Page 63 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #12

NEWS FEATURE
Will we see nature
placed at the heart
of the curriculum?
GEORGIA
LOCOCK
MINISTRY OF
YOUNG PEOPLE
IN NATURE
(JOB SHARE WITH
BELLA LACK)
O Outdoor teaching areas in
every school.
O Primary schools to be twinned
with farms to raise awareness of
farming among young children.
O Campaign to promote the
importance of nature for mental
health, especially for young people.
O AYoung Person’s Nature
Advisory Panel to advise
government environmental
decision-making.
MARK
AVERY
MINISTRY
OF UPLAND
ECOLOGY
O Withdraw subsidies from farming in
upland areas, and use the money to
purchase land for public ownership.
O Nationalise water companies,
so that their land is managed
to reduce flooding risk and
increase biodiversity.
O Use uplands to experiment
with reintroduction of species,
such as golden eagles (above),
beavers and lynx.
O Maintain some areas
for grouse-shooting and
overgrazing by sheep as
reminder of “how wildlife-poor
upland areas once were”.
December 2018
middle-class, cisgender male to write used to produce meat that provides only
about nature, to present it on TV, or to 18 per cent of the calories we consume.
discuss it intelligently in a public forum. King’s manifesto idea is to “launch a
But you wouldn’t necessarily know that public-education campaign to change
from the media output.” what we eat – less meat and more fruit,
Martin Harper also picks out the vegetables and pulses”, and while that
contribution of young naturalist Mya-Rose is laudable, how much difference it
Craig (‘Ministry of Diversity in Nature and would make to overall meat and dairy
Conservation’), noting: “If you have more consumption is questionable. The
diverse staff and people around, you make point is that the crisis in our wildlife is
better decisions.” But, of the major groups systemic and not going to be solved by
contacted (RSPB, WWT, The Wildlife Trusts one or two – or even 200 – simple fixes.
and GWCT) not one put forward a woman Perhaps the last word should go to
to discuss the march and manifesto. Packham himself. “An hour and a half
after the march had ended, when I was
Land management sitting on the train to go home, I started
One of the single biggest impacts on work on draft two of the manifesto,”
how our wildlife fares is farming. It is he says. “I’m setting up a not-for-profit
the reason for the contribution of Miles company, so people can organise their
King, the ‘Minister for Food and Farming’ own walks for wildlife, and I’ll run
(and, in his day job, CEO of People Need another one next year. I’m not going to
Nature). However, a representative of the let the momentum drop.”
NFU described the manifesto as hiding
“extreme and sinister agendas, which JAMES FAIR writes about
would be catastrophic for nature and rural wildlife, conservation and travel.
communities.” jamesfairwildlife.co.uk
King’s contribution does highlight
some, perhaps unpalatable truths. FIND OUT MORE Wildlife politics:
Half of the wheat grown in the UK goes lawcom.gov.uk/project/wildlife-law; learn
to feed animals, leading to a situation more about the UK Government policy
where 85 per cent of our farmland is and laws that afect our wildlife.
Down the ages: Environmental protests
TWYFORD DOWN, centre of the capital, with
HAMPSHIRE Labour’s proposed ban on
1991–92 fox hunting the main focus
One of the early road protests of their anger. But there was
that fought the extension of a broader political edge, with
the M3 through a protected the rural economy, jobs and
area. The main group of
housing also highlighted. The
protestors lived in ‘benders’ ban on hunting went through
on the top of the down, and anyway in 2004, and came
though they lost this battle, into force the following year. SHEFFIELD, YORKSHIRE
the wider war against the Result: Lost 2016–18
national road-expansion Of those arrested while
programme was arguably DRAX POWER STATION, campaigning against tree-
won when the incoming YORKSHIRE felling in Sheield (above),
Labour government
2006 two were given suspended
cut it in 1997. In 2006, some 600 protestors
prison sentences, and charges
Result: Won? descended on Drax Power were dropped against another
Station in North Yorkshire three. According to Sheield
COUNTRYSIDE to raise awareness about Tree Action Groups, 5,500
ALLIANCE, climate change. Drax was street trees have been felled
LONDON Britain’s largest emitter of in recent years. In October,
2002 CO2 at the time, but has since the city council announced crowd: Scott Barbour/Getty; e m: Matthew Tay or/A amy
More than started using biomass fuel its agreement, with private
400,000 and has been described as contractor Amey, to reduce the
people (left) one of the world’s biggest programme's scale but precise
marched decarbonisation projects. details were not available.
through the Result: Won Result: Lost?
BBC Wildlife 63