• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Yorkshire Bylines
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home Affairs
    • Transport
    • World
    Emmanuel Macron

    French parliamentary elections 2022: shockwaves across the Channel

    Rail strikes

    Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

    cost of living march london

    Trade union movement marches to demand better

    European Union

    After the seismic shocks of Brexit and Covid, what next for the European Union?

    Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

    What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

    Refugee Week

    Refugee week: a chance to celebrate refugees

    Yorkshire cows

    British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

    Julian Assange

    Julian Assange’s extradition given the green light by the UK home secretary

    RSPB heritage event

    RSPB heritage event to tell the story of the Dearne Valley, from coal face to wild place

    Trending Tags

    • Johnson
    • Coronavirus
    • Labour
    • Starmer
    • NI Protocol
    • Brexit
    • Culture
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Home Affairs
    • Transport
    • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Culture
    • Dance
    • Food
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Recipes
    • Sport
    Nostell Priory, Wakefield

    Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

    Headingley Cricket Stadium

    A view from the Roses match: is everything ‘rosey’ in English cricket?

    Bettys' Fat Rascals

    Scallywags, scoundrels and rascals abound in Yorkshire (we do like our scones)

    'Woke' beliefs

    Woke and proud: Compassion must never be allowed to go out of fashion

    Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

    What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

    Red Ladder

    Climbing the Red Ladder – bringing theatre to the community

    Kaiser Chiefs in Doncaster

    Kaiser Chiefs never miss a beat in Doncaster

    Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, second from right, is joined by Keighley Creative representatives, from left, Georgina Webster, Jan Smithies and Gemma Hobbs.

    Bradford announced as City of Culture 2025

    Queen cakes fit for a Queen

    Queen Cakes fit for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

    • Food
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Sport
  • Business
    • All
    • Economy
    • Technology
    • Trade
    Freya Osment from Northern Gas Networks

    International Women in Engineering Day 2022

    Rail strikes

    Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

    conservative party

    The Conservative Party: fiscally irresponsible and ideologically incapable of addressing the current crises

    Yorkshire cows

    British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

    cost-of-living-crisis-in-voluntary-sector

    Cost-of-living crisis looming for the voluntary sector

    Money on the floor - £20 notes

    The huge cost of Brexit is being seriously understated

    Financial problems

    Surge in bad debt and late payments indicate mounting business distress in Yorkshire

    An evening photo tour of Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire, with excellent light towards sunset.

    Winter blackouts and rationing for six million homes as government plans for disruption to energy supply

    Jar with money cascading out of it

    Boosterism doesn’t put food on the table

    Trending Tags

      • Economy
      • Technology
      • Trade
    • Region
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • News
      • All
      • Brexit
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • Home Affairs
      • Transport
      • World
      Emmanuel Macron

      French parliamentary elections 2022: shockwaves across the Channel

      Rail strikes

      Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

      cost of living march london

      Trade union movement marches to demand better

      European Union

      After the seismic shocks of Brexit and Covid, what next for the European Union?

      Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

      What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

      Refugee Week

      Refugee week: a chance to celebrate refugees

      Yorkshire cows

      British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

      Julian Assange

      Julian Assange’s extradition given the green light by the UK home secretary

      RSPB heritage event

      RSPB heritage event to tell the story of the Dearne Valley, from coal face to wild place

      Trending Tags

      • Johnson
      • Coronavirus
      • Labour
      • Starmer
      • NI Protocol
      • Brexit
      • Culture
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Home Affairs
      • Transport
      • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Culture
      • Dance
      • Food
      • Music
      • Poetry
      • Recipes
      • Sport
      Nostell Priory, Wakefield

      Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

      Headingley Cricket Stadium

      A view from the Roses match: is everything ‘rosey’ in English cricket?

      Bettys' Fat Rascals

      Scallywags, scoundrels and rascals abound in Yorkshire (we do like our scones)

      'Woke' beliefs

      Woke and proud: Compassion must never be allowed to go out of fashion

      Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

      What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

      Red Ladder

      Climbing the Red Ladder – bringing theatre to the community

      Kaiser Chiefs in Doncaster

      Kaiser Chiefs never miss a beat in Doncaster

      Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, second from right, is joined by Keighley Creative representatives, from left, Georgina Webster, Jan Smithies and Gemma Hobbs.

      Bradford announced as City of Culture 2025

      Queen cakes fit for a Queen

      Queen Cakes fit for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

      • Food
      • Music
      • Poetry
      • Sport
    • Business
      • All
      • Economy
      • Technology
      • Trade
      Freya Osment from Northern Gas Networks

      International Women in Engineering Day 2022

      Rail strikes

      Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

      conservative party

      The Conservative Party: fiscally irresponsible and ideologically incapable of addressing the current crises

      Yorkshire cows

      British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

      cost-of-living-crisis-in-voluntary-sector

      Cost-of-living crisis looming for the voluntary sector

      Money on the floor - £20 notes

      The huge cost of Brexit is being seriously understated

      Financial problems

      Surge in bad debt and late payments indicate mounting business distress in Yorkshire

      An evening photo tour of Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire, with excellent light towards sunset.

      Winter blackouts and rationing for six million homes as government plans for disruption to energy supply

      Jar with money cascading out of it

      Boosterism doesn’t put food on the table

      Trending Tags

        • Economy
        • Technology
        • Trade
      • Region
      No Result
      View All Result
      Yorkshire Bylines
      No Result
      View All Result
      Home Opinion

      Wear no feathers: a story of female grit and the RSPB

      The RSPB is now the UK’s largest conservation charity, with over 200 reserves in Britain and a powerful role in shaping global conservation projects. Its achievements are remarkable, but its origins are in the determination of one woman: Emily Williamson.

      Jane DawsonbyJane Dawson
      01-08-2021 16:09
      in Opinion
      Clifftop viewpoint of RSPB Bempton Cliffs Nature Rserve, East Yorkshire, March. Photo credit: RSPB

      Clifftop viewpoint of RSPB Bempton Cliffs Nature Rserve, East Yorkshire, March. Photo credit: RSPB

      31
      VIEWS
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
      ADVERTISEMENT

      If you’ve watched fat little puffins jump improbably into the air and take flight at Bempton Cliffs, or have counted the robins on your lawn during the Big Garden Bird Watch, you’ll have heard of the RSPB.

      The RSPB is now the UK’s largest conservation charity, with over 200 reserves in Britain and a powerful role in shaping global conservation projects. Its achievements are remarkable, but its origins are in the determination of one woman: Emily Williamson.

      The RSPB’s Emily Williamson

      She founded her all-female Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889, out of anger that nothing was being done to halt the cruel fashion for extravagantly feathered hats decimating Britain’s bird species. 

      Emily invited her friends to tea and extracted from each a pledge to Wear No Feathers. Her campaign grew when she moved to London, snowballing over the decades to become the mighty RSPB, a conservation force to be reckoned with. Yet she has not been remembered by history.

      This is set to change. A crowdfunded statue of the RSPB’s founder is proposed to stand in the grounds of her home, now Fletcher Moss Park, Manchester, as the focal point of this inspiring story. 

      Creating a statue of Emily Williamson is an important reminder that no voice is too small to make a difference – and that we as individuals can and must do more for nature. As a disenfranchised Victorian woman, Emily’s victory over the plumage trade (resulting in the Plumage Act of 1921) is a powerful example of what can be achieved through passion and determination.

      Photo provided by author

      Get involved in the statue design

      It is fitting that as an organisation that champions citizen science (the Big Garden Bird Watch), the campaign is inviting the public to choose the final design for her statue. The four beautiful maquettes (small-scale statues) will be touring RSPB reserves throughout the country, including cliff tops, heathlands and marshes. All are now havens for birds previously plundered by plumage hunters for the millinery trade. 

      Visitors to the RSPB reserves have the opportunity to see the maquettes and cast their vote. Sites include Bempton Cliffs, near Scarborough on Monday 9 August, and Salthome, near the North York Moors on Thursday 12 August.

      To find out more and discover other viewing opportunities, or to vote online, visit the Emily Williamson Statue website. Final results will be revealed in early November. The campaign also has a crowdfunder to which donations can be made.

      Visit Bempton Cliffs

      If you visit Bempton Cliffs, it’s worth knowing that the pretty white Kittiwake you’ll see were massacred in the 19th century. Plumage hunters killed them to feed the millinery fashion for winged hats. While at Saltholme, the vast breeding colony of Common Tern was almost wiped out for feathers and wings. 

      Today a visit to either reserve is a memorable experience, where colonies of Kittiwake breed successfully and the air is filled wheeling Terns. Your visit is also a chance to cast a vote to commemorate the woman who made all possible.

       

      Tags: Charity
      ADVERTISEMENT
      Previous Post

      The glory of Yorkshire curd tart

      Next Post

      RIP to the NHS: privatisation in the works

      Jane Dawson

      Jane Dawson

      Jane hails from rural North Yorkshire, but has lived all over the world. She moved to London to work for a think tank and to bring up her family. Jane now works as an international communications and public engagement consultant. Her interests stretch from politics, the arts and literature, to yoga and the natural world. She is passionate about mitigating the effects of the climate crisis.

      Related Posts

      labour party conference
      Opinion

      Labour’s precarious tightrope walk to the general election 

      byJohn Heywood
      22 June 2022
      Popcorn being wheeled into Labour HQ
      Opinion

      Vote of no confidence: Conservatives have put themselves between a rock and a hard place

      byMartin Brooks
      6 June 2022
      The detriments of Brexit
      Brexit

      The Detriments of Brexit

      byYorkshire Bylines
      3 June 2022
      Integrity at Westminster, by Stan
      Opinion

      Does honesty, integrity, and transparency mean anything anymore?

      byJohn Heywood
      30 May 2022
      William Gomes with Chris Nicholson at his graduation ceremony
      Education

      My road from refugee to university graduate

      byWilliam Gomes
      29 May 2022
      Next Post
      Pebbles, with the word "hope" on them, image by Nick Fewings for unsplash

      RIP to the NHS: privatisation in the works

      Want to support us?

      Can you help Yorkshire Bylines to grow and become more sustainable with a regular donation, no matter how small?  

      DONATE

      Sign up to our newsletter

      If you would like to receive the Yorkshire Bylines regular newsletter, straight talking direct to your inbox, click the button below.

      NEWSLETTER

      LATEST

      Conservative Party Meeting

      Hypocrisy, desperation and excuses: Conservative Party clutch at straws over by-election losses

      27 June 2022
      Nostell Priory, Wakefield

      Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

      26 June 2022
      10/05/2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the House of Commons. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

      The country needs more than just ‘Booting Boris out of Downing Street’

      26 June 2022
      Emmanuel Macron

      French parliamentary elections 2022: shockwaves across the Channel

      25 June 2022

      MOST READ

      10/05/2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the House of Commons. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

      The country needs more than just ‘Booting Boris out of Downing Street’

      26 June 2022
      Conservative Party Meeting

      Hypocrisy, desperation and excuses: Conservative Party clutch at straws over by-election losses

      27 June 2022
      Nostell Priory, Wakefield

      Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

      26 June 2022
      Photo credit Robert Sharp / englishpenLicensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

      The Davis Downside Dossier

      1 January 2021

      BROWSE BY TAGS

      antivaxxers Charity climate change Coronavirus Cost of living Creative industries Crime Cummings Democracy Devolution education Equality Farming Fishing hgv History Immigration Johnson Journalism Labour Local Democracy Mental Health mining money NHS NI Protocol omicron Pies pollution poverty PPE Public Health Review shortage social media Starmer tax travel Ukraine Yorkshire
      Yorkshire Bylines

      Yorkshire Bylines is a regional online newspaper that supports citizen journalism. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Yorkshire and beyond.

      Learn more about us

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Contact
      • About
      • Letters
      • Donate
      • Privacy
      • Bylines network
      • Shop

      © 2022 Yorkshire Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • News
        • Brexit
        • Education
        • Environment
        • Health
        • Home Affairs
        • Transport
        • World
      • Politics
      • Opinion
      • Lifestyle
        • Culture
        • Dance
        • Food
        • Music
        • Poetry
        • Recipes
        • Sport
      • Business
        • Economy
        • Technology
        • Trade
      • Donate
      • The Compendium of Cabinet Codebreakers
      • The Davis Downside Dossier
      • The Digby Jones Index
      • Newsletter sign up
      • Cartoons by Stan
      • Authors

      © 2022 Yorkshire Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In