I was always told at school that history helps us make sense of the 'now' and prevents us repeating the mistakes of previous generations. Some of us must have had pretty useless history teachers, because lessons were not learned.

The UK Government's SEVENTH report into proposals for a major new airport in the Thames Estuary has been published and it's reached the same conclusions as its six predecessors: it…

Wasn't the weekend glorious? Saturday was the first day this year I was able to get outdoors and tart-up my garden. I cut the grass, forked over borders, gathered up fallen leaves, cleared old growth, sowed some seeds and enjoyed coming across some of the things that share this space.

There was a shield-bug, loads of fat worms, a couple of bees, a comma butterfly and an early painted lady butterfly; maybe it's from…

Can you spot the wigeon in this image of 10,000 black-tailed godwits?

No neither could I, but if there is one, it would have been identified by one of our keen eyed volunteers who used this image to count how many birds were in the giant flock.

This picture is amazing, not just because of the size of the flock, which is roughly a third of the UK's entire population of BT godwits, but because it's a few miles from…

Dr. Michael Short is a Southwark resident, living within a few minutes walk of Mayor Boris Johnson's City Hall HQ, in the shadow of Tower Bridge.

Like many Londoners, he cares about his community and the changes being done to it. Changes which all too often, forget what's there already, especially the wildlife and the greenspaces where people and nature mingle, relax and play; crucial for healthy communitties. 

A dwarf daff is not a mighty oak.

The one I'm talking about has bright yellow petals, which stand out proudly against the hard grey landscaping of our street. Best of all, the sight of some of these tiny flowers makes me smile. I helped do that.

Some of my neighbours organised the planting last year and provided the bulbs. Together we planted them in the tree pits lining our street and this little bit of effort has…

My daughters laugh at me. Openly.

I've checked my flies and they're closed; there's no spinach stuck between my teeth and no one drew a  moustache on me whilst I dozed in my chair. So, I was forced to ask, 'what's so funny?'

It's when I start to talk about nature and caring for wildlife apparently. They tell me they laugh because they all think I hate animals. OK. I get a tad heated when s…

The successful development of the Thames Estuary is our birthright.

That was the assertion of the Rt Hon Eric Pickles, above, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The Banner behind him reads 'Greater Thames' and he was speaking at the official launch of our Futurescape.

So what is it all about?

I'm glad you asked me that. It's about the body and soul of the Thames Estuary. As the Minister…

My day started with a real bang the other morning, when my bike tyre exploded. Everyone stared, wondering if it had been a gunshot.

Forced to find another way in to work, I took full advatage of being on the bus and tube with commuters to eavesdrop ... and the conversation was not typical for a grey and chilly urban midweek schlep. It was all horses and foxes. Not the hunt gathering sort of conversations, but outrage at…

The other night I was inspired and motivated in equal measure as I attended the launch of the Natural History Museum's new exhibition, "Extinction - Not the end of the world".

It was an amazing scene in the Central Hall with the dinosaur skeleton lit red and the lights in the vast cathedral-like hall dimmed.

Guest speaker Owen Paterson, the Defra minister told us all how wonderful our countryside is and…

After noting the few birds in my own garden for last weekend's Birdwatch I'd developed an itch for something more adventurous, so the opportunity to scratch that itch was like finding a scrunched-up ten pound note in a coat pocket.

Courtesy of the Gardening Leave charity, I joined a group of Chelsea Pensioners and forces veterans in the very large grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea; an oasis of calm and gre…

Weekdays, my commute to and from work runs alongside the Thames and every time I’m alongside the river, the pedals turn more slowly. It’s an inspiring way to top and tail the day.

The colours of the water constantly change, covering a range somewhere between a greenish-yellow broccoli and stilton coloured soup through to a deep brown onion consommé. At night, from my northbank cycle route, it’s a riot of…

The Christmas dinner leftovers have been eaten and the overflowing recycling box collected, drawing a line under the festive excesses.

Last year, my youngest daughter still played with the empty cardboard boxes her presents had arrived in. At one point this year she did hurl into the air the corn-starch foamy pieces packed around jars of pickle and oil from a box of posh food gifts. They littered the floor like a snow…

Dig out the bunting and buy the ingredients for a celebratory cake, it may soon be time to party.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our 2012 house sparrow survey, updating one completed in 2002.

We asked you to tell us where sparrows live in London so we could compare the findings of the two surveys, revealing change over the ten year gap. There's been no dramatic change, in fact the 2012 results reinforce…

London is lucky in having lots of public green spaces, compared with other similar world cities that is.

Various Kings and Queens maintained parks for pleasure and sport, then came the Victorians who created new open spaces. Canals, roads and train-lines added corridors through the maze of buildings and London took shape. That's the whirlwind guide. In a similarly speedy way let me take you to a time after the Second World…

Have you ever stared at the side profile of City Hall? For years now I've wanted to stick a sparrow's head on it's teardrop shape, as it it would make a wonderful giant sparrow.

A monumental nod to the cockney sparra's brave and chirpy character and its similarity to the London spirit which makes our capital city such a great place to live and work.

With this in mind, what better place to meet and share…

I was contacted by the Daily Mail this week about some photos they'd got of a fox looking for an easy meal at Barnes. Nothing unusual in that; it's what foxes do. It was what happened next that was fun. All the ducks, geese, coots and cormorants ganged-up in a rare moment of solidarity, effectively telling the fox to move on without a hiss, quack or wing flap needed.

After the fox had departed, I expect they returned…

Today, the RSPB revealed a system for measuring how well connected you are with the natural world.

It's all about quality of life and the state of our environment. In simple terms, it means how we feel about, and interact with, nature and wildlife.

There are International and UK Government agreements stating how important the natural world is for our health and well being. These commitments stress the importance of everyone…

Imagine your cash as the leaves on a tree. You've taken great care to ensure they grow while the sun shines, but autumn's here and darker days lie ahead. It's always been that way. But sinister forces are at work.

This year has seen erratic weather and my limp and pale leaves have long lost their value, as we continue to be battered by the winds of an economic storm,  made more ferocious by the impacts of climate…

If you're going out with mates this evening and everyone's having a great time, stop it dead by saying the following out loud: "Today marks the fifth anniversary of laws preventing people from paving over front gardens without planning permission".

Life and soul of the party you are not. But you've shown your green credentials. You get a big tick for stepping up for nature.

Heaven knows where we…

Autumn has fallen. Not with the gentle floating of a golden-brown leaf settling gently on the ground, but the subtlety of a lead pipe delivered by a cold-blooded thug. With a resounding thwump, leaves have carpeted the ground overnight, falling only slightly faster than the temperature. 

Not that I'm moaning. It was a welcome change to be cycling through cold rain. A good way to wake me up on a dark Monday morning. A good…

Walking along one of the boardwalks at Rainham with the sun washing your face and nothing demanding your attention is, in my book, one of the greatest luxuries in the world.

If you ever get the chance to experience this level of bliss, then treasure it. There's something primal about the wide open space, the untamed grass and reeds and the quiet busy-ness of nature going on around you. It seems far removed from the c…

The unbridled joy of witnessing night after night of national pride, the full frontal exposure to the best of humanity, has left me wanting more.

As a confirmed curmudgeon I do not normally indulge my tribal side, but I was lifted-up and carried along on the shoulders of giants as the Olympics and then the Paralympics inspired me to cheer, leap to my feet and cry salt tears of wonder and admiration as athletes pushed themselves…

It was cold, dark, noisy and there were flashing Police lights all around me. I was loitering in a car park in east London usualy frequented by young men in expensive cars who don't take kindly to people staring at them. But today, that car park was full of people like me, politely shepherded by a small army of smiling, high-fiving Police Officers as we all waited amicably for the Paralympic torch to arrive. It was no…

It's a bit like Sleeping Beauty rousing from her slumber .. I was so captivated by the Olympics (and will soon be an armchair expert in Paralympic sports too) that I had failed to notice, time had passed.

Our garden birds, flitting busily around feeding their young, have completed their short-lived intensive parenting period. That means they've entered meltdown and effectively vanished. Where have all the garden…

My new neighbour asked the other day if we'd tied apples on to the tree in our garden. I wasn't surprised by the question. Should I have been?

It wasn't sarcasm. It was a genuine question and yes, the apples do look wonderful now that they're turning a bright rosy-red.

My partner explained that they had grown there but aren't quite ripe. When they are, we'll share the harvest. My neighbour has never eaten…