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Countryman
Diary - February 2008
The city centre moment when the enormity
of what we waste hit home
Just when does land become ‘not countryside’?
It’s a thought I’ve often pondered over while in
splendid isolation on some of the hills around my North Yorkshire
home.
I live just inside a National Park, all cosy
and protected you’d imagine. But out on certain hills it’s
possible to see, in the distance, Ferrybridge where one of Europe’s
largest power stations spews its waste into the wide West Yorkshire
skies. Elsewhere I can see the dirty chimneys and vast mills
of the Victorian-built towns and cities, still blackened by a
filthy industrial legacy. To the west I’ve witnessed some
spectacular sunsets over the Irish Sea and captured on my camera’s
memory card that enticing outline of the Lake District mountains.
I’ve always thought of these gifts as being something of
a payback, softening the blow of years of contamination and destruction
of other parts of ‘my’ countryside.
Now the government proposes to erect hundreds
of wind turbines just off the coast and around the outside edge
of the National Park both where I live and that of the nearby
Lake District.
My conscience is in turmoil. I want us to find
a solution to global warming and discover new ways of turning
natural energy sources into useable and harmless fuel – but
at what expense? ‘My’ countryside – and this,
without question, includes the views – is even more important
to me than the bread for my cheese and the beer in my glass.
So do I join the battle to save Britain’s under-pressure
landscape from metal monstrosities or should I rejoice in man’s
efforts to overcome a rapidly developing planet-affecting problem,
for my brief enjoyment of nature’s finest efforts is of
little consequence in the great scheme of things?
From some of my favourite viewpoints can be
seen old scars left by the railway and motorway builders which
nature has done its best to heal; the country’s tallest
TV mast sits uncomfortably in a nearby rural village and dominates
the horizon, following me around whenever I’m in that area.
Then there are the electricity pylons stretching out their giant
arms across the valleys. Did my forebears revolt at these ugly
interventions or did they accept them as necessary progress and
ultimately bid farewell to what was once classed ‘their’ countryside?
Maybe they felt the countryside of their day
was big enough to absorb such intrusions? But many now believe
today’s countryside is a rapidly dwindling oasis which
should remain free of the many further destructive and obtrusive
elements. As I head down the hill to my petrol-driven car, take
a drink out of my plastic-bottled water (which came from France)
and pollute my way back to my power-guzzling home I continue
to ponder whether the wind turbine provides any sort of answer.
Have I just described the real problem and the solution: use
the car less, buy local produce sensibly wrapped, and turn off
all the unnecessary trappings of modern living?
Days later I had to meet an old friend in Manchester.
I was a good boy and took the train despite it costing me an
arm and a leg and taking an hour and twenty minutes longer than
by car. As I had a drink in a city centre mall awaiting my friend’s
arrival I counted more than 150 light bulbs within a few square
yards; there were enormous heaters, and too many escalators and
lifts for those able-bodied types who can’t summon up the
energy to walk any more; shoppers overburdened with wasteful
bags and boxes. In those few minutes, the size of the problem
struck me far more than it ever had done during countless hours
on the top of those glorious hills. I now wonder how many wind
turbines it takes to run a shopping mall. Maybe we should insist
that every mall has enough turbines on its own roof to power
its needs?
Squirrel pox strikes at Formby
Readers will remember the article we carried
last September about the red squirrels of the National Trust’s
Formby reserve on the west coast. Sadly, we hear that the reserve
has been struck by the deadly Squirrel Pox Virus (SQPV). At the
time of going to press, a dozen or so red squirrels had died
since mid-November.
Andrew Brockbank, the trust’s property
manager there says: “We have been looking out for red squirrels
showing signs of SQPV since last year’s outbreak at Ainsdale,
which is just to the north of the reserve, and until mid-November
we’d had no known cases. But we feared the disease would
appear sooner or later. At the moment our priorities are to restrict
the spread of this devastating disease. We are asking visitors
to Formby to be vigilant and report sightings of sick red squirrels
to the warden. No attempt should be made to handle sick or dead
animals.”
Combined action is being taken to prevent the
disease spreading further, with woodland owners along the coast
working closely together. Trained staff and volunteers are searching
the woodlands for sick red squirrels, which are taken to a vet
for care when found. Meanwhile, where grey squirrels are seen
within the buffer zone every effort is made to trap them. Andrew
adds, “The one positive sign we have at the moment is that
there are still plenty of healthy red squirrels in the woodland
canopy. However, SQPV is a long-term issue and a major threat
to red squirrel populations so we have to remain vigilant.”
White before your eyes
Reader Ian Bennett tells me he saw his first
snowdrop in flower on December 9 and noticed a yellow winter
aconite on Christmas Day but was astonished when, crossing some
parkland, on December 27 he saw a daisy in flower. Ian says: “Daisies
are not expected until March here in Lelchlade, Gloucestershire.
It was a miserable little specimen. The petals were not more
than 7mm long and very upright, open only just enough to show
the yellow eye of the plant. “But it was a daisy, although
clearly regretting its impetuosity.” I hope the snowdrops
continue to show well this year for you, Ian. Around here February’s
usually peak viewing and there seem to be more and more every
year. Here are a couple of suggestions if you wish to see a snowdrop
show this month: Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire (National Trust) – 15
January to 24 February (Tues to Sun), 10.30am-4.30pm. Some 150
species of plants chosen for their attractiveness in winter.
For more information please call 01223 810080 Penrhyn
Castle, Gwynedd – Snowdrop Weekend 2&3 February, 11-3pm.
Grounds and tea room open. £1 entrance. NT members free.11-
3pm. For more information please call 01248
353084.
Paul Jackson |
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