Issue #14 Miscellaneous Adventures Digest

A small adventure, other small things and some links to share

It’s been a week of lots of little things. The days are gradually getting longer and although the weather has been gloomy it feels like winter is on the wane. There is still time left for a cold spell before winter’s end no doubt. The countryside looks particularly grim at this time of year; we have hit peak mud. Even though signs of life are slowly emerging it’s hard to feel overly enthused. Grey skies, boggy ground and muddy tracks dominate the aesthetic and good photos are hard to come by. Here and there flowering primroses are doing their best to provide a little colour and light, but even they look forlorn, waiting impatiently to be illuminated and warmed by the sun.

A small adventure at the weekend: trying to get closer to a waterfall that we often see in the distance from the road when driving. This spot has no easy access or marked paths so we plotted a route which involved clambering over dry stone walls and scrambling up steep crags off the beaten track. The adventure in itself would have made it worth the while but the waterfall was impressive, thundering and in full flow after recent rain.

We are wrapping up a lot of conservation projects at the moment; most of our work needs to finish before the start of bird nesting season. We have a few days left out on an RSPB nature reserve all the way down in Lancashire this week and have just finished a birch re-spacing job on Whitbarrow Scar. It’s satisfying to see contracts getting ticked off but with that comes the looming uncertainty of how to generate income once cutting season ends…

In between work days we have been making things from wood and fabric which we are hoping to share very soon. Stay tuned and subscribed for sneak peaks.

A few things we found that might be of interest: Part one of a helpful piece by the British Ecological Society explaining the latest changes to the UK’s agricultural policies and how the new Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) will work. This is good to know about if you work in conservation or manage land but also for anyone who cares about about nature and land use in the UK. This represents a huge change in the way landowners and farmers are remunerated and although no doubt far from perfect, has some potential to be a good thing for nature. It will be interesting to see how it works in practice…

Also, this piece by Robin Wall Kimmerer (who you might remember from last week’s issue) titled “Hearing the Language of Trees” which is an excerpt from The Mind of Plants: Narratives of Vegetal Intelligence which looks like an interesting book.

And, speaking of books, I like the look of this book by George Peterken. Because you can never have too many books about trees and woods.

Until next week, warm wishes from the three of us.

Andrew, Emma and Benji

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PS: Thank you to those who commented, emailed and messaged in response to last week’s question about how best to stand up for the nature!