Counting On … – Page 89

Counting on … day 358

24th October 2022

Liz Truss was dead set against solar farms but it is not a sentiment shared by those who farm the land. Mark Tufnell, the president of the Country Land and Business Association told The Gaurdian: “We have members who say these are temporary sites if needs be, they are then able to concentrate on growing more food on their other land. The solar would be on their less good land, and … if that is what they so choose to do, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do it?” He added that the land was not lost to agriculture as the sties were easy to remove, and the area could be grazed with sheep. “There is no reason as to why the area underneath it couldn’t be grazed with sheep, but it could also provide very good habitat for farmland birds and increase biodiversity so help the environment.”

Counting on…day 357

23rd October 2022

Solar farms in the UK are also producing a diversity of additional benefits. Creacombe solar farm in Devon reports “ In essence, a solar farm is a nature reserve that is left largely untouched for 25 years, resulting in huge benefits for wildlife and biodiversity [and will] help to reverse the decline in wildlife due to intensive farming practices [with]

Wildflower meadows sown across the site,
Bee hotels and hives for honey bees and solitary bees to take advantage of the pollen and nectar.
Hibernacula for small mammals and birds, with areas outside the fence line being left as coarse grassland.
Bird and bat boxes.
Land maintenance by sheep grazing the site each winter after the wildflower meadows have cast their seed.” https://www.creacombesolarfarm.co.uk/

Counting on…day 356

22nd October 2022

Euronews Green reported on an interesting solar panel scheme. The solar panels are suspended above a field at a height that allows farm vehicles to pass underneath to tend and harvest the crops. The solar panels are fixed such that they can rotate through 360 degrees to catch as much sun as possible. When it rains they can be set to vertically to water the crop – or in the case of hail, horizontally. The panels can also be used to shade the crop during high temperatures and when frost is a risk.

Counting on…day 355

21st October 2022

O what joy! The first baby bison in thousands of years has be born in the UK at the Knepp rewilding project. The three female bison arrived at the project in July but unknown to everyone one was carrying a calf.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/21/first-wild-bison-born-in-uk-for-millennia-after-surprise-pregnancy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … day 354

20th October 2022

Again to conserve water, we recycle grey water. Water for hand washing collects in a bowl and is saved in a jug and/or flushed down the toilet. Water from flannel washes and from the hot water bottle are also recycled. At more expense you can install a tank, some form of water treatment and a pump to recycle the water to toilet cisterns and/ or a garden tap.

Counting on… day 353

19th October 2022

Sometimes it is hard to get a feel for the scale of the things we are trying to achieve. This reports comes via The Guardian: “The UK is one of more than 100 countries committed to protecting “30×30” as a way to halt the destruction of the natural world. However, just 3.22% of land in England and 8% of the sea is being properly protected and managed for nature, according to the report from the environmental charities coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL).”

The Wildife and Countryside Link is a coming together of 66 wildlife related organisations whose combined membership exceeds 8 million. Hopefully this will give this new grouping a powerful voice.

Counting on … day 353

18th October 2022

Despite recent rain, forecasters predict that the UK will still be feeling the effects of this years dry summer in 2023 with farmers having to rethink what crops they grow using less water. Whilst domestic use is only a small portion of total water consumption, it is still important that we treat water in our homes as a precious resource and conserve it.

Both to save water and to save energy, we have switched from daily to weekly showers with a flannel wash on other days – I don’t think we smell!

Counting on … day 352

17th October 2022

Dried autumn leaves strung on a thread make an attractive alternative to a Christmas paper chain. Now is a good time to collect leaves of different shapes and colours. Some leaves are better than others – horse chestnut leaves shrivel very quickly whereas sweet chestnut, oak and acer leaves keep their shape and colour. You can keep the leaves between the pages of a book until needed.

Seed pods can make interesting decorations when strung on a thread or hung as baubles. Pine cones too make good Christmas decorations.

Counting on … day 351

16th October 2022

Next month world leaders, heads of NGOs, businesses and charities will be taking part in COP27 addressing the climate emergency. According to Alok Sharma, the COP26 president, it is important that all participants arrive in Egypt with the same spirit of urgency, collaboration and compromise that underpinned the success of COP26 in Glasgow. One of the key issues to be resolved will be the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund. Let us prayer with urgency that that spirit will prevail.

Counting on … day 350

15th October 2022

Baking without using the oven. Ovens use a lot of energy, so if you can avoid using them it helps reduce your carbon footprint. Instead you can use a heavy frying pan as a griddle and bake foods such as Welsh cakes, soda farls and potato farls, drop scones, griddle scones and Staffordshire oatcakes.

Welsh cakes

250g plain or half and half plain and wholemeal plus baking powder

75g vegan butter

75g currants/ raisins

1 tbsp chia seeds soaked in a cup of hot water

1 tsp Nutmeg

A little oat milk

Lightly oil a flat based frying pan and set over a medium heat to warm up.

Rub the butter into the flour and add the remaining ingredients using enough oat milk to bind to a dough. Roll out about the thickness of a thumb and cut into rounds.

Place the rounds into the pan. When they are browned on one side turn them over.