This shed nonsense is such a dead cat. This 100 million is 0.003 % of the projected overspend (not the project cost, the overspend). The scapegoating of bats is straight out of the brexit/populist playback. Im not saying its not been designed badly compared to alternatives but...
A good recipe to spend £100M on bat conservation?
1. Labyrinthine layers of subcontractors, all taking a slice;
2. Split project into chunks: no joined-up thinking;
3. Route next to landfill, so special tunnel needed.
We did offer alternatives! theguardian.com/uk-news/2024…
They need to work out how to save money rather than try to find scapegoats. Move the head office out of Canary Wharf, reduce they layers and layers of burocrecy. Get rid of 50 % of the middle management, and the baked in inefficiencies.
A male bat ecologist rushing to put out a static bat detector to record bats in the UK in order to produce habitat suitability modelling with some small bats starting to fly around #WADATAWebinar
My MP! Thinking about university education as a pure economic exchange (money paid now for money returned as future wages) is crazy! There is obviously significant personal benefit for (most) students from the experience and benefit to the UK (and humanity) from educating people.
What short sightedness! Surely a small step in the right direction for biodiversity with a negligible cost (£40 per house) is an easy measure to support as a politician in a nature loving country?
1 year ago TODAY my swift brick petition closed with 110k signatures leading to a proposal supported by experts.
WHY no action?
'Apparently @RishiSunak doesn’t like the idea&has blocked it.' - @ZacGoldsmith
Our PM doesn't want to save our icons of summer from extinction.
When we got the box to the ground before rehanging we found there were three noctules inside including this lady.
These are really interesting figures. Multiple benefits & thry look great. Thinking about the biodiversity element when we undertook out HSM work in Sheffield we found bats pretty much everywhere there were trees in the city centre!
🌈🌿Some fascinating & #MeasurableBenefits of Rain Gardens & #SuDS ❤️
🌧️They can capture up to 30mm of rainfall per event, significantly reducing runoff.
🚫Eliminates up to 90% of water pollutants, making our waterways cleaner.
💸 Are up to 50% more cost-effective than conventional drainage systems.
🐦 Enhances local biodiversity by 30%.
🛡️ Lower flood volumes by 80% in urban settings, mitigating flood risks.
☀️ Help cool urban areas by up to 2°C, combating the heat island effect.
🏞️ Lead to 75% of people feeling more satisfied with enhanced green and aesthetic spaces.
💧 Save 40% of potable water by using it for irrigation instead.
🏠 Can raise property values by as much as 20%.
🤝 Boost community project participation by 50%, encouraging environmental stewardship.
When we were thinking about doing the same in South Yorkshire the bat group got in touch with Tony. He was really encouraging and replied with a couple of really well written emails.
He passed away a couple of years ago. Its a shame we can't let him know that it's eventually worked over here. bats.org.uk/news/2020/01/obi…
I'm sure now that some of our bats have realised its an option we'll start to see more of it. It's great for ID too!
Some eye-opening sexual behaviour documented for serotines.
Link to the paper on Serotine mating. cell.com/current-biology/ful…
