Tomorrow - June 22nd - there is a march and rally in London and I am so so grumpy. For two reasons.

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Reason one is entirely personal - I can't go! My wife is going - and hundreds of my friends and hopefully many of you will be there too ... but I had already committed to a lecture to the British Naturalists Association AGM - and to do a photoshoot for the lovely Magdalen College Choir - if you follow that link I think you will find that all the photos on the website are mine! It is a strange niche I have - but I do love the music.

Reason two is more fundamental - Restore Nature Now - it makes me far more than grumpy - it makes me livid, furious and rage-filled that we have to even ask the question of those in power ... How can it not be the first and foremost consideration of every government - that our world is nurtured. Surely it should be obvious that we look after the one planet that we know of in the entire vastness of the universe to support intelligent life ...

I was lucky enough to spend time with Robin Wall Kimmerer recently (and if you have not read Braiding Sweetgrass, I do recommend it) - you can listen to us talking on Start the Week. One of the key messages of her work is reciprocity - that we consider the gifts nature gives to us, and we reciprocate - as we would to a relative or a friend - by now abusing the generosity and by in fact working to leave things better.

I got deep into conservation through my work on hedgehogs - I would LOVE to have been in London on the march - waving a hedgehog banner (I don't have a hedgehog outfit ... but I am sure someone will have!) - and we can all do our bit to Restore Nature Now for hedgehogs ... whether that is through making a hole in your fence as part of a hedgehog highway, or abandoning the cult of tidiness and sharing a bit of your garden with nature - or using your voice to challenge the authorities, local and national - to work with campaigns such as Hedgehog Street, and charities like the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to make our environment a little less selfish.

I so hope that some of you are able to join the march - PLEASE shout for the hedgehogs - and everything else! Next time I hope to not be pre-booked ... actually - next time I hope there is no need for a march to protest something so simple and important - but that maybe hoping for too much from the general election!!!

Photo - Robin Wall Kimmerer and Kate Raworth - two of the most impressive people I have the pleasure of knowing - I recommend both their books!