I'm doing research for work about mental health.  If someone asked you to take them caving and then said they suffered from a mental health problem, say depression and/or anxiety, what would your initial reaction be?  Would you be happy to take them anyway or would you have second thoughts and...

Some amazing photos here: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/12/2013-the-year-in-volcanic-activity/100645/

The new Issue (no 21) of the free online magazine Earth Heritage, which concentrates on geoconservation, is available here: http://www.earthheritage.org.uk/ This edition features an article on Scottish Caves, Avon RIGS (regionally important geological sites), North Pennines national geopark...

Last night (Wed) the Tudor farm programme on BBC2 featured lead mining and smelting.  The farm is in Sussex but there was a bit of film which showed them excavating an entrance in woods which appeared to go into at least 1,000ft (according to the presenter) of mine workings with a stope where...

I was sent this info from a geologist mate: "The University of Alberta has introduced Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology, a high-quality and rigorous massive open online course (MOOC) that teaches learners the scientific method through the broad appeal of dinosaurs. ?Dino 101 offers an engaging...

Hello. Could you please sign the following link. It seems someone has a great disregard for our marine and avian environment by dumping harmful chemicals into our seas. http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Save_our_Sea_Birds_Stop_dumping_polyisobutylene_into_our_seas/?faFGVdb&pv=17 Cheers Gus

Natural England have published their annual report on SSSIs.  Many caves are included in these: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designations/sssi/spotlightonsssisfeature.aspx

I'm interested in mineral formation and I've read several reports mentioning cinnabar in some of the mines and caves in the Matlock area, particularly Rutland Cavern.  Can anyone shed any light on how it was deposited?

Defra have launched a consultation on improvements to the policy and legal framework for public rights of way.  This of course would be of interest to anyone wanting to have a say in how access is maintained to caves and how it affects landowners.  However, it should be noted that at present the...

Tomorrow (March 27th) will be the 50th anniversary of my first caving trip - Browgill Cave to Calf Holes and I can still remember it as if it was yesterday.

I remember reading many moons ago that the gravitational pull of the Moon was (partially) responsible for jointing in certain rocks, including Carb limestone.  I haven't seen any recent research on this subject.  Has anyone done any?

Did anyone see the Bone Detectives on Quest Wednesday night?  They were in a cave called Midnight Terror (named by the locals apparently) in Guatemala, containing hundreds of Mayan bones in heaps.  The cave consisted of a "ten storey" descent into a fabulously decorated series of chambers. ...

Our countryside appears to be under threat again. The government is trying to rush through massive changes to the planning system, which would make it much easier to build on green field sites. Experts are lining up to condemn the government plans. The National Trust warns of ?unchecked and...

This has been brought to my attention: http://www.environmentlaw.org.uk/ It's designed to explain environmental law in plain English and quite a lot of it is useful for anyone interested in protecting the countryside.

Wolf Minerals have announced that they have secured funding to exploit the tungsten (wolframite) orebody at Hemerdon Ball on the southern edge of Dartmoor: http://www.wolfminerals.com.au/projects-and-exploration/hemerdon-mine