The Messy Ecologist
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist
@themessyecologist.bsky.social
5.8K followers 19K following 110 posts
I’m campaigning for more messy spaces for nature, join our messy mission and let’s Rewild together by doing less- and letting nature do the rest! PhD researcher - Rewilding with Beavers 🦫 Founder of the Wee Pond Project 🐸
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · May 15
May is the perfect month to start our messy mission, remember to leave a messy patch of long grass this month and join #NoMowMay 🌷🪻🌱🌿🦋
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jul 30
Jessie Wainwright in 1974 was spreading the love of ‘weeds’ and Rewilding Britain from the start!

www.facebook.com/share/v/1Cgn...
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The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jul 6
I’m very sorry, I didn’t know her personally but as a PhD student myself and a geography graduate from Dundee uni it’s unthinkable that this tragedy has happened.
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jul 6
Today rather than our usual, I’m posting a photo of Dr Fortune Gomo, a fellow geographer who was murdered in my city this weekend. We need knives off the streets. Such a tragedy.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dr Fortune Gomo: Man charged over death of scientist in Dundee
Dr Fortune Gomo, who was originally from Zimbabwe, was pronounced dead at the scene in Dundee on Saturday.
www.bbc.co.uk
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jul 2
Slugs munching your crops and flowers? Well don’t reach for the chemical sprays! Birds frogs toads beetles and hedgehogs all feed on slugs so encourage them instead 🐸🦔🪲🐦
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jul 1
🌈Pride flag colour🌈:
💚Green: nettles 💚
Stinging nettles get a bad rep but they actually provide vital habitat and food for butterfly caterpillars in particular AND they even make great soup! 🌿🦋🐛
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 30
Sounds wonderful !
themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 30
Another wall flower showing ‘weeds’ can brighten up any area - even stone walls! Red valerian, great for attracting humming bird hawk moths
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 27
🌈Pride flag colour🌈:
💛Yellow dandelion💛
Often called weeds, dandelions are pioneering plants, growing in all sorts of locations often providing much needed colour to grey concrete paths. They are also great for pollinators 🐝🪰🦋
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 25
The thistles are in bloom in our messy patch today and attracting plenty of attention from the local hoverflies! 💚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 22
It’s World #Rainforest Day 🌳🌧️
Here in the UK we have temperate rainforests in each of the home nations! Home to over 500 species of mosses and lichens they support great biodiversity !
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 22
😊Good news story:Tiree Twist moths thought to be extinct in England since 1952 and limited to the island of Tiree have been FOUND in Kent ! 💚

www.itv.com/news/meridia...
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 21
🧡Orange 🧡
🌈Pride month colour focus 🌈
Fox and cubs aka Orange Hawkweed is an invasive ‘weed’ common in UK gardens which can attract bees🐝 butterflies🦋 and hoverflies🪰 & other insects 🐞 introduced from
Southern Europe in 17th Century
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 20
What a great photo from
Andrew Kirby in Somerset of this wee swimming mole!
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 19
❌ Say no to plastic grass ❌
-creates plastic pollution
-loss of habitat
-loss of co2 sink
-inc flood risk
-inc carbon
-bad for soil, bugs, worms
Fake grass is the last thing we need in a biodiversity crisis which is why I’m calling for it to be phased out as we #messupbritain for nature 💚🐝🌻
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 18
This week the messy patch in our garden has seen the cornflowers and poppies pop up! 🐝💚
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 13
That’s amazing! 🐝💚
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Reposted by The Messy Ecologist
lou65broad.bsky.social
Louise Broad @lou65broad.bsky.social · Jun 13
My garden is certainly messy. The grass in my ´wildflower meadow’ is about 6 ft high and the fruit and flowers are having to share their space with the weeds. I love it.🥰
Looking through arching tree branches to an uncut area of very tall grass. Mown lawn in the foreground and a very prolific mid pink shrub rose with a variegated honeysuckle trying to smother it. Blackcurrant bushes with branches weighed down with loads of ripe berries. Rhubarb leaves, rampant raspberry canes and other vegetation crowded around. Roses in red, pink, white and apricot pushing their way through a jungle of wild grasses, foxgloves, tansy and cleavers. Tamarisk, deutzia, spires, flowering currant, forsythia, dogwoods, eucalyptus, lonicera along the back and a large cordyline on the left. Lawn in front. Rose ´Lady Emma Hamilton’ pushing her way up through a nemisia shrub. The tiny white flowers contrasting beautifully with the stunning apricot roses.
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 13
Lots of buzzing around our #messy grass patch today! 💚🌻🐝🌿 #MessUpBritain #LetItBloomJune
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 11
🌈Pride flag colour🌈:
❤️Red Poppies❤️
Did you know they don’t have nectar but rely on their vibrant red being great for attracting pollinators to their abundant pollen🐝
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 10
Fantastic news, love a good news story! The lady’s slipper orchid 👏

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Yorkshire Dales project helping to save rare orchid from extinction - BBC News
The lady's slipper orchid is being revived after it disappeared for nearly 100 years.
www.bbc.co.uk
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 10
What a great wee guide 🌿
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Reposted by The Messy Ecologist
s4r4h-l.bsky.social
@s4r4h-l @s4r4h-l.bsky.social · Jun 10
#TitliTuesday Still waiting to photograph my 1st Scottish #butterfly so here are those seen in the last week in #Lancashire. Red admiral, large skipper, speckled wood and a single perfect painted lady. @savebutterflies.bsky.social #Lancashire #vitaminN #butterflies
Left hand side red admiral above a painted lady. Right hand side top to bottom two large skipper, a very fresh speckled wood and another red admiral.
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Reposted by The Messy Ecologist
iand777.bsky.social
Ian Denton @iand777.bsky.social · Jun 10
It was performing a very good insect-attracting role, even on this rather overcast day, on this Barley crop headland in Dorset on Sunday. I'll be interested to see how many birds are drawn to the crop later in the year.
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themessyecologist.bsky.social
The Messy Ecologist @themessyecologist.bsky.social · Jun 7
England~ the new planning and infrastructure bill will not strengthen ecological protection but will instead be ‘environmentally regressive’ this cannot happen during a biodiversity crisis. We must #MessUpBritain for nature 🐝🌹🦔🌻🐸🪻🦋💚
www.lancswt.org.uk/news/open-le...?
An open letter to all Members of Parliament across the 46 constituencies covered by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside | The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire Manchester an...
This matter is of such importance to me and, I know, to many of our members and your constituents, that I feel compelled to write to you all.
www.lancswt.org.uk
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tjalamont.bsky.social
Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social · Jun 7
🐙🌿🕷️ Ever see a spider yawn? Well, now you have. Okay, not yawn as in draw a big sleepy breath - spiders don't breathe with their face - but this one is stretching its chelicerae (mouthparts that end in the fangs) wide, making them look like a Yosemite Sam mustache. Also, it's grooming its eyes--
A macro photo looking into the face of a pale yellow-green jumping spider atop bright blue fabric, with out of focus greenery in the background. The spider has a patch of bright orange hairs atop its head. One of its large central eyes looks black and the other green, which is from the internal reflective parts of the eyes being aimed in two different directions -- one not reflecting light, the other reflecting nearby greenery. The blue fabric is from a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap, which is this spider's favorite team.
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