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Incorporating The Ranger's Blog

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Author: Matthew Chatfield

A cup of tea
County Press articles Ranger Rants 

Wellness tea – a national disgrace

22nd April, 201922nd April, 2019 Matthew Chatfield 0 Comments iwcp, tea, wellness

Like it or not we’re all having to give some thought right now to the question of what makes us

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Matt and the eel
Naturenet updates + news Wildlife & countryside news 

The now entirely virtual ranger

30th January, 201830th January, 2018 Matthew Chatfield 4 Comments gift to nature, isle of wight

Back in 1989 I discovered that people would actually pay me to work in the countryside. I could hardly believe

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Image: Peter Halasz
Invasive species Protected species Videos 

Behold, the tree lobster. (Spoiler: not a lobster)

10th October, 201710th October, 2017 Matthew Chatfield 4 Comments australia, lord howe island, massive animals, rats, stick insect

We like to bring you the occasional large invertebrate on this blog. And even a huge vertebrate now and then. But here’s a big

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wakawaka power+
Promotions and competitions 

Review: WakaWaka Power+ and Light

3rd May, 20175th May, 2017 Matthew Chatfield 0 Comments charger, flashlight, light, new forest, outdoors, review, torch, wakawaka

I recently went on holiday for a week to the New Forest – not everso far, I’ll admit, but for

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Isle of Wight 

What is the most expensive ferry crossing in the world?

9th September, 201613th September, 2020 Matthew Chatfield 4 Comments costs, expensive, ferry, floating bridge, hovertravel, iwcp, prices, red funnel, solent, wightlink

Moaning about the price of Solent crossings is a national sport on the Isle of Wight. “It’s often mooted that

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Comkers by Andy Hay
Spiders 

Are spiders afraid of conkers?

20th July, 20164th August, 2016 Matthew Chatfield 3 Comments chestnuts, competition, conkers, school

I doubt there’s a spider enthusiast who is not familiar with enquiries about how to keep spiders out of the

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Hi-Tec Trek Plus Activity Tracker
Promotions and competitions 

Review: Hi-Tec Trek Plus Activity Tracker

23rd February, 2016 Matthew Chatfield 0 Comments fitness, hi-tec, review, tracker

These days I’m out and about a bit, so I got myself a fitness tracker from Hi Tec to see

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Health and Safety Promotions and competitions Wildlife & countryside news 

The Ranger re-booted

17th January, 20162nd May, 2017 Matthew Chatfield 0 Comments boots, clothing, hi-tec, review, walking

I’m hoping to spend a lot more time out patrolling the countryside this year, and so I have been on

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Matt and Gift to Nature banner
Naturenet news Wildlife & countryside news 

Back to rangering for me: joining Gift to Nature

6th December, 20156th December, 2015 Matthew Chatfield 5 Comments

I’m being outsourced. The Isle of Wight Council can’t pay for a full countryside service any more, so some time

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Guided walks Isle of Wight 

Angry acid-spitting creatures in Parkhurst Forest

28th September, 201528th September, 2015 Matthew Chatfield 0 Comments ants, education, gift to nature, parkhurst

The refurbished red squirrel hide at Parkhurst Forest was launched this weekend by Gift to Nature. I was there to

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The Virtual Ranger

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Recent Posts

  • Behind the scenes of the Isle of Wight
  • Are our streets filled to car-pacity?
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  • Are you a true Isle of Wight local?
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