Ruth Starr-Keddle
@ruthsk.bsky.social
Plant ecologist, botanist, and farmer facilitator, working in the North Pennines National Landscape. Specialising in upland hay meadow restoration, collects seeds, grows wildflower plants, enjoys nature and loves bumblebees.
Lots of spring gentian and bird's-eye primrose on show at Cow Green reservoir at the moment, well worth the visit. #Teesdale #TeesdaleSpecialFlora #Teesdaleassemblage #wildflowers #naturelovers
May 6, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Lots of spring gentian and bird's-eye primrose on show at Cow Green reservoir at the moment, well worth the visit. #Teesdale #TeesdaleSpecialFlora #Teesdaleassemblage #wildflowers #naturelovers
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
What follows if we imagine rivers as having lives, deaths––& even rights?
I wrote this essay about water & hope; imagining rivers “otherwise”; nature’s rights; grammars of animacy; & how our fate flows with that of rivers—& always has.
It’s from Is A River Alive?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
I wrote this essay about water & hope; imagining rivers “otherwise”; nature’s rights; grammars of animacy; & how our fate flows with that of rivers—& always has.
It’s from Is A River Alive?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
Is this river alive? Robert Macfarlane on the lives, deaths and rights of our rivers
As pollution levels hit record highs and fresh water becomes ‘the new oil’, is it time to radically reimagine our relationship to the natural world?
www.theguardian.com
April 26, 2025 at 1:38 PM
What follows if we imagine rivers as having lives, deaths––& even rights?
I wrote this essay about water & hope; imagining rivers “otherwise”; nature’s rights; grammars of animacy; & how our fate flows with that of rivers—& always has.
It’s from Is A River Alive?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
I wrote this essay about water & hope; imagining rivers “otherwise”; nature’s rights; grammars of animacy; & how our fate flows with that of rivers—& always has.
It’s from Is A River Alive?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
www.leuphana.de/en/
Come work in our unique long-term grassland priority effect experiment, POEM, in the beautiful Lüneburg Heathland. PhD position available in my lab to start ASAP to see if sowing forbs or legumes early continues to affect root distribution.
Come work in our unique long-term grassland priority effect experiment, POEM, in the beautiful Lüneburg Heathland. PhD position available in my lab to start ASAP to see if sowing forbs or legumes early continues to affect root distribution.
April 15, 2025 at 7:18 PM
www.leuphana.de/en/
Come work in our unique long-term grassland priority effect experiment, POEM, in the beautiful Lüneburg Heathland. PhD position available in my lab to start ASAP to see if sowing forbs or legumes early continues to affect root distribution.
Come work in our unique long-term grassland priority effect experiment, POEM, in the beautiful Lüneburg Heathland. PhD position available in my lab to start ASAP to see if sowing forbs or legumes early continues to affect root distribution.
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Thrilled to announce my new book & reveal its stunning cover! Ghosts of the Farm - Two Women’s Journeys Through Time, Land & Community, published by the lovely @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social in the UK & US, on 30th September. Available to pre-order now. It’s a delicious, urgent kind of haunting 1/5
April 15, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Thrilled to announce my new book & reveal its stunning cover! Ghosts of the Farm - Two Women’s Journeys Through Time, Land & Community, published by the lovely @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social in the UK & US, on 30th September. Available to pre-order now. It’s a delicious, urgent kind of haunting 1/5
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Labour has got rid of CS-mid Tier, and now SFI. These post-Brexit schemes delivered very little, if anything for the environment (and in the case of herbal leys actively damaged it) but channeled Defra funds to farmers, replacing the old EU Basic Payment Scheme. www.farminguk.com/news/fury-as...
Fury as Defra confirms sudden closure of SFI applications
The government has confirmed it will stop accepting new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, a move which has sparked fury.
www.farminguk.com
March 12, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Labour has got rid of CS-mid Tier, and now SFI. These post-Brexit schemes delivered very little, if anything for the environment (and in the case of herbal leys actively damaged it) but channeled Defra funds to farmers, replacing the old EU Basic Payment Scheme. www.farminguk.com/news/fury-as...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
For those interested in learning why Labour has abandoned the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, this article by Geoff Sansome, who led the farming policy team at Natural England for 7 years, and knows what he's talking about on Agri-Environment, is worth a read. www.linkedin.com/pulse/sfi-de...
The SFI Debacle. Lessons need to be learned, not only in Defra
“Our Agri Environment approach is not sustainable, what happens when the money runs out? If you don’t provide the economic hooks, linking products to the environment then it will all unravel unless we...
www.linkedin.com
March 12, 2025 at 2:17 PM
For those interested in learning why Labour has abandoned the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, this article by Geoff Sansome, who led the farming policy team at Natural England for 7 years, and knows what he's talking about on Agri-Environment, is worth a read. www.linkedin.com/pulse/sfi-de...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Did you know there is no dedicated team or person in Defra for grasslands, despite them covering 40% of England? 🤯
We're joining @plantlifeuk.bsky.social & partners in calling for the Gov to establish a Grassland Taskforce to unlock their value 🌱
Learn more: www.plantlife.org.uk/our-work/the...
We're joining @plantlifeuk.bsky.social & partners in calling for the Gov to establish a Grassland Taskforce to unlock their value 🌱
Learn more: www.plantlife.org.uk/our-work/the...
February 25, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Did you know there is no dedicated team or person in Defra for grasslands, despite them covering 40% of England? 🤯
We're joining @plantlifeuk.bsky.social & partners in calling for the Gov to establish a Grassland Taskforce to unlock their value 🌱
Learn more: www.plantlife.org.uk/our-work/the...
We're joining @plantlifeuk.bsky.social & partners in calling for the Gov to establish a Grassland Taskforce to unlock their value 🌱
Learn more: www.plantlife.org.uk/our-work/the...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
It’s official, 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees since records began🚨
The latest findings from #BeeWalk, our national bumblebee monitoring scheme, have revealed bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter (22.5%) across Great Britain💔
Read on: www.bumblebeeconservation.org/british-bumb...
The latest findings from #BeeWalk, our national bumblebee monitoring scheme, have revealed bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter (22.5%) across Great Britain💔
Read on: www.bumblebeeconservation.org/british-bumb...
February 27, 2025 at 9:01 AM
It’s official, 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees since records began🚨
The latest findings from #BeeWalk, our national bumblebee monitoring scheme, have revealed bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter (22.5%) across Great Britain💔
Read on: www.bumblebeeconservation.org/british-bumb...
The latest findings from #BeeWalk, our national bumblebee monitoring scheme, have revealed bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter (22.5%) across Great Britain💔
Read on: www.bumblebeeconservation.org/british-bumb...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuries
Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuries
Exclusive: Government to grant nature groups a licence for release of rodent species after earlier setbacks
The release of beavers into English waterways is to be allowed for the first time in centuries, the Guardian can reveal.
The environment…
www.theguardian.com
February 28, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuries
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
It is correct that we should not simply pit food production against nature recovery
But nature friendly farming only benefits traditional farmland biodiversity
We also need separate, unfarmed land to benefit a wider range of species and habitats
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
But nature friendly farming only benefits traditional farmland biodiversity
We also need separate, unfarmed land to benefit a wider range of species and habitats
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Farmland in England to be reduced by more than 10% under government plans
Grassland for livestock faces largest cut, so people will be encouraged to eat less meat, says environment secretary
www.theguardian.com
February 1, 2025 at 10:12 AM
It is correct that we should not simply pit food production against nature recovery
But nature friendly farming only benefits traditional farmland biodiversity
We also need separate, unfarmed land to benefit a wider range of species and habitats
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
But nature friendly farming only benefits traditional farmland biodiversity
We also need separate, unfarmed land to benefit a wider range of species and habitats
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Across the UK, farmers are proving that farming and nature can thrive together. But they can’t do it alone.
If the UK Government slashes funding, we risk undoing all this progress.
If the UK Government slashes funding, we risk undoing all this progress.
February 26, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Across the UK, farmers are proving that farming and nature can thrive together. But they can’t do it alone.
If the UK Government slashes funding, we risk undoing all this progress.
If the UK Government slashes funding, we risk undoing all this progress.
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Right now, the UK Government is considering cuts to the nature-friendly farming budget – the biggest pot of funding for nature.
Here’s why that would be a disaster for farmers, food security, and wildlife.
A thread. 🧵👇
Here’s why that would be a disaster for farmers, food security, and wildlife.
A thread. 🧵👇
February 26, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Right now, the UK Government is considering cuts to the nature-friendly farming budget – the biggest pot of funding for nature.
Here’s why that would be a disaster for farmers, food security, and wildlife.
A thread. 🧵👇
Here’s why that would be a disaster for farmers, food security, and wildlife.
A thread. 🧵👇
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Are you a younger naturalist passionate about nature? 🐝💡
Thanks to the support of the Reece Foundation, this year, you could be engaging in a Field Skills Programme dedicated to developing your skills in natural history.
Find out more and apply ⬇️
www.nhsn.org.uk/field-identi... #NHSNFieldSkills
Thanks to the support of the Reece Foundation, this year, you could be engaging in a Field Skills Programme dedicated to developing your skills in natural history.
Find out more and apply ⬇️
www.nhsn.org.uk/field-identi... #NHSNFieldSkills
February 10, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Are you a younger naturalist passionate about nature? 🐝💡
Thanks to the support of the Reece Foundation, this year, you could be engaging in a Field Skills Programme dedicated to developing your skills in natural history.
Find out more and apply ⬇️
www.nhsn.org.uk/field-identi... #NHSNFieldSkills
Thanks to the support of the Reece Foundation, this year, you could be engaging in a Field Skills Programme dedicated to developing your skills in natural history.
Find out more and apply ⬇️
www.nhsn.org.uk/field-identi... #NHSNFieldSkills
A day late for #NationalSnowdropDay but I found a gorgeous white mass of them today so had to post! #snowdrops #naturebeauty
February 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
A day late for #NationalSnowdropDay but I found a gorgeous white mass of them today so had to post! #snowdrops #naturebeauty
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Can you help us build a community nursery to grow rare wildflowers, trees and shrubs?
We have an area we can use for a nursery & we now need to buy equipment such as raised beds, polytunnels and tools.
Many thanks.
@envleeds.bsky.social @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social
gofund.me/7f214dcd
We have an area we can use for a nursery & we now need to buy equipment such as raised beds, polytunnels and tools.
Many thanks.
@envleeds.bsky.social @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social
gofund.me/7f214dcd
Donate to Support our wildflower and tree nursery in the Duddon Valley, organized by Restoring Hardknott Forest
Can you help us build a community nursery to grow rare wildfl… Restoring Hardknott Forest needs your support for Support our wildflower and tree nursery in the Duddon Valley
gofund.me
January 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Can you help us build a community nursery to grow rare wildflowers, trees and shrubs?
We have an area we can use for a nursery & we now need to buy equipment such as raised beds, polytunnels and tools.
Many thanks.
@envleeds.bsky.social @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social
gofund.me/7f214dcd
We have an area we can use for a nursery & we now need to buy equipment such as raised beds, polytunnels and tools.
Many thanks.
@envleeds.bsky.social @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social
gofund.me/7f214dcd
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Job opportunity - Community Engagement Trainee.
Looking for a traineeship to develop your skills and knowledge to enable you to assist with planning, preparing and delivering community engagement and education projects across the #NorthPennines?
http://bit.ly/NorthPenninesNationalLandscapejobs
#jobs
Looking for a traineeship to develop your skills and knowledge to enable you to assist with planning, preparing and delivering community engagement and education projects across the #NorthPennines?
http://bit.ly/NorthPenninesNationalLandscapejobs
#jobs
December 18, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Job opportunity - Community Engagement Trainee.
Looking for a traineeship to develop your skills and knowledge to enable you to assist with planning, preparing and delivering community engagement and education projects across the #NorthPennines?
http://bit.ly/NorthPenninesNationalLandscapejobs
#jobs
Looking for a traineeship to develop your skills and knowledge to enable you to assist with planning, preparing and delivering community engagement and education projects across the #NorthPennines?
http://bit.ly/NorthPenninesNationalLandscapejobs
#jobs
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
THREAD🌾Defra latest announcement claims they have injected £343M into UK Farming last week, are working on a 25 year roadmap and are relaunching Higher tier in 2025🌾BUT whats behind the headlines - lets get into it 🧵 www.gov.uk/government/n...
Rural boost: Government injects nearly £350 million into farming in boost to Britain’s food security
Government injects £343 million of funding into the rural economy last week, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers.
www.gov.uk
December 11, 2024 at 10:00 AM
THREAD🌾Defra latest announcement claims they have injected £343M into UK Farming last week, are working on a 25 year roadmap and are relaunching Higher tier in 2025🌾BUT whats behind the headlines - lets get into it 🧵 www.gov.uk/government/n...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
BBC Farming Today reports that the Office for Environmental Protection believes Defra may have broken environmental laws in 2023/2024…
…by allowing neonicotinoid pesticides known to be harmful to bees & insects. The last govt gave emergency authorisation for use on sugar beet for last 4 years.
…by allowing neonicotinoid pesticides known to be harmful to bees & insects. The last govt gave emergency authorisation for use on sugar beet for last 4 years.
Where are all the insects?
Can you really have a picnic without wasps these days? And is it true there are fewer bees and butterflies than before?
eastangliabylines.co.uk
December 12, 2024 at 9:48 AM
BBC Farming Today reports that the Office for Environmental Protection believes Defra may have broken environmental laws in 2023/2024…
…by allowing neonicotinoid pesticides known to be harmful to bees & insects. The last govt gave emergency authorisation for use on sugar beet for last 4 years.
…by allowing neonicotinoid pesticides known to be harmful to bees & insects. The last govt gave emergency authorisation for use on sugar beet for last 4 years.
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
I've been to meet the truly remarkable botanist Dr Margaret Bradshaw.
The 98-year-old has been recording the flora in Teesdale for decades and we talked about plants, legacy, and how the area has adapted to a changing climate.
You can see the full report here:
www.itv.com/watch/news/a...
The 98-year-old has been recording the flora in Teesdale for decades and we talked about plants, legacy, and how the area has adapted to a changing climate.
You can see the full report here:
www.itv.com/watch/news/a...
November 28, 2024 at 6:08 PM
I've been to meet the truly remarkable botanist Dr Margaret Bradshaw.
The 98-year-old has been recording the flora in Teesdale for decades and we talked about plants, legacy, and how the area has adapted to a changing climate.
You can see the full report here:
www.itv.com/watch/news/a...
The 98-year-old has been recording the flora in Teesdale for decades and we talked about plants, legacy, and how the area has adapted to a changing climate.
You can see the full report here:
www.itv.com/watch/news/a...
Reposted by Ruth Starr-Keddle
Interesting new research quantifying the value of sowing small meadow areas in cities:
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Sown wildflower meadows: Can they replace natural meadows in urban spaces for bees, butterflies and hoverflies?
Areas with sown wildflower meadows, which are usually small areas, concentrate pollinating insects and have a similar value for pollinators as larger areas of natural meadows The abundance and diver...
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 23, 2024 at 8:41 AM
Interesting new research quantifying the value of sowing small meadow areas in cities:
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...