Nature recovery green paper; positively gripping or worryingly vague?

 

Wide open, blue, Bedfordshire countryside skies. (Photo from personal collection)

Yesterday, 16 March 2022, the Nature recovery green paper was published, which sets out initial thoughts on driving nature recovery in England through protected sites and species protection. The targets are to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, and to put an end to species decline by the same year. (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/delivering-on-the-environment-act-new-targets-announced-and-ambitious-plans-for-nature-recovery)

In a blog post from Natural England's Chair, Tony Juniper (https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2022/03/16/green-paper-can-herald-nature-recovery/), we find an ambitious but optimistic vision; acknowledging some of the challenges and work that has to be done, but with a generally sunny outlook for the future of English nature.

However, other campaigners and organisations have responded with disappointment.

Responding to the Government's publications on nature protections and environmental targets yesterday, The Wildlife Trusts showed hints of optimism, but not without doubts and concerns. And the response from Greenpeace held even more concern over the vagueness of the publications. Indeed, it would seem spokespeople from many of our conservation organisations and charities, including those mentioned and RSPB chief executive, Rebecca Speight, are underwhelmed by the government's Nature recovery green paper and environmental targets.

Of most concern is an apparent lack of focus on protecting some of our most important land, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest. From Joan Edwards, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, The Wildlife Trusts: "It's absolutely vital that it [the Government] resists calls to lift the rules that protect our most important wild places. Currently, nationally important protected sites for nature such as Swanscombe Peninsula are still threatened with inappropriate developments which increase flood risk, put wildlife at risk and set us back in the fight against climate change. The Nature Green Paper must ensure that these special places have stronger protections and that decisions to designate them are led by the science."

There are further concerns around the Government's target of having 10% more nature in 2042 than in 2030, by when they aim to have halted species decline and have protections in place for land and sea. However, it has been pointed out, by more than one voice in conservation, that with just how much adversity our nature and wildlife are facing, and by how much some species are expected to decline in the intervening years, that could still mean a dismal future.

The headlines have been prominent in recent years. Our wildlife is in trouble and, with one in ten species in England only just steps away from extinction, action is needed now, not ten or twenty years in the future.

Generally, the concerns are that the targets are too vague and aim too low. As ever, the ask from conservationists is that the rhetoric be done with, and positive actions take its place.

Further reading

Save Swanscombe Peninsula, Kent Wildlife - https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/save-swanscombe

Nature recovery green paper and consultation - https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nature-recovery-green-paper

Delivering on the Environment Act, Gov.uk - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/delivering-on-the-environment-act-new-targets-announced-and-ambitious-plans-for-nature-recovery

Nature Recovery Green Paper: Protected Sites and Species, DEFRA - https://consult.defra.gov.uk/nature-recovery-green-paper/nature-recovery-green-paper/

The Wildlife Trusts response - https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/rhetoric-masks-meagre-nature-recovery-plans-wildlife-trusts-say-government-targets-must-aim

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Hey to any new readers! Here's 10 ways you can help nature . . .

 

Pond at Hill Rise Nature Reserve, Bedford, Bedfordshire. (Photo from personal collection)

Out of a love for nature and wildlife, there comes a concern, for we all know that it is not doing well. So, in today's post, I offer a list of things that we can do, to give back to the nature and wildlife that give us so much.

1. Put up your bird boxes. But, just before you do, be sure of where they are best situated. You can find a useful guide on the RSPB website; make sure that you have the right nest box for the right species, and that you buy a box suitable for the space you have.

2. Bat boxes. It isn't just the birds that will appreciate boxes. You can make your own - the Wildlife Trusts website has this handy guide - or you can purchase one. Bear in mind, when purchasing nest boxes, to make sure the wood is responsibly sourced. Look out for the FSC label.

3. Create a pond. A pond doesn't have to be a large thing, dug out in the garden. A pond can be made from an old washing up bowl. I intend to make one using a storage box, some sand, pebbles and stones, plant pots, and some oxygenating plants this year. Get creative!

4. Bird feeders and bird baths. There are a great many different kinds of bird feeder out there, for different species of bird, and for the different spaces in which they might be placed. From window feeders to standing feeding stations. And bird baths do not have be big expensive things, they can be easily made with inexpensive items.

My inexpensive, makeshift bird bath, made from a planter dish, bricks, and stones. Just add water. (Photo from personal collection)

5. Support a conservation charity. If you can, give a monthly donation. Or, if you are able to do so, lend your time and volunteer on a nature reserve. Perhaps, if you are on the lookout for nest boxes, binoculars, books, gifts, etc., a favourite charity is selling what you are looking for in their online shop. And, don't forget all the citizen science projects run by these organisations throughout the year. There are a great number of ways to support their hard work!

6. Rewild your garden. In the UK, when you take together all of our gardens, they account for more land area than all the nature reserves we have combined. They can be a vital oasis or connection for the wildlife with which we share our spaces. So, leave the lawn a while or, better yet, turn it into a mini meadow. Perfectly manicured lawns are really just a dead monoculture; why not a sea of waving flower heads and life instead?

7. Practice a little self sufficiency. No need to start living in the woods and making compost out of your own waste just yet. But, maybe we can start growing some of our own food. Just a little. Some fruit plants can easily be grown in pots. We know that the less distance our food has to travel the better it is for the planet. So, if it's just outside our doors . . . Remember to buy peat-free compost.

8. Spaces for the little lives. Just as we put up boxes for the bats and birds, we can provide spaces for insects, arachnids, and mollusca. A log pile is a great space for little lives, with all the dark spaces that they can crawl into for shelter and protection. Then there are bee hotels and bug hotels! You can find the RSPB guide to building a bug hotel here, and their guide to building a bee hotel here.

9. Don't forget the night flyers. As we plan our garden for wildlife, considering the pollinators and the birds, it can be easy to forget the night-flying moths and other nocturnal little lives. I mean, they come out when we're tucked up in bed. But, there are things you can do to support the night time lives too. I wrote more about this last year, and you can read about it here.

I believe this is a Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria), which has landed on my leg here. (Photo from personal collection)

10. Share your passion through your skills. As I have joined a number of different nature and wildlife focused groups across social media, I have noticed that people explore their passion in different ways. There are photographers, painters, poets, writers . . . There are a number of ways in which we can make our memories something tangible or physical, something that others can carry with them too. And, hopefully, if we can pass that passion on, it might inspire someone else to get involved.

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