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Vicki Hird MSc FRES

@vickihird.bsky.social

2.5K followers 740 following 450 posts

Lobbies on food, farming, environment policy, just transition & research,strategy, talks, writing, blogs, books.. Passion for bugs Author of 'Rebugging the Planet' & 'Perfectly Safe to Eat?' Share≠agree https://linktr.ee/vickihird also @WildlifeTrusts

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · Jun 23

Lovely time writing this soil blog anticipating Groundswell ag chats
Blog by me
www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/vicki-h...

Healthy soil – the ultimate essential infrastructure | The Wildlife Trusts

As the Wildlife Trusts head off to the regenerative farming event Groundswell, where soil health rightly takes centre stage, Vicki Hird looks at the tools we need to restore and protect our soils.

www.wildlifetrusts.org

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 19h

Been on this leaf for 4 days now. What are they waiting for? A lover😁

Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Miles King @milesking.bsky.social · 1d

Same story - 2 very different takes.

Reeves claims she unblocked a development being held up by a "microscopic snail or something", while Natural England claim they and the EA negotiated an agreement with Southern Water, to reduce water abstraction from the snail's habitat.

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming @sustainweb.org · 3d

Local councils warned: approving unlawful megafarms could lead to costly legal battles.

www.sustainweb.org/news/sep25-c...

Local councils warned: approving unlawful megafarms could lead to costly legal battles | Sustain

A letter – co-signed by legal, pollution and farming experts – has been sent to planning leads in 20 English intensive livestock hotspots. It warns authorities they could face legal challenges if…

www.sustainweb.org

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Deanna Kreisel 🌱 @doctorwaffle.substack.com · 8d

In honor of National Poetry Day, the greatest parody rewrite of all time:

Screen cap of parodic version of William Blake's "The Tyger" that begins:
Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
(Not sure if I spelled that right)
What immortal hand or eye
Could fashion such a stripy guy?
What the hammer that hath hewn it
Into such a chonky unit?
Did who made the lamb make thee,
Or an external franchisee?

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 6d

Yes! Only 2 year old if they arrived 2022? . Young for bison in wild but they are probably very healthy, we fed and fit which makes difference

Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 6d

Yep youtu.be/-puZTjLLBkg?...

Born to be wild: Blean welcomes third generation of wild bison in three years

YouTube video by Kent Wildlife Trust

youtu.be

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Patrick Barkham @patrickbarkham.bsky.social · 7d

I wrote this story back in 2020 about Larch Maxey www.theguardian.com/environment/... Now he faces losing his home - fundraiser here: gofund.me/ce4ec3de0

‘Seeing the trees being ripped down is really hard’: meet a father and son protesting against HS2

The controversial HS2 route slices through some of England’s most precious woodland. But standing in its way are father and son Larch and Seb Maxey. They explain why living 30ft off the ground in prec...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 8d

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” - Voltaire.

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

environmentjob @environmentjob.co.uk · 7d

Project Communications Officer (Rothbury Estate)

The Wildlife Trusts, Morpeth, Northumberland, Up to £29,000 pa

environmentjob.co.uk

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 7d

Snails can seem annoying but they are such a hugely important part of the cycling of nutrients in and on soil. They, slugs and other beings like worms are vital - breaking down plant matter so it's bioavailable for microbial digestion then for use by plants and so the cycle moves on♻️
#babysnail 🐌🥰

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 7d

This is valuable data to show what an #agroecological, nature friendly, climate adapted diet should look like. Culturally appropriate, healthy and not destroying the vital natural ecosystems we need for life on earth.. Soil, water, habitats, pollinators, pest predators, nutrient recyclers etc

The Lancet @thelancet.com · 7d

The world produces enough food, yet billions lack access to healthy & sustainable diets. A new EAT–Lancet report presents a science-based approach to improve health, safeguard our environment & provide for a projected 9.6 billion people by 2050.

🔗 bit.ly/3W7rxlP

Cover of the 2025 EAT–Lancet report, featuring an image of a person scooping up green vegetables in their hands from a large plate. The report quote: “The targets of the EAT–Lancet Commission for healthy people on a healthy planet with just food systems can only be met through concerted global action and unprecedented levels of transformative change.”

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Agroecology Map @agroecologymap.bsky.social · 7d

🍏 Agroecology promotes sustainable diets 🥬

💡 Learn more at https://agroecologymap.org/l/313

#Agroecologia #Permacultura #Agrofloresta #SoberaniaAlimentar #Agroecology #Permaculture #Agroforestry #FoodSovereignty #SustainableFarming #Agroécologie #Permaculture #Agroforesterie

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Nix Rust @nixrust.bsky.social · 7d

New #EatLancet report is out! What does it state? I've watched the livestream so you don't have to. Here's a summary of the findings
🍊🥓🍒

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems

The global context has shifted dramatically since publication of the first EAT–Lancet Commission in 2019, with increased geopolitical instability, soaring food prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacer...

www.thelancet.com

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks!

Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 8d

Did you watch The Hack? I can't believe papers have gotten away with destroying lives for so long. That's why I've signed the petition, set up by Hugh Grant and other phone hacking victims, to demand fair, independent regulation. Join me: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-...

A Free Press, Not a Free Pass – It's Time for Fair Regulation

For too long, the UK press have bullied people, harassed grieving families, and destroyed lives, all to sell papers. We’ve all seen the heartbreaking consequences. They’ve hacked phones, listened to ...

you.38degrees.org.uk

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Land Use for Net Zero (LUNZ) Hub @lunz-hub.bsky.social · 8d

Save the date: Nov 4th we host a webinar on building capacity for net zero literacy in farming and rural communities, with expert speakers from @srucnews.bsky.social, AHDB and Kepak
reflecting on their experiences in capacity building, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.

#NetZero

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Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

environmentjob @environmentjob.co.uk · 8d

Programme Coordinator - Nature Based Neighbourhoods

Wates Family Enterprise Trust, Hybrid - Leatherhead, Surrey once a fortnight, with regular travel and remote working, Up to £45,000 pa

environmentjob.co.uk

Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Kate Raworth @kateraworth.bsky.social · 8d

Big Doughnutty News.
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 🧵 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 10d

Photo i took at kew few weeks ago

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 10d

So sorry. Didn't see you in blue sky. Hope you are ok. Douglas would have liked this good (ish) year for moths i suppose?. I'm seeing so many beewolves right now.. More than ever. (plus Southern Greenshield bugs)

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 10d

Reposted by Vicki Hird MSc FRES

Nix Rust @nixrust.bsky.social · 10d

Fab role at Greater London Authority heading up their climate change team - very impactful job with a decent salary too!

#ClimateJobs #ClimateChange #CarbonJobs

www.london.gov.uk/head-climate...

Head of Climate Change

www.london.gov.uk

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Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 11d

Great to see @harperadamsuni.bsky.social on bbc #universitychallenge for first time 👌
especially with an entomologist 😊🐛🦋🐝

Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 11d

Well of course they do.🦠

Science Magazine @science.org · 11d

Termites enlist microbes to defend their crops from undesirable fungi. https://scim.ag/42aJGm0

How fungus-farming termites control weeds

Termites enlist microbes to defend their crops from undesirable fungi

scim.ag

Vicki Hird MSc FRES @vickihird.bsky.social · 11d

intercropping works -😏
Great study on oilseed rape intercropping with beans - reduced pests, disease and better yields.
"The yield of OSR intercropped with SFB was higher than monocropped OSR, while the other treatments did not affect yield"

scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Intercropping mitigates incidence of the oilseed rape insect pest complex

Intercropping reduces the incidence of the oilseed rape insect pest complex with a significant impact of the direct visual and physical disruption provided by the companion plant.

scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com