Tim Holt-Wilson
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timholtwilson.bsky.social
Tim Holt-Wilson
@timholtwilson.bsky.social
620 followers 280 following 800 posts
The story of the Earth - geoconservation, museums, the poetry of things old & wild - based in East Anglia, UK.
https://futureheritage.wordpress.com/
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timholtwilson.bsky.social
"The UK food supply chain is worth £147.6 billion a year, yet farm income is just £4.5 billion, that’s an alarming 3% of the total, with farmers often receiving less than 1% of supermarket profits."
So it's worth asking ...
wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/features/a-f...
#food #farming #UK #resilience
What does a fair return for farmers look like?
How can the UK be food secure, build resilience, boost biodiversity, and tackle climate extremes or pollution, when there’s so little money in farming, asks Nick Easen.
wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk
December 28, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
megabunus.bsky.social
Not long now! Book your place on my course: Arboreal Harvestmen (recording available after the event if booked/requested). Very excited for this one, we will be talking about legs and the physiology that harvestmen use for their arboreal lifestyle!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arboreal-h...
Arboreal Harvestmen
Learn about the harvestmen species of the UK found on vegetation with Meg Skinner.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
sansculottid.es
Today is Septidi the 7th of Nivôse in the year 234.
Nivôse is the month of snow.
Today we celebrate topsoil.#JacobinDay

More information on topsoil
An old time-y illustration of a Topsoil.
December 26, 2025 at 11:00 PM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
'Quaternary aminostratigraphies for the eastern North European Plain' - preprint version
open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/5-396

(Thanks @matthewcollins.bsky.social for heads-up.)
open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu
December 26, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
ferwen.bsky.social
The Sun’s fiery surface, a tattooed tardigrade, rare red lightning and more. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
The best science images of 2025 — Nature’s picks
The Sun’s fiery surface, a tattooed tardigrade, rare red lightning and more.
www.nature.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
cedricmas.bsky.social
54.
Le village du père Noël (usines en Chine) Ses elfes (des ouvriers épuisés dormant que leurs machines) Son traîneau (un porte containers chargé à ras bord)
December 25, 2025 at 2:12 PM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
The anthills of Rodborough Common soaking up low midwinter sunlight (but do their inhabitants notice?). Some are springy with cropped stems of Helianthemum nummularium (Common Rock-rose) - its solar flowers a midsummer blessing for butterflies and beetles.
#Glos #biodiversity #flora #plants
Rough pasture land on the north slope of Rodborough Hill, Gloucestershire. It is dotted with ant hills, probably made by the Yellow Meadow Ant Lasius flavus. There is a partly wooded valley in the background. Rough pasture land on the north slope of Rodborough Hill, Gloucestershire. It is dotted with ant hills, probably made by the Yellow Meadow Ant Lasius flavus . A large ant hill on rough pasture land probably made by the Yellow Meadow Ant Lasius flavus. It has a covering of Common Rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium plants.
December 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
Wayne in a manger / No crib for a bed...
#Christmas
December 25, 2025 at 11:06 AM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
December 25, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
elizabethbeston.bsky.social
A living snowflake ❄️ for you to celebrate Christmas! Happy holidays!

Moon jellyfish ephyra.

#marineplankton 🦑
December 24, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
Lovely piece, and yes, Jasione montana (Sheep's-bit) deserves a mention in any conversation about best botanical blue!

I also have a soft spot for Scilla verna (Spring Squill), which has a similar visual impact in coastal grasslands - seen here on the Unst serpentine at midsummer
A single blue Spring Squill (Scilla verna) flower stands above the barely-there sward of plants on the Keen of Hamar serpentine moonscape on Unst, Shetland. The midsummer sun is barely setting in the distance, between two hills, casting everything in a vermillion light.
December 24, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
Day 23 of my botanical #adventcalendar is the diminutive yet delightful Alpine Gentian - an extremely rare alpine, perhaps now only found on Ben Lawers, and assessed as Endangered on the new #GBRedList

Is there a better flower colour than gentian blue? No, there is not... #wildflowerhour
Alpine Gentian (Gentiana nivalis) on Ben Lawers - photo by Dan Watson of National Trust for Scotland. This small annual is growing out of a cushion of moss below a grey rock dotted with white crustose lichens and blackish bryophyte tufts. Several shoots lean to the right, ending in closed flower buds except for the tallest shoot, which has an open flower of vivid blue, facing right towards the sunlight. Species-rich calcareous short turf high on Ben Lawers, with two flowering shoots of Alpine Gentian in the centre, both with open flowers of vivid blue drinking in the sunlight on a fine early August day. The surrounding turf is dominated by Wild Thyme (Thymus drucei), with its pink flowers scattered behind, and two species of lady's-mantle (Alchemilla) leaves growing in the foreground. A beautiful botanical scene.
December 23, 2025 at 12:00 AM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
《EU Pesticide Regulation prohibits approval of substances if they, or their toxic metabolites, lead to levels in groundwater exceeding the legal threshold of 0.1 µg/L. Yet, monitoring data show that TFA already exceeds this threshold in many regions.》
December 23, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
righttoroam.bsky.social
Happy Winter Solstice, where we celebrate the returning of the light, on the shortest day and longest night.
On the solstice, when the land feels closest to its oldest stories, we’re reminded how much of England’s past remains out of reach.
December 21, 2025 at 9:55 PM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
Seeds of Solanum nigrum, Taraxacum officinalis & Rubus fruticosus for #WildflowerHour under the microscope showing interesting surface textures.

Dormant wildflowers patiently (but vainly) awaiting their hour on a microscope slide.
A seed of Black Henbane showing a cratered outer coat (testa). Max. diameter c.1.5 mm. A seed of Dandelion showing a furrowed outer coat (testa) with serial projection at the distal end. Max. length c.4 mm. A seed of Bramble showing a wrinkled, pink outer coat. Max. length c.3 cm.
December 21, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
carlsayer.bsky.social
A mystery seed from a Breckland, eastern England ghostpingo core as found by @hayleymcmechan.bsky.social. help oh botanists!!! 1 mm scale @annasolcova.bsky.social @jo-the-botanist.bsky.social @bramblebotanist.bsky.social @timholtwilson.bsky.social
December 21, 2025 at 7:08 PM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
《Dense forests only became widespread after humans eliminated the large herbivores ... Our study shows that the plants most dependent on grazing are also the ones most at risk today.》
herbertnickel.bsky.social Herbert Nickel @herbertnickel.bsky.social · 6d
A charming new paper from @jcsvenning.bsky.social 's department provides more strong evidence "that the closed-forest model commonly used in restoration does not match the evolutionary history or ecological preferences of most temperate forest plants" and "that dense
1/
phys.org/news/2025-05...
Where traditional livestock grazing in forests hasn't been abandoned, like on this woodpasture in Georgia, forests likely still resemble their pre-human state shaped by large herbivores. In such forests high diversity of forest plants still can be found. Credit: Szymon Czyżewski
December 21, 2025 at 4:47 PM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
Did the building of Sizewell A and B entail such landscape-scale destruction and disruption? Nope.
And the site will be terminally besieged by sea-level rise within the next 100 years.
sayno2sizewellc.bsky.social Together Against Sizewell C @sayno2sizewellc.bsky.social · 6d
Biodiversity Net Gain: can developers be trusted?
"When I learned that this woodland, known as Goose Hill & much loved by ramblers & bird-watchers, was to be entirely flattened & covered in concrete for a [Sizewell C] construction site, I was heartbroken"
eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...
Biodiversity Net Gain: can developers be trusted?
Developers seem rather too fickle concerning their obligations to protect the environment, and the situation may be about to get worse
eastangliabylines.co.uk
December 21, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
sayno2sizewellc.bsky.social
Biodiversity Net Gain: can developers be trusted?
"When I learned that this woodland, known as Goose Hill & much loved by ramblers & bird-watchers, was to be entirely flattened & covered in concrete for a [Sizewell C] construction site, I was heartbroken"
eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...
Biodiversity Net Gain: can developers be trusted?
Developers seem rather too fickle concerning their obligations to protect the environment, and the situation may be about to get worse
eastangliabylines.co.uk
December 21, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
thevicsoc.bsky.social
The Government has launched an eight-week consultation, which proposes the removal of the Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee in the planning process. Read the Gardens Trust’s statement bit.ly/3MPRRiM
December 21, 2025 at 2:38 PM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
Tardigrade biscuits, as eaten yesterday at the Anglian Microscopy Group meeting, fit to celebrate an eight-legged solstice.
#solstice #Yule #tardigrades
Some wheat biscuits, pale yellow and brown, in the shape of tardigrade organisms. They are coated with a light dusting of sugar
December 21, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
weirdxmas.bsky.social
The moths were just doing their job, carrying messages of love. Don't blame them for the inevitable wardrobe casualties.
The moths were just doing their job, carrying messages of love. Don't blame them for the inevitable
December 21, 2025 at 11:10 AM
timholtwilson.bsky.social
Solstitial festivity for Norfolk botanical folk @bramblebotanist.bsky.social, with venison ragout illuminated by tree bearing biodiverse baubles and Xmatic sparkles.
Thanks @jo-the-botanist.bsky.social for another year of great floral activity - may your star shine ever more brightly.
A Christmas get-together in an old English country cottage. A Christmas tree decoration in the shape of a fox made of felt. A Christmas tree decoration in the shape of an orange toadstool made of felt.
December 21, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
vannabartlett.bsky.social
A walk in the woods at Felbrigg with @jeremybartlett.bsky.social brought a longed for insect - Boreus hyemalis aka Snow Flea. Managed to spot a male then found a female and another male in a second patch of moss. Happy days!
A small, strange looking insect with long legs facing right on a brown leaf on the ground. The animal's head has big eyes and long beak like mouthparts. The body is dark brown and shiny. The vestigial wings are modified into strange curved spines. This one is a male. A small, strange looking insect with long legs facing right on a brown leaf on the ground. The animal's head has big eyes and long beak like mouthparts. The body is dark brown and shiny. The vestigial wings are modified into strange curved spines. It has quite long thin antennae. This one is a male. Looking down on a female Snow Flea half hidden in bright green moss. Her body is dark brown and shiny, the tip of the abdomen is extended into a long thin ovipositor. She is wingless. A female Snow Flea in a glass specimen pot facing left but slightly head on. The head is extended downwards into a beak-like structure. The top of her body is shiny dark brown but the flanks are pale whitish. Her orangey coloured ovipositor has a dark tip and is held curved slightly upwards.
December 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by Tim Holt-Wilson
warpsol.bsky.social
December 18, 2025 at 8:51 PM