Counting On … – Page 109

Counting on …day 115

7th March 2022

Another potential garden pest is the aphid. There are about 500 different types of aphid in the UK, most of whom are partial to a particular type of plant: eg the mealy cabbage aphid likes brassicas, the black bean aphid likes broad beans, and the plum leaf-curling aphid likes plum trees. Whilst they can damage young leaves that one hoped to eat, they do not diminish the productivity of the plant as much as one would expect. On the other hand aphids do provide food for a large number of other insects – Lady birds, hover flies, lace wings, wasps, earwigs, and beetles. These insects themselves are a source of food for other creatures such as small birds. In other words aphids are an important part of the food chain and an important contributor to biodiversity.

The RHS recommend various ways of curtailing aphids should that be necessary – eg early in the season when there are fewer predators at hand to keep numbers in check. https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/aphid-predators

Counting on … day 112

4th March 2022

‘Counting on’ can have the meaning interdependency. About a third of the foods that we enjoy only reach our plates because of the input of pollinators – bees and other insects and even bats. Without such pollinators our diets would be severely compromised. Imagine breakfast without coffee or fruit, treats without chocolate or nuts. Looking after pollinating insects is to look after our wellbeing too.

Counting on …day 111

3rd March 2022

Bees or sugar? Warmer winters, a result of climate change, encourages aphids to thrive. Aphids can spread yellow virus that can damage sugar beet crops. Where sugar beet is not grown organically (which would be the better option for our own health and that of the soil) farmers can choose to spray their crops with pesticides. This year British Sugar has again been granted permission to spray sugar beet with Cruiser SB, a neonicotinoid that is known to be harmful to bees and which is banned in Europe. Is the loss of some of the sugar beet crop, sufficient reason to knowingly harm bees and other insects, as well as polluting rivers and damaging the soil?

The better option would be to reintroduce organic production of sugar beet here in the UK, using methods such as ‘crop selection, crop rotation, fertility build, inter-cropping, establishing insect predator habitat’ https://cdn.friendsoftheearth.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/Sugar%20Beet%20briefing_FOE_Buglife_PAN_02.2018_0.pdf

Lent Reflection

Counting on ….day 110

2nd March 2022

Dust and ash – a reminder of our frailty, and a reminder of our connectedness with the whole of creation. We are part of a most amazing world, a world of intricate life cycles which we damage at our peril. We count on God, asking God to be the means by which we can transform our lives.

Counting on …day 109

1st March 2022

Today is Shrove Tuesday. Shrive comes from the Old English to write, and thence to assign or prescribe, and from that to confess. Today would be a good day to list all the things that we feel are out of kilter in our lives and in the lives of our society, with perhaps a particular focus on those relating to our care of creation.

Counting on…day 107

27th February 2022

Little things make a big difference. The passerby who says hello. The barista who asks how you are. The bus driver who gives a smile. The first sighting of a violet. The sun bouncing off a shiny leaf. The ethereal colour of the moon by day. They make us into a community.

Counting on …day 106

26th February 2022

Slowly we are seeing more products being made of recycled materials. Brabantia is one such producer. Their StepUp Pedal Bins are made from 91% recycled plastic consumer waste from Dutch households. The bins are also 99% recyclable. The Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute assesses products on material quality, material reuse, the use of renewable energy and CO2 management, water management and fairness, and has awarded these bins a silver accreditation.

They are on sale in our local hardware shop – however only buy one if you need it. It is more ecological to stick with the bin you have.

Counting on…day 105

25th February 2022

This winter I have noticed more birds using the bird bath both for drinking and for washing. I make a point of changing the water frequently – and replacing ice with water! It’s new popularity maybe because I have resisted it so that it is in the middle of the lawn well away from plants and bushes where predators could hide.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/how-you-can-help-birds/how-to-make-a-bird-bath/

Counting on day 104

24th February 2022

Safe guarding scarce resources.

Helium is a naturally occurring gas. It is very light and once released it quickly escapes to the edges of the earth’s atmosphere. Where helium has become trapped in rock strata it can be Helium extracted for commercial use. It cannot be chemically manufactured and is therefore a limited finite resource. Helium is is a key component in the operating of MRI scanners.

It is surely irresponsible to use it to fill party balloons?

Counting on …day 103

23rd February 2022

As well as counting on ourselves to take action, we count on others too. Our local council, the Borough of Richmond upon Thames has recently review it progress vis a vis its climate emergency strategy. An independent assessment of all councils, ranked Richmond as eleventh overall, and third highest within the London Boroughs. Richmond scored particularly highly on ‘Community, engagement and communications’ and well above average on ‘Ecological emergency’. For full details see

https://www.richmond.gov.uk/news/february_2022/cllr_neden_watts_on_richmond_council_climate_emergency_action_plan_annual_update