Phil Tovey

I know ‘my’ river a little better. In August, I completed walking, #barefoot, the #RiverTone, #Somerset fr source 2 mouth (53m). @paulpowlesland 🙏 you inspired this last April & it’d say this is a direct impact of the #RiverRoding #InterspeciesCouncil 🌊 linkedin.com/posts/philtove…

WHAT. A. DAY. 💙 An incredible turnout at today’s March for Lough Neagh. Families, fishermen, campaigners and communities came together to stand up for the rights - and future - of Lough Neagh. People travelled from near and far: those who live by the lough, depend on it for their livelihood, use it every day, drink its water, and those simply fed up with seeing our environment destroyed for profit. Huge thanks to the organisers, speakers, stewards and everyone who showed up, marched, and made their voices heard today. Together, we are fighting for the future of Lough Neagh. #FloodTheStreets @saveloughneagh_ ireland-live.ie/news/northern-…

Nothing meaningful in this King’s Speech about nature loss, which is not just an environmental issue, but is a threat to our water supply, food, health and national security. #KingsSpeech

White-tailed Eagle’s to be released at Exmoor. @NaturalEngland will closely monitor progress, including economic impacts. Birds released at the Isle of Wight found to eat fish, seabirds & carrion & attract many tourists, so have been positive for economy. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Please see the link herewith regarding serious inaccuracies carried in recent reports about @NaturalEngland’s work at Hinkley C naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/03/hin…

100 days since the Govt was forced to release its National Security Assessment which said that ecosystem collapse is a threat to national security. Parliament has still not been allowed to scrutinise its findings. We must have a Parliamentary debate.

Wild Card are calling on the Forestry Commission to follow through on their own commitment to restore their plantations on ancient woodland sites. Sign up now to get involved! actionnetwork.org/forms/join-the…

There’s been a conspiracy of silence on the cost of biodiversity loss. Ecosystem breakdown is one of the gravest threats to our security. If we don’t invest in nature recovery now, we’ll pay many times over in food price spikes, flooding, and instability at home and abroad.

1/ Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland in January, with military support from France, Germany, and Nordic nations. Elite troops and F-35 jets with live ammunition were sent, and runways were to be blown up to prevent an invasion. ⬇️

If the nature-loving majority gets organised, bold and clear, we won’t just win on Fingleton. We’ll shut down the idea that protecting nature was even up for debate for a generation. That’s what’s at stake. I’m up for the fight.

Green Focus column: If you want to fight, fight for nature somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/25816273.…

In the middle of nowhere huts like these are scattered all over Norway. The Telemark heroes (Norwegian resistance) used these to survive the harsh conditions during their 200km + ski on their way to destroy the Nazi nuclear programme. That raid is but one of many that demonstrates the shared history and partnership between the UK and Norway. The Lunar House Agreement is the next stage in that journey. It’s a real privilege to stop off and rest and have some reindeer stew during a long journey. And to recite stories (dits), laugh and reminisce from years gone by. Many families have huts like this. They are a place to escape and reconnect with the countryside. We can do the same; a dog walk, a trip into the countryside or even a drive just makes you feel better. Being at one with nature and away from the hustle and bustle of daily life is good for mental and physical wellbeing.

Ben is right you know. Well said sir. 👏👏👏

An across-government technical assessment published today recognises that "nature is the foundation of national security" and that "every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse". A rational response to this would be to get very serious about nature recovery. gov.uk/government/pub…

If a practice is too cruel for food produced in Britain, it should be too cruel for food imported into Britain. I spoke in Parliament to argue that higher welfare standards on British farms should not be undermined by lower-welfare imports.

Screw you, Mr Chainsaw Man. When you, for no reason, chopped down my favourite black poplar tree I planted, you thought the story would end there. But what you didn’t know is that thousands of years of evolution have given black poplars a neat trick that means you can’t kill then this easily. As poplars coppice, when springtime comes buds will start sprouting and create trunks as big as the one you destroyed & will actually create a whole new type of coppice tree. Even better, the branches of poplars can create new trees if placed into wet ground. So this tree will now create dozens of new trees in the immediate area & along the river.

I took a sample of motorway runoff into the River Wye recently. The pollution level for Benzo(g,h,i)perylene exceeded the legal Standard by 675 times. How can our rivers ever recover when this toxic pollution occurs every time it rains? This chemical is extremely toxic.

During the 1990s environmental damage was projected in the future to cause mass migration, food price increases, disease & extreme weather, among other things. We are living now in the beginning of that future. Taking action is vital for national security bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

This week, Govt quietly published a 'Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security assessment' after an FOI forced their hand. It is a deeply concerning read for anyone who cares about our future.

BREAKING!: Huge news: The Government has quietly published [link below] on its website, without any fanfare, the Joint Intelligence Committee / Defra report on 'GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY LOSS, ECOSYSTEM COLLAPSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY' that it suppressed last October. It has presumably done this at this point (in the middle of an international crisis) to try to bury the story. ...this is a huge story. Just consider the report's title, for starters... the report warns of multiple likely ecosystem >collapses< that will have dire implications for our national security, and that require serious strategic adaptation at minimum. The report also sets out how these collapses if they are allowed to occur will significantly increase migration-pressure: "as development gains begin to reverse", a phrase that should make any human shudder in anguish. There is much more... But it doesn't end there: what they have published very much appears to be >only part of a larger piece of work<: there is no detail at all in what they have published on the geo-regional analyses; the connections from those regional analyses to the national security threats consequently facing Britain are not detailed; the "Key Judgements" of the report are not properly explained. It is fairly obvious what has happened here: in response to FOIs, they are trying to slip this report out, presumably because they feared it would otherwise get out anyway; but they have done so in a form that holds back much of the most disturbing content - the content that WE as citizens need to know if we are to know how to protect ourselves, what we are potentially going to have to adapt TO. We must continue to press for the full report to be released... But in the meantime there is much here to digest and reflect on, to put it mildly. Kudos to those who commissioned the report; do READ this version of it (it's only short!), and let's take it from there... Kudos too to those who pursued an (at least partly) successful battle to get the report released, via Freedom of Information requests... >>Please share widely! assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0eae…

Hi all, we’ve a funded research project for people up and down #RiverTone, exploring animal risks and how to systemically respond to them. All welcome to join the event launch, evening 5 Feb (online) luma.com/jsdtpbb3 #systemicrisk