Tag: Wildlife

Counting on … day 146

12th August 2024

The so called ‘Glorious Twelfth’ marks the start of the shooting season for grouse. Over the next few months some 700,000 red grouse will be shot on moors across the UK. These birds, whilst they remain wild, are husbanded by the owners of the grouse moors using methods that involve burning heather and shooting predators and competitors such as foxes, crows and magpies, and birds of prey. The burning of the moorland heather is intended to maximise the new shoots which the grouse feed on, but at the same time it damages the underlying peat and reduces biodiversity, killing insects and small mammals, and by inhibiting the growth of a wider range of native plants. 

Grouse-moors are an artificial construct and do not equate with maintaining a ‘natural’ environment. 

“Grouse are charming, sensitive birds who can survive as far north as the Arctic circle and are devoted parents to their chicks. They deserve better than being killed in cold blood for someone’s twisted idea of entertainment.” https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/grouse-shooting/

Counting on …. Day 1.157

2nd July 2023

The psalmists often tell of God being a refuge for us, a place of safety. 

Gardens can be a refuge, a place of safety  for insects and small creatures especially if we let plants grow with an abandon that creates shelter spaces away from predators, and  safe corridors through and between gardens. If we let plants go to seed, and if we ignore aphids and similar ‘pests’ we are providing a supply of food. Regularly refreshed water bowls provide drinking water and bathing,   and patches of damp earth can provide building material for birds and insects. 

And such gardens can for us too be a place of refuge and safety, a place to be with God.

Counting on … day 1:033

2nd February 2023

Support wildlife and rewilding projects to increase biodiversity, and improve the health of our environment and our own selves. The RSPB, the Wildlife and Wetlands Trust, the National Trust, the Woodlands Trust, the Wildlife Trusts, A Rocha, plus even more local groups such as the Friends of Palewell Common are part of a growing trend to take responsibly our all calling to care for the natural world.

For further thoughts on rewilding – https://greentau.org/tag/rewilding/

Counting on …day 285

21st August 2022

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/community-and-advice/garden-advice/pondsforwildlife/index.aspx

Wildlife is also having to adapt to climate change – and will probably not always succeed because the change is happening too rapidly. In our small ways we can help by making sure our gardens are wildlife friendly – providing water for drinking and bathing, providing a variety of plants to ensure a food supply throughout the changing seasons, providing shelter and places to nest. 

https://www.rhs.org.uk/wildlife/gardening-in-a-changing-climate

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/climate-friendly-gardening

https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-help-wildlife-in-heatwaves-186964