David Smith
@davidsmithartist.bsky.social
Visual artist with an interest in wildlife (especially solitary bees), ecology and growing food. Based in beautiful West Dorset, near the Jurassic Coast.
Well of course: but there's a huge fight to tackle the problem of all the other chemicals being thrown on the soil and our food. One small step.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
France’s birds start to show signs of recovery after bee-harming pesticide ban
Analysis shows small hike in populations of insect-eating species after 2018 ruling, but full recovery may take decades
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Well of course: but there's a huge fight to tackle the problem of all the other chemicals being thrown on the soil and our food. One small step.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I was a little concerned for this Tern I saw down at West Bay this afternoon. It seems to have damage near its right leg, which it kept preening around. Sadly, there's not much I could do except hope. It seemed exhausted and only flew short distances. I fear the gulls will get it.
November 5, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I was a little concerned for this Tern I saw down at West Bay this afternoon. It seems to have damage near its right leg, which it kept preening around. Sadly, there's not much I could do except hope. It seemed exhausted and only flew short distances. I fear the gulls will get it.
I've been really enjoying the Savoy and red cabbage sauerkraut I made at the beginning of September, so I thought I'd try 3 cabbage kraut: red, Savoy and January King. I'll let you know what it's like in a month or two. #SlowFood #FermentedFood #OldManMakesFood #FoodPreservation #HealthyGut
November 5, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I've been really enjoying the Savoy and red cabbage sauerkraut I made at the beginning of September, so I thought I'd try 3 cabbage kraut: red, Savoy and January King. I'll let you know what it's like in a month or two. #SlowFood #FermentedFood #OldManMakesFood #FoodPreservation #HealthyGut
Swapped our usual Jurassic Coast for a few windy days in Cornwall. Nice view from our room.
October 30, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Swapped our usual Jurassic Coast for a few windy days in Cornwall. Nice view from our room.
And another step closer to oblivion
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life
Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:04 PM
And another step closer to oblivion
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by David Smith
Wild bird numbers continue to fall in UK with some species in ‘dramatic freefall’
Wild bird numbers continue to fall in UK with some species in ‘dramatic freefall’
Species index fell by 4% between 2019 and 2024 – although government data shows woodland populations beginning to stabilise
www.theguardian.com
September 23, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Wild bird numbers continue to fall in UK with some species in ‘dramatic freefall’
The borlotti beans have dried beautifully, and beautiful they are.
#GrowYourOwnFood #NoDig #organic #RealFood #NoPesticides
#GrowYourOwnFood #NoDig #organic #RealFood #NoPesticides
September 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM
The borlotti beans have dried beautifully, and beautiful they are.
#GrowYourOwnFood #NoDig #organic #RealFood #NoPesticides
#GrowYourOwnFood #NoDig #organic #RealFood #NoPesticides
This is partly why we moved away from the "dark side" (as I call it) and stopped keeping bees
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Why saving the honeybee could be bad news for other bees
In this week’s newsletter: a conservation success story has a sting in its tail as wild pollinators pay the price
www.theguardian.com
September 19, 2025 at 8:29 AM
This is partly why we moved away from the "dark side" (as I call it) and stopped keeping bees
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
WTF! Nuclear is not the solution. It's an expensive and dangerous distraction. Along with bonkers ideas about carbon capture and storage, Starmer's New Tory Zionist Party has really lost the plot.
www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc....
www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc....
UK and US unveil nuclear energy deal ahead of Trump visit - BBC News
Key among the plans is a proposal to build up to 12 advanced modular nuclear reactors in Hartlepool.
www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org
September 15, 2025 at 11:27 AM
WTF! Nuclear is not the solution. It's an expensive and dangerous distraction. Along with bonkers ideas about carbon capture and storage, Starmer's New Tory Zionist Party has really lost the plot.
www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc....
www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc....
Well, it's a start. It's time to restore access to the land stolen from the people by the Enclosures and other lands grabs.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Right to swim and wild camp in England should be enshrined in law, Labour MPs say
Report from group of MPs calls for broader access to rivers, woodlands and fields to improve connection with nature
www.theguardian.com
September 15, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Well, it's a start. It's time to restore access to the land stolen from the people by the Enclosures and other lands grabs.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Our borlotti beans are drying nicely. They're not quite as big or bountiful as two years ago, but they are certainly as beautiful. I love the Dutch name of this variety, Stokkievitsboon, which means pole lapwing beans, named for the similarity of the patterns on the beans to lapwing eggs.
September 13, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Our borlotti beans are drying nicely. They're not quite as big or bountiful as two years ago, but they are certainly as beautiful. I love the Dutch name of this variety, Stokkievitsboon, which means pole lapwing beans, named for the similarity of the patterns on the beans to lapwing eggs.
Somewhat concerning!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Alarm as WHO accepts increasing amount of dark money from corporate donors
Experts say millions in corporate funding and concealment of donors’ identities raises key conflict-of-interest concerns
www.theguardian.com
September 10, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Somewhat concerning!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Homemade tomato soup. A scrummy lunch with some to go in the freezer. Heinz tomato soup has 14 ingredients, this has 4. The tinned stuff isn't too bad: no artificial colours or preservatives. Heinz is cream of tomato so it has milk products. Mine is tomato and basil, plus a little onion and EVOO.
September 8, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Homemade tomato soup. A scrummy lunch with some to go in the freezer. Heinz tomato soup has 14 ingredients, this has 4. The tinned stuff isn't too bad: no artificial colours or preservatives. Heinz is cream of tomato so it has milk products. Mine is tomato and basil, plus a little onion and EVOO.
Madly dehydrating tomatoes to preserve the taste of Summer's bounty through till we can eat fresh again. (We don't buy tomatoes any more.) Such beautiful and nutrient dense things.
#tomatoes #preserving #dehydrating #GrowYourOwnFood #RealFood #organic #unsprayed #NoChemicals #NoPesticides #NoDig
#tomatoes #preserving #dehydrating #GrowYourOwnFood #RealFood #organic #unsprayed #NoChemicals #NoPesticides #NoDig
September 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Madly dehydrating tomatoes to preserve the taste of Summer's bounty through till we can eat fresh again. (We don't buy tomatoes any more.) Such beautiful and nutrient dense things.
#tomatoes #preserving #dehydrating #GrowYourOwnFood #RealFood #organic #unsprayed #NoChemicals #NoPesticides #NoDig
#tomatoes #preserving #dehydrating #GrowYourOwnFood #RealFood #organic #unsprayed #NoChemicals #NoPesticides #NoDig
Reposted by David Smith
Comprehensive evidence review on effects of grouse moor burning on biodiversity, carbon & water - a report the shooting industry doesn't seem keen to promote raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/09/08/c...
Comprehensive evidence review on effects of grouse moor burning on biodiversity, carbon & water – a report the shooting industry doesn’t seem keen to promote
Over the last few months you’ve probably noticed that the grouse-shooting industry has been ramping up its rhetoric about the so-called virtues of what it calls ‘managed burning’ …
raptorpersecutionuk.org
September 8, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Comprehensive evidence review on effects of grouse moor burning on biodiversity, carbon & water - a report the shooting industry doesn't seem keen to promote raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/09/08/c...
Reposted by David Smith
There’s a persistent myth that new solar farms don’t really help tackle climate change because panels are “made with coal” and “never pay back” their carbon debt.
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
August 30, 2025 at 8:46 AM
There’s a persistent myth that new solar farms don’t really help tackle climate change because panels are “made with coal” and “never pay back” their carbon debt.
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
This is simply false.
- UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh
- panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life
It's nice to bring the sunshine inside. It's getting blowy outside and the Sunflowers are very tall this year, so I thought it necessary to harvest some. They do look great next to our beloved Carry Akroyd hare painting!
#GrowYourOwnFlowers #sunflowers
#GrowYourOwnFlowers #sunflowers
August 28, 2025 at 3:29 PM
It's nice to bring the sunshine inside. It's getting blowy outside and the Sunflowers are very tall this year, so I thought it necessary to harvest some. They do look great next to our beloved Carry Akroyd hare painting!
#GrowYourOwnFlowers #sunflowers
#GrowYourOwnFlowers #sunflowers
Whose is this? I find it difficult not to pick up feathers. I'm not sure from whom this one comes that I found in the garden today.
August 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Whose is this? I find it difficult not to pick up feathers. I'm not sure from whom this one comes that I found in the garden today.
It's that time again, time to save the sweetness and bounty of summer to take into winter. Dehydrating tomatoes: we like to call them sun-dried because we try to make sure our solar panels are producing the power to preserve them.
#GrowYourOwnFood #dehydrating #HomePreserving #Organic #NoChemicals
#GrowYourOwnFood #dehydrating #HomePreserving #Organic #NoChemicals
August 24, 2025 at 12:42 PM
It's that time again, time to save the sweetness and bounty of summer to take into winter. Dehydrating tomatoes: we like to call them sun-dried because we try to make sure our solar panels are producing the power to preserve them.
#GrowYourOwnFood #dehydrating #HomePreserving #Organic #NoChemicals
#GrowYourOwnFood #dehydrating #HomePreserving #Organic #NoChemicals
Last night I was looking through my last sketchbook and found this little trio of tiny feathers taped in with Magic Tape. I had found them in the garden, I remember exactly where, and stopped what I was doing to carry this treasure of beauty to a safe space.
August 23, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Last night I was looking through my last sketchbook and found this little trio of tiny feathers taped in with Magic Tape. I had found them in the garden, I remember exactly where, and stopped what I was doing to carry this treasure of beauty to a safe space.
It's time that light pollution is recognised as a problem for humans, wildlife and plants.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Light pollution causes urban birds to stay awake longer each day, study finds
Researchers ‘shocked’ to discover some species settling down for sleep 50 minutes later than rural counterparts
www.theguardian.com
August 22, 2025 at 8:51 PM
It's time that light pollution is recognised as a problem for humans, wildlife and plants.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Small Copper butterfly, Lycaena phlaeas, feeding on Common Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris. Such bright and beautiful things that lift the soul. It's time Ragwort was freed from the prejudice placed on it by a vested minority: it's an important food plant for so many small lives #pollinators #WildFlowers
August 21, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Small Copper butterfly, Lycaena phlaeas, feeding on Common Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris. Such bright and beautiful things that lift the soul. It's time Ragwort was freed from the prejudice placed on it by a vested minority: it's an important food plant for so many small lives #pollinators #WildFlowers
It's hard not to feel despair and anger
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Monkeys falling from trees and baking barnacles: how heat is driving animals to extinction
With the number of very hot days rising as well as average temperatures, more and more animals are vulnerable. But while some species can adapt, others are seeing huge population declines
www.theguardian.com
August 20, 2025 at 9:01 PM
It's hard not to feel despair and anger
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by David Smith
🧵Our countryside is being ruined.
Nothing works. Our rivers are poisoned. Our green spaces are vanishing. Our wildlife is being wiped out - species by species, tree by tree. All sacrificed to greed, corruption, and neglect.
Nothing works. Our rivers are poisoned. Our green spaces are vanishing. Our wildlife is being wiped out - species by species, tree by tree. All sacrificed to greed, corruption, and neglect.
August 20, 2025 at 9:06 AM
🧵Our countryside is being ruined.
Nothing works. Our rivers are poisoned. Our green spaces are vanishing. Our wildlife is being wiped out - species by species, tree by tree. All sacrificed to greed, corruption, and neglect.
Nothing works. Our rivers are poisoned. Our green spaces are vanishing. Our wildlife is being wiped out - species by species, tree by tree. All sacrificed to greed, corruption, and neglect.
Reposted by David Smith
Just spent a fun 10 mins watching this ichneumon #wasp on our bay tree. Looks like he/she was looking for something to eat, which surprised me as I thought the adults usually ate pollen & nectar
Please can anyone tell me which #ichneumon species this is? Do you know, please @kitenet.bsky.social?
Please can anyone tell me which #ichneumon species this is? Do you know, please @kitenet.bsky.social?
August 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Just spent a fun 10 mins watching this ichneumon #wasp on our bay tree. Looks like he/she was looking for something to eat, which surprised me as I thought the adults usually ate pollen & nectar
Please can anyone tell me which #ichneumon species this is? Do you know, please @kitenet.bsky.social?
Please can anyone tell me which #ichneumon species this is? Do you know, please @kitenet.bsky.social?