It was an early start for the Shropshire/Welsh borders representatives, but five or so hours later the adrenalin was still kicking in. Tony ‘scrubbed up well’ for the occasion and rather better than I managed to. Tony Cross the consultant ornithologist to the project and I were privileged to attend the summit at No 10 Downing Street. Representatives from Defra, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage and English Nature were also present. The summit was hosted by Lord Randall, Theresa May’s Special Advisor on the environment, and attended by the three elected species champions from England, Scotland and Wales: Jake Berry MP, Lewis Macdonald MSP and Mark Isherwood, AM. Curlew Champions- Mark Isherwood, Mary Colwell, Lewis Macdonald and Jake Berry It is much due to Mary’s endeavours, that those gathered were able to make the case for saving this threatened, but iconic, species. (If you have not read Mary’s book Curlew Moon, it has been highly acclaimed at all levels – yet another friend has just texted me to say ‘I LOVED IT’). She is a fantastic and effective champion for curlew and the summit, which she played a big part in setting up, certainly gave voice to much of what she has discovered over the past few years.

When Mary Colwell Hector started her 500 mile walk across Ireland and England, prior to writing her book Curlew Moon, I wonder if she knew where the much longer journey related to curlew recovery and the surprising politics of the conservation world, that would lead her. Whilst not hot off the press, the details of the event are exciting and relevant to Curlew Country. We were still very active with seasonal activities at the time of the summit. In my last blog, I promised to write more about the Curlew Summit at No 10 Downing Street. 10 Downing Street, 8 th July, 2019 – Blog by Project Manager, Amanda Perkins

Evermore by Sarah Sanders