Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a multi-award-winning writer and broadcaster known for his uncompromising commitment to seasonal, ethically produced food and his concern for the environment. He has earned a huge following through his River Cottage TV series and books, as well as campaigns such as Hugh’s Fish Fight, Hugh’s War on Waste and his latest, Britain’s Fat Fight and, his latest, War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita.
https://www.rivercottage.net/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HughFW (117k)
- Hits: 1607
Thomazine Mary Browne was born in Bridgwater in 1852. She studied Natural Philosophy and Astronomy at Queens College, London. She also attended courses in physics and applied mathematics at University College and became a mathematics tutor in 1875. Mary and her sister Annie worked for Octavia Hill, and for Canon and Mrs Barnett at Toynbee Hall, to improve housing conditions in London. They were also involved in the formation of College Hall, the first women's hall of residence in London.
in the 1880's Mary attended the Solar Physics Observatory in South Kensington. This was the brainchild of the charismatic and self-taught Norman Lockyer. It was publicly-funded and both taught and researched day-time astronomical physics rather than traditional astronomy. Sir Norman Lockyer became Mary's second husband on 23rd May 1903 in the Church of the Annunciation, Marylebone. The couple built a house in Sidmouth, where Mary's grandparents had lived. Norman Lockyer's moved the Observatory to Sidmouth in 1912, which he ran until his death in 1920. Mary was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1923.
Mary was secretary of the Sidmouth branch of the National Union of Women Suffrage Societies from 1909 to 1918. She maintained an active involvement with Sidmouth societies until her death in 1943.
Devon History Society
https://www.devonhistorysociety.org.uk/lockyer-lady/
Royal Astronomical Society obituary
http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1944MNRAS.104R..91.
The Lockyer Ladies
http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2006AntAs...3..101W
- Hits: 1767
One man has seen more of the natural world than any other. This unique feature documentary is his witness statement.
In his 94 years, David Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Now, for the first time he reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime as a naturalist and the devastating changes he has seen.
Honest, revealing and urgent, DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: A LIFE ON OUR PLANET is a powerful first-hand account of humanity’s impact on nature and a message of hope for future generations.
Created by award-winning natural history filmmakers Silverback Films and global conservation organisation WWF, the film is Directed by Alastair Fothergill, Jonnie Hughes and Keith Scholey and Executive Produced by Colin Butfield.
Celebrated British naturalist Sir David Attenborough has a broadcasting career spanning over six decades. He has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and bringing the wonders of the living world to audiences worldwide through ground breaking natural history series. His work includes: Life on Earth, Planet Earth and more recently the Netflix original documentary series Our Planet.
Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidattenborough/ (4.5m)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidALifeFilm/ (11.9k)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidALifeFilm (2.6k)
- Hits: 1314
Devonshire Association "William Pengelly, F.R.S., F.G.S., Father of the Devonshire Association (1912)" By Mrs. Hester Forbes Julian (Née Pengelly). (Read at Exeter, 24th July, 1912.)
Having frequently been asked by members of the Association to contribute a paper on the life and work of my dear father, it seems specially appropriate and suitable to do so in this year, which not only marks the Jubilee of the Devonshire Association, but also the centenary of its founder, William Pengelly, and the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Royal Society, of which he was a distinguished Fellow. It seems also specially appropriate that this meeting should be held in our own Cathedral city, for we all feel that in coming to Exeter we are coming home.
https://devonassoc.org.uk/devoninfo/william-pengelly-father-of-the-da-1-1912/
- Hits: 1429
Wangari Muta Maathai (1940-2011) was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya from 1976 and was its chairwoman, 1981-87. It was through the Council that she introduced the idea of planting trees with the people and developed it into a broad-based, grassroots organisation designed to conserve the environment and improve women’s quality of life. By the end of 1993 the women reported that they had planted over 20 million trees on their farms and on school and church compounds.
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProfWangariMaathai/ (74.9k)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wangarimaathai (10.8k)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wangari_maathai/ (5.5k)
- Hits: 1132
Vanessa Nakate (born 15 November 1996) is a Ugandan climate justice activist. She grew up in Kampala and started her activism in December 2018 after becoming concerned about the unusually high temperatures in her country.
"My country heavily depends on agriculture, therefore most of the people depend on agriculture. So, if our farms are destroyed by floods, if the farms are destroyed by droughts and crop production is less, that means that the price of food is going to go high. So it will only be the most privileged who will be able to buy food. And they are the biggest emitters in our countries, the ones who will be able to survive the crisis of food, whereas most of the people who live in villages and rural communities, they have trouble getting food because of the high prices. And this leads to starvation and death. Literally, in my county, a lack of rain means starvation and death for the less privileged"
Inspired by Greta Thunberg to start her own climate movement in Uganda, Nakate began a solitary strike against inaction on the climate crisis in January 2019. For several months she was the lone protester outside of the gates of the Parliament of Uganda. Eventually, other youth began to respond to her calls on social media for others to help draw attention to the plight of the Congolian rainforests #SaveCongoRainforest . Nakate founded the Youth for Future Africa and the likewise Africa-based Rise Up Movement.
In December 2019, Nakate was one of a handful of youth activists to speak at the COP25 gathering in Spain.
In early January 2020, she joined around 20 other youth climate activists from around the world to publish a letter to participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling on companies, banks and governments to immediately stop subsidizing fossil fuels. She was one of five international delegates invited by Arctic Basecamp to camp with them in Davos during the World Economic Forum; the delegates later joined a climate march on the last day of the Forum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Nakate
https://www.1millionactiviststories.org/
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vanessa_vash (175.4k)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessanakate1/ (102k)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vanessa-Nakate-106155294113113/ (20.8k)
- Hits: 1280
Obituary Published in DA Transactions, 1992. President of the Devonshire Association in 1978
Professor W. G. Hoskins, one of England’s greatest economic and social historians, pioneered the subject of landscape history and revolutionised the study of local history. But, as the success of his two major television series in the 1970s suggested, his larger achievement was to have left us all incomparably richer in our understanding of the past all around us.
Devon played a large part in all this. Born in Exeter in 1908, the son and grandson of Exeter bakers, Hoskins was educated at Hele’s School and the University College of the South West. From his earliest years he developed a passionate interest in the Devon landscape, which provided much of the raw material for his thinking and writing. He began to ask questions about the apparently ordinary elements of the local landscape: its field banks and boundaries, its deep sunken lanes, its isolated farmsteads hidden down long muddy tracks.
https://devonassoc.org.uk/person/hoskins-w-g/
- Hits: 2697
Hello, my name is Maisie Frost and I am the Member of Youth Parliament for North Devon. I was elected in February 2020, but unless you found my Youth Parliament Instagram (@myp_maisie) you probably haven’t heard anything from me since then. My job is to represent the young people in North Devon. And I hope that you feel that I am trying to do that. Always contact me if there is anything I should be doing better or that you want to see happening or even just for a chat! With COVID-19 and lockdown everything has been very different to how we expected and to be honest we have only just got used to it and worked out how we can work around it. It’s still a lot harder and we are all trying hard to find ways to continue working and taking action. I apologise for not updating and connecting sooner but hopefully this is the start of regular updates and connections with you guys- my constituents! I will try not to make this too long as I know no one can be bothered to read pages and pages of writing.
https://holsworthycollege.wordpress.com/author/hccdevon/
Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myp_maisie/
- Hits: 2325
Obituary Text published in DA Transactions, 1949.
MISS ETHEL CLELIA LEGA-WEEKES, F.R.HIST.S., died at Varnello, her home in Exeter, on 7th April, 1949, after a very short illness, aged 85. Born in London to an American father, Ansel Weekes, master mariner, by an English mother, Clelia Lega, née Fletcher, Miss Lega-Weekes, through her maternal grandparents, was descended from William Fletcher and Antonio Zombelli, the faithful servants of Lord Byron in Italy and Greece. Educated at Aramattapoisett, Mass., she came to England as a student in the art schools. Domestic influences, mainly those of her Italian grandmother, fostered her intense interest in mediaevalism. From genealogical research she gradually turned to the detail of local history. She settled with her mother (who kept her in perpetual tutelage) in Exeter, and made a close study of the civic and ecclesiastical history of the city.
https://devonassoc.org.uk/person/lega-weekes-ethel-clelia/
- Hits: 2599
Exeter Memories John Graves Simcoe - first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
"Due to Simcoe, slavery was abolished in Ontario, Upper Canada in 1793, during the second legislative assembly, and was the first place in the British Empire to introduce a ban, despite opposition from the British Government. He also campaigned, unsuccessfully, to ban slavery in Haiti, encountering fierce opposition from the British Government."
http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_people/simcoe.php
- Hits: 1162




