🌿PEAT August Newsletter ‘ Lost words, lost worlds’
🌿 Monday 1st August Last weekend I visited the Jackie Morris exhibition at Rheged. Jackie Morris is an international best selling illustrator and wildlife artist. She has many credits to her name but her work in the beautiful collaboration with Robert Mcfarlane ‘Lost Words’ is well known. The book was written in response to the decision being made by Oxford University Press Junior Dictionary, to remove words that were disappearing from children’s language. Among them was bluebell, adder, goldfinch, raven and otter. It seems unthinkable when you consider the magic that comes from the scented bluebell carpets of spring, a charm of goldfinches, or the privilege of seeing a raven, an adder or an otter. Walking along the River Eden recently I heard high pitched whistles, it turned out to be an otter with her two kits tumbling in the river, such a rarity these days. It made me think about what nature means to us, and the value we place on it.
We are living in the Anthropocene era, meaning human activities dominate the planet. By 2040 it's estimated the amount of human made mass will exceed by three times that of all living biomass including us.1 It has been created at the expense of the world's natural resources, and the view that human beings are exceptional and above all other species. We are now too big for the planet! How can we move to a more nature centric approach?
We had a visit to James Robinson’s organic dairy farm recently. James is part of the Nature Friendly Farming Network2 and a big advocate of working with nature. Among the many ways he works with nature, he has seven miles of mixed, wide hedgerows, many over a hundred years old, which he lays every 15 to 20 years. They provide shelter and fodder for the cows, and an extensive corridor in which birds, mammals, insects and invertebrates thrive. Becks have been fenced off on both sides to prevent the cows from disturbing the banks, one channel taken off the river helps to reduce river flow, and a new one provides calm water for fish. He is future proofing his farm against climate change by planting trees to provide shelter for the animals in the increased heat. There are many examples of increased species of birds, plants, and fish because of this approach.
We had an enthusiastic, energetic presentation by Joseph Earl, Morecambe Bay Engagement Officer this week on Protecting Our Salt Marshes. An amazing insight into how restoring and protecting the saltmarsh can absorb some of the impact of climate change on our coastline, and coastal communities.
Wilding is a beautiful film based on the book, about the Knepp estate and their decision to restore the depleted land through working with and relying extensively on nature, to restore the biodiversity and ecology of the land. These are such positive examples of the benefits of harnessing nature to help restore the harm done by human activity and there are many more.
But the prevailing view of nature still is that it is collateral, a commodity and how we can make it best serve our needs. Given the scale of the crises ahead, how might we encourage a different mindset? Returning to dictionaries, in this article3 Damien Gayle reports that ‘currently all English dictionaries define nature as an entity separate from and opposed to humans and human creations – a perspective campaigners say perpetuates humanity’s troubled relationship with the natural world’ ‘if we want people to protect nature then they need to feel a connection to nature.'
This definition of separation has been perpetuated for centuries. They want a definition that reflects much more how we are part of nature and reflects the current way we are beginning to see this. Read more in the link below. It’s another way to encourage the connection between humans and nature and seeing the value of nature as more than just serving our needs, as Robin Wall Kimmera in her book, Braiding Sweet Grass states ‘Where the well-being of one is linked to the well-being of all’ What other ways might there be ?
2 https://www.nffn.org.uk/
3 https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/27/campaign-include-humanity-dictionary-definition-nature?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Warm wishes Annette ( Chair)