Our Wild Things columnist Eric Brown reflects on some of the topics featured in 100 columns while urging government to step up the battle against wildlife persecution and climate change.

YOU will surely have noticed the British Broadcasting Corporation is celebrating its 100th birthday. Any old excuse to repeat that classic episode of the Christmas Morecambe and Wise show featuring Glenda Jackson and Andre Previn where Eric says:"I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."

Wild Things: Ambitious plan to bring back the chough 

Well, the BBC is not the only institution chalking up a century. This is the 100th Wild Things column. It first appeared on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 when I wrote about an emperor dragonfly in my garden.

There were a few teething problems. Text for the next column about wheatears was fine. But the picture had been cropped so tightly that the wheatear in Tony Dunstan's picture disappeared completely from the Bexley paper. A nice photograph of long grass but no bird. Luckily, the error was rectified in other editions. These things happen in the understaffed world of local journalism.

Over four years I have tried to enlighten readers about birds, butterflies, mammals, fungi, orchids and goodness knows what else. My main aim has been to stimulate interest and get readers out looking for wildlife themselves.

Certain frustrations remain. After several columns pointing out the folly of a Disney-style adventure park certain to decimate wildlife on Swanscombe peninsular the threat survives, even though BBC and ITV withdrew interest.

I guess there will be more columns on this saga. Then there's climate change and rising sea levels, the greatest threat to wildlife and humans. During those four years politicians from all over the world sipped drinks in private jets and rode chauffeured limousines to attend conservation conferences. Many gave supportive speeches then voted against measures required to halt factory chimneys belching out pollution in India, China, USA and elsewhere.

Despite scathing verbal attacks from Swedish activist Greta Thunberg who bunked off school to start a lively protest movement. How marvellous if the Swanscombe and climate change issues were resolved in the next four years. I'm not hopeful.

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Another controversy rumbling away during the column's lifespan has been persecution of endangered hen harriers and other birds of prey simply for commercial gain on English grouse moors. Maybe the latest environment minister will offer protection by finally introducing licences for English shooting concerns as Scotland has promised to do. Can anyone name the environment minister? I thought it was George Eustice, who approved badger culling then expanded the scheme. Turns out he was sacked during the mini-reign of Liz Truss who appointed Ranil Jayawardena. A few days later Therese Coffey took over. With more ministerial changes than a coal miner's shirt, how does any government expect to establish solid environment policy featuring joined up writing?

There are other issues I don't have space to expand on, like illegal pesticides, slap-on-the-wrist punishments for wildlife lawbreakers, pollution of our rivers by water companies, building on floodplains etc etc.

It really is time someone in government grasped the nettle to save our countryside.

While I calm down, I'm off to sort through the mail for that congratulatory message from the King, which doesn't seem to have arrived yet.