Carol service in the park……
Carols in the Park came once again to the Park on 13th December 2025. Mother Nature was a big help with brisk, dry bright skies after many the deluge of rain the preceding week…… https://www.heatonmoorpark.co.uk/cheering-carolling-times-in-the-park/
Persecution of raptors….
Raptors: Police in England, Scotland and Wales are investigating the disappearances of white-tailed eagles that are part of a program reintroducing the species to the British Isles after a gap of more than 200 years. In two of the recent cases, satellite trackers had been cut from the birds, indicating very deliberate killing. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is offering a GBP10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/white-tailed-eagles-disappear-in-suspicious-circumstances
Boosting tree cover with “tredges” …..
Plant ‘tredges’ to boost England’s tree cover, gardeners urged
Royal Horticultural Society’s call backs government aim to increase woodland cover from 10% to at least 16.5% by 2050
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/25/plant-tredges-boost-england-tree-cover-gardens-rhs
Park dogs…….
The value of dogs….. dogs as warm presences that offer routine, purpose and a steady emotional tone at home…..
‘he’s not just a dog… he’s something bigger… my family.’ A Qualitative Study on Dog Ownership and Emotional Well-Being ……..
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13212666
Crocheters needed!
There are excellent crocheters in the park’s Knitting Group. They might like to participate in an ambitious project of oyster conservation. A bed of 4,000 crocheted oysters is up for adoption in hopes of helping with the species’ conservation.
The Groundwork NE and Cumbria charity wants people to adopt the woolly molluscs to support the Wild Oysters Project, which is trying to restore native oysters to the north-east England coastline. Crafters are currently crocheting thousands of oysters in a range of sizes, shapes and colours.
More details……. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gpe7zpmz0o
Cats
There are many gorgeous cats around the park……….here is a very informative feline video…….
Additionally, here are the College Cats of Oxford, courtesy of the Oxford Clarion……
https://oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats-of-oxford/
Urban infrastructure
A new use for old urban infrastructure……….this old, abandoned stadium in Taiwan has been transformed into a stunning community garden! The ‘Zhongshan Football Stadium’ was abandoned in 2008 and rather than being left to rot, it was turned into an urban garden for locals to enjoy and grow their own food as part of Taiwan’s larger garden city programme! Would you like to see abandoned places in your city transformed like this?
Information courtesy of James Stewart, Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRIXxIHkdJC/
Biophobia
Toward a unified understanding of people’s aversion to nature: biophobia……..
It is often assumed people have a positive connection to nature, but fear and dislike of nature (biophobia) is likely to become more common
A growing biophobia could harm public health and undermine environmental protection
Human–nature relationships are often framed positively, but research rarely addresses biophobia, the aversion to nature. However, negative relationships with nature are likely to become more widespread following societal and environmental changes, with serious implications for public health and conservation efforts. Here, we performed a systematic review of 196 studies on biophobia, revealing a fragmentation of knowledge across disciplines, including environmental sciences, psychology, and social sciences. ….. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70019
Conservation obituaries
Environmental defenders & conservationists who died in 2025…..
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/environmental-defenders-conservationists-who-died-in-2025/