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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...

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...

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...

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...

Two of the many great things about London are the River Thames and the large number of open spaces you can escape to, spaces where you can cycle, fish, run, play, walk your dog, watch the world go by or simply rage against the machine. Much of London's infrastructure, from its sewers right through...

Conservation is not about setting things in aspic, it's about natural balance ; getting the best outcome for wildlife, people and our economy. The Thames Tunnel , which should prevent raw sewage spewing into the Thames as it passes through our Capital City in the 21st Century, is a typical example...

If you commute in and out of London, at some point in your life you'll no doubt feel stuck in a rut; the same old, same old. But 'tis the rutting season, so Bushy Park and other open spaces are echoing to the bellow of frisky deer . The warm weather of late has helped stir the deep emotions...

It's awesome. Standing on Southwark Bridge as I was the other day, looking over the edge in to the river. The sheer volume and movement of water is astounding and mesmerizing. Is the Thames London's greatest but most ignored asset? It's a muddy emerald of a river that used to be the Capital's...

George Osborne obviously sees the countryside as feminine and cities as masculine, as he's delivered a sugar and spice budget for farmers and and a snips, snails and puppy dogs tails budget for wildlife loving Londoners. After much campaigning and lobbying by the RSPB and others, he halted the...

The election's passed and we'll have new faces in the Commons . Maybe we'll have other new visitors too, once the four eggs being incubated by peregrine falcons Beattie and Busby hatch... hopefully any moment now. The peregrines you can see on our pere-cam are the pair that use the Palace...

My daughter's 'music' homework was all about the blues. She just wouldn't believe me when I said the godfather of the blues is a gravelly voiced chap called Muddy Waters . "What sort of name is that," she asked. "It's as sensible and clear as most," I responded...