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| Lovely beach ....empty ocean. |
I don’t know if any of you watched the recent BBC series
about the Indian Ocean presented by Simon Reeve?
It was a tonic to see the lovely beaches and blue sea while the British summer rain lashed against the windows and we threw another log on the fire.
However, as well as showing some great
scenery, the series had a stark message
for us all. Pressure
from population growth on the shores of the Ocean is leading to the destruction of habitat
both at sea and on land, and no-one seems able to do much about it. Fish stocks in many of the countries
that Simon Reeve visited are now at very low levels and the livelihood of
fisherman and coastal communities are threatened. A stark warning that lack of concern about other species does
affect the human condition!
The same destruction of habitat is going on here, right
under our noses, and the good thing is that we can actually do something about
it!
Unfortunately initiatives aimed at protecting biodiversity are not always welcome, and in fact there was some excitement about Babergh's activity in this area last week.
Complaints were expressed in the Free Press that Babergh’s
contractors have deliberately left some areas of grass uncut under trees in
Long Melford. Some residents find this
untidy and uncivilized, but actually Babergh is doing the right thing and I am
one hundred percent behind our horticulturalists’ initiative.
As our local conservation expert George Millins wrote to me
recently:
‘The ecological devaluation of
grassland by close mowing, reducing it to a pretty lifeless green desert, has a
much wider impact on wildlife than just eradicating butterflies, moths and
bees. The resulting lack of grassland fauna has a serious knock on effect for
birds, amphibians, reptiles, hedgehogs - now a BAP species, badgers and foxes.’
Babergh’s
officers take the same line as George, commenting:
'Ample scientific research has confirmed that long grass really does help
a wide variety of insect species, which then feeds a multitude of birds,
reptiles and small mammals.
Some of these then go on to provide food for our top bird predators such
as sparrow hawks, kestrels, red kites and buzzards as well as top predator
mammals such as foxes (and cats).
No less than ten of the 30 butterfly species commonly found in Suffolk
require long grass for feeding, breeding and overwintering:
It is important to re-set our minds on what is acceptable and appreciate
the difference between a pest-free orderly garden and wildlife friendly
grassland.
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| Over enthusiastic mowing is bad for us! |
We need to be
aware of how much damage we human beings do to other species in the name of perceived
good order. If we groom and polish
everything to excess, down the road we will find that the environment, on which
we too depend for existence, is a less comfortable place to live. Indeed by ignoring the chain of life on the
planet we could be promoting our own ultimate extinction!
So come on
everyone; tolerate a little untidiness for the sake of our own long term
viability.
George Millins has
offered to talk to Parish Councils who are interested in reducing the number of
‘cuts’ inflicted on our green areas, and also taking other measures to promote
biodiversity. I hope that this offer
will be taken up!
The link here gives more information about initiatives across the whole of Suffolk.
