanding.]

Capital and the State quickly incorporated Freud's ideas and psychoanalysis. Consequently the 20^thcentury saw the evolution of a constructed, synthesised ideology…

As Hackney celebrates yet more Green Flag Awards for parks trees in those very parks continue to die from damage and neglect.   As with so many bureaucratic, league table type systems Green Flag Awards have become a misleading indicator of 'success'.  True parks in Hackney have improved in many respects; new toilets, signs, benches, path surfacing, litter bins, etc.  The fact that these things have happened is in part…

Two significant achievements merit wider appreciation. First the mad plan to create cricket pitches on the North Marsh meadow (part of a designated nature reserve of London wide importance) has finally been seen off. After numerous meetings and considerable pressure Hackney Marshes User Group and HEN succeeded in defeating John Wade's ambition to extend the existing 50Ha of sports grassland. Cricket on the marshes will be great but why we need 3 full size pitches just at the moment we…

Hackney is at last developing a Biodiversity Action Plan. We are almost the only borough in London without a BAP and with so much important habitat in Hackney the document is a vital tool for guiding maintenance operations in parks, on housing estates and elsewhere. The Hackney Biodiversity Partnership (where interested parties and the Council meet to discuss such metters) is drafting 6 Habitat Action Plans for: Parks, Woodlands, Wetlands and Waterways, Homes and Housing, the Built…

After years of campaigning and DIY action we have finally succeeded in forcing the Council to appoint a biodiversity officer. One of the problems in persuading the Council not to do daft things, or even to do good things, has been the absence of anyone with any understanding of ecology in both the parks department and planning. It is around 20 years since the Council employed an ecologist! Whilst the appointment of an experienced biodiversity officer (Kate Mitchell) will not put an end…