ARE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS 'CHURNING OUT GREY PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN IMAGE'?

David Lindo - courting controversy?

DAVID Lindo - 'The Urban Birder' - was at his forthright best at Global Birdfair.

In a lively Saturday-evening presentation, he lamented the paucity of "creative thinking" among the powers-that-be in how nature and conservation are presented.

Without identifying them by name, he expressed concern that conservation organisations were "churning out grey people in their own image".

As such, much of their output was  uninspiring and unlikely to engage the majority of the community, particularly the young and those of colour.

"What we need is more mavericks," he declared.

The Wryneck says: David Lindo makes some valid points. Much of the communications output from organisations such as the RSPB and the BTO - for instance, in their publications - is dull, repetitive and, all too often, patronising. As a columnist himself, David is, alas, not entirely exempt from his own criticisms. What does he mean by “creative thinking”? Perhaps he could come up with a ten-point charter to guide us through to a brave new birding world.