Tag: Biodiversity

Counting on … day 1.150

16th August 2023

The two way relationship between urban and rural is also about enhancing the presence of nature and its natural processes in urban areas. Planting trees, maintaining biodiverse rich green and blue spaces,  making gardens nature friendly, creating wildlife corridors, establishing green edges to roads and pavements, planting more trees, etc.

Further reading – https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/new-report-highlights-the-benefits-of-bringing-nature-into-our-cities-2/

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-we-need-green-spaces-in-cities.html

The Green Tau: issue 39

https://greentau.org/tag/gardens/

Counting on …. Day 1.149

15th August 2023

The relationship between urban and rural areas and the protection and enhancement of green landscapes and biodiversity is two way in both directions. Yes those in urban areas need to address their lifestyle and ecological impact to protect both urban and rural environments, but those in rural areas also need to be able to do the same. Yet living ecologically in rural areas can be harder than in urban areas. 

In London, people have access to what is – generally – a good public transport network. This is not a given in rural areas – and not even in some urban areas outside London. 

In London, people have access to milk deliveries, refill stores, markets, charity/ second hand shops – all without the need to drive a car. Indeed in many parts of London people do live within 15 minutes of their local shops, medical centre, post office, schools, cinema, gym, green space, railway station etc.

If we want everyone to be able to live ecologically, protecting and enhancing the environment, then it is important that everyone has access to the necessary services and infrastructure to do so whether they live in rural or urban areas.

Counting on …. Day 1.128

15th July 2023

 Becky Speight comments in the current. RSPB magazine that we may think we are at a crossroads where we can either address the climate crisis or the biodiversity crisis, but in fact we can have both and! She writes that this future “is one where we work far more closely with nature, to mitigate and adapt to the worst effects of global warming; to help species adapt to the changes already locked into the system; and to recreate and reimagine our lives and homes as vibrant , lush, functioning and joyous places. The future could be better than today”! And chiming in with the WWT, there is much emphasis on the importance of using water to create climate resilient, biodiverse rich habitats. 

Counting on … day 1.152

27th June 2023

Plastic packaging is seen as a plus because it enables food to be harvested and shipped over a longer distance/ timespan than might otherwise be possible. This enables perishable crops such as strawberries, lettuces, cucumbers etc to be grown in southern Spain and sold in supermarkets throughout the UK.  But this can further distance us as consumers from the people who grow our food. Currently there is two concerns  about farming practices in Spain. 

One is the diversion of water from the vulnerable wetland area of Donana, a World Heritage site,  to irrigate strawberry crops to the detriment of the wildlife that relies on this unique habitat. (https://phys.org/news/2023-06-world-heritage-wetland-site-threatened.html ) 

The second is the use of migrant labour on farms in the Almeria and Huelva  regions of southern Spain. These are often vulnerable people from North Africa who are effectively exploited as forced labour – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/agricultural-workers-rights-almeria

Avoiding plastic may have additional benefits for the world.

Trinity Sunday 

4th June 2023

Reflection (readings below)

Young babies in the early months do not realise that they and their mother are separate beings. Obviously in time they come to realise that their mother is not simply an extension of their body, but that they are each separate beings.

Many mums and dads may expect their role as parents to be time-limited. As their child passes the ages of, say 16 -or 18 or 21 – they realise that being a parent is for life. They will never not be mums and dads!

In fact, as John Donne wrote, ‘No man [no person] is an island’. We are all interdependent beings relying on each other for love, protection, nourishment, purpose, identity etc. The interdependency and interconnectedness of human relationships should not surprise us on this Trinity Sunday. Today is the day when we reflect in particular on the nature of God that has been revealed to us: the one in three and three in one. The one who is both God and Father – a word which we would now understand to include  mother or parent. The one who is both God and Son, who is both human and divine. The one who is both God and Spirit, who was hovering over the waters of creation and is the gift that came at Pentecost. The trinitarian God is the God of relationships, of co-creating, of co-working, of co-inherence (meaning the participation of the three persons in one God).

We see in the Trinity the ideal that we should be showing in our human relationships. Sadly we don’t always manage to create and maintain fair relationships between one another. Our interrelationships are marred by injustice and the abuse of power. We have frequently and repeatedly failed to follow the way of Jesus – of love and compassion, of truthfulness and justice, of healing and restoration. Yet that is our vocation and it is a way of living that we are called to share with the whole world.

The passage from Isaiah reminds us that God is not just the creator of we humans, but of the entirety of the earth. And again it should therefore not surprise us that just as we are interdependent on our fellow humans, so following God’s model of being, we are share an interdependent and interconnected relationship with the rest of creation. 

We are beginning to understand that without a sizeable population of pollinating creatures – insects, birds, beetles – many of the food crops we depend upon will not survive. We are beginning to understand that without a healthy population of worms, beetles, and subterranean fungi, the fertility of the soil will diminish and with it, our harvests. We are beginning to understand that without large and biodiverse woods and forests, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will rise and exacerbate rising temperatures that lead to fatally adverse weather patterns. 

I say ‘beginning to understand’ for just as we have failed in so many of our human relationships, so we have failed in so many of our relationships with creation as witnessed by the climate and ecological crises. We need to learn how to live in active cooperation and harmony with all of creation. We need to observe and learn of the interconnected relationships that exist between all parts of the ecosystems we share. We need to learn where we fit in – how we can actually benefit from being part of these interdependent systems. We need to appreciate that just as in the Trinity we see a pattern for how we should live our lives, so in the Trinity we can see the pattern for how all of creation thrives together.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

Isaiah 40:12 -17, 27 – end

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
    and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
    and weighed the mountains in scales
    and the hills in a balance?

Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
    or as his counsellor has instructed him?

Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,
    and who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?

Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and are accounted as dust on the scales;
    see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.

Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,
    nor are its animals enough for a burnt-offering.

All the nations are as nothing before him;
    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 

Why do you say, O Jacob,
    and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
    and my right is disregarded by my God’?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,
    and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
    they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
    and crowned them with glory and honour.

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Counting on … day 1.122

26th May 2023

The ongoing climate crisis makes local weather patterns more unpredictable and with that comes the risk of some plants species dying out in the short term. For example the speed with which bluebells can naturally migrate northwards to cooler climes may soon be slower than the speed with which unseasonal heat is advancing. If the bluebell seeds can be artificially transported to more suitable climes then the species can be saved.
Seedbanks gather and store seeds to protect all our futures. Their stocks can allow for replanting in the future. They are also our security against our short sighted eradication of plants that we currently see as weeds, but which hold as yet unforeseen virtues.

You might like to find out about the UK based Heritage Seed Library https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/what-we-do/hsl

Kew Gardens maintains a global seed bank, The Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) with over 2.4 billion seeds, representing over 39,000 different species of the world’s storable seeds.  You can make financial donations to support this work.

https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/research-facilities/millennium-seed-bank

Counting on …day 1.113

17th May 2023

Yorkshire Rewilding comments “Whether you have a patio, an allotment, a grand estate or oodles of passion, you CAN make a difference. Rewilding works at every scale. The real power lies in joining the dots — connecting the places and people working towards a common goal: a Yorkshire teeming with life at every level.” https://www.yorkshirerewildingnetwork.org.uk/

The same is true for other areas. Here in Richmond parks and various streams and rivers, including the Thames forms a network of green spaces and green corridors which favours biodiversity. Richmond is also an area with plenty of gardens and allotments and they too could be areas for re-wilding and nature positive cultivation. The London Wildlife Trust writes “There are over three million gardens in Greater London – 3,267,174 to be precise. That’s an area of 37,942.09 hectares*. In the face of climate change and habitat fragmentation, this massive expanse of green space has enormous untapped potential for both people and wildlife. However, worrying research by London Wildlife Trust shows that London’s gardens are changing from green to grey.”

They also have plenty of practical suggestions – https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/campaigns/garden-living-london

Counting on … day 1.119

13th May 2023

Using the model of  a citizen’s assembly, the WWF, the RSPB and National Trust put together The People’s Plan for Nature – a vision for the future of nature, and the actions we must all take to protect and renew it. 

The Plan, amongst other things, “…calls on individuals and communities to: 

  • be knowledgable about how nature assets in their areas are supposed to be protected (particularly designated protection sites); take personal responsibility for their own actions within these spaces and be empowered to act around damage to nature where they live.
  • Change their consumption patterns to support nature-friendly businesses, even if the costs to themselves are higher.’

Counting on … day 1.111

5th  May 2023

Government and the farming industry is part of a system that needs to change if we are to adapt to climate change and forestall a worsening of the current climate crisis. Nevertheless individuals can also be part of the process of change. We can buy less meat and dairy products and more – and more varied – plant based foods – ideally those that are locally grown and organic. We can support through donations and volunteering, habitat restoration and re-wilding schemes.

Counting on …. Day 1.097

11th April 2023

As we celebrate the new life of the resurrection, here is a petition calling for life for our bee population.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/631948

Quotes from supporters of the petition:-

1.

Professor Dave Goulson – Scientist, Author and Founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust

“For three years in a row our government has granted farmers special permission to use banned neonicotinoid pesticides on sugar beet. This is contrary to the expert advice of their own Expert Committee on Pesticides, who specifically recommended that permission should not be granted.  It also flies in the face of a huge body of scientific evidence showing that these chemicals are phenomenally toxic to all insect life, and that their use on any crop contaminates soils, hedgerow plants, and nearby streams and ponds for years to come. We are in a crisis, with insect populations in freefall. It is about time our government woke up to this, and acted accordingly. This petition is a necessary means of holding the government to account. Please sign and share as signing will ensure the issue is debated in Parliament.”

2.

Rev Professor Jasper Kenter, Aberystwyth Business School, Aberystwyth University 

“The repeated lifting of a ban on extremely harmful neonicotinoid pesticides by the UK Government is doing untold damage to insects in the UK. It is short-sighted and not backed by evidence. The ecological, economic, and cultural value of protecting insect population is far greater than any short-term profits from allowing these pesticides. By signing this petition, we can force a debate on this issue and make sure these pesticides are banned again next year.”

3.

Dr. George McGavin. Entomologist, TV Presenter, Author, President of the Dorset Wildlife Trust and Senior Principal Research Fellow, Imperial College.

Neonicotinoids are not a disaster waiting to happen – the disaster is already unfolding. These potent nerve poisons are extremely toxic to all manner of invertebrates and are water soluble – they get everywhere polluting soil, ground water and rivers. These chemicals, often used prophylactically as seed treatments, go on to make every part of the plant toxic. Neonicotinoids generate very large profits for the companies who manufacture and distribute them but they do enormous environmental harm and their use must stop.

Notes:

Globally 15% of crops are lost to ‘pests’ but the FAO tells us that 33% of all food grown is wasted. We need to get smarter – there other ways of protecting crops than poisoning the entire countryside.    

Dose for dose neonicotinoids can be hundreds, even thousands of times more toxic to bees than DDT