Rewild the Child , George Monbiot.

Link here:                                  Rewild the Child


This is how it starts:


A week in the countryside is worth three months in a classroom.

By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 8th October 2013
What is the best way to knacker a child’s education? Force him or her to spend too long in the classroom.
An overview of research into outdoor education by King’s College London found that children who spend time learning in natural environments “perform better in reading, mathematics, science and social studies.”(1) Exploring the natural world “makes other school subjects rich and relevant and gets apathetic students excited about learning.”

My own experience confirms all this. As a member of the Somerset Wildlife Trust and our local wildlife Group the experience opens up a view of the world which is fascinating and leads into many other avenues of life . All our activities are open to young people especially our Watch Club.

As a member of Langport Runners , assisting in the management of our Junior Athletic Club I am constantly amazed at the enthusiasm of our young members. Recently we have been involving them as much as possible in the coaching sessions so that older 14 year olds can act as Leaders for some of the time. It works very well.

I cant explain it as well as George  so please read his article and use the link above.

Heart of the Levels, Botany Study Group, Photographic Workshop

I took a series of photographs whilst on a workshop to improve my understanding of how to take better photos of plants and insects.

The best are on Flickr at this link :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonewell/sets/72157636117285686/


How about that one?

Moth and common butterfliy. Caterpillar form.

 Buff Tip

 Buff Tip

 Large White  for these last two

Photo taken in our front garden this week following a bumper crop of butterflies and moths recently.

Lovely spider!

A friend  sent me this photo a little while ago and I think it would look good on the Wildlife section of our community website. So I've sent it for publication.  Fantastic I would say!  A common spider,  found in her garden. It changes its colour (slowly)  to suit its background but it hasn't got it right yet this time! There should be one in your garden  right now! I believe it to be a female Crab Spider, Misumena vatia.

 The male is smaller and brown! Typical.

Organic farming 2013, small hold farming, Hazledene Farm

This is an interesting blog and this post recounts the difficulties facing anyone trying to get into organic farming.


http://plantameadow.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/hazeldene-farm-small-hold-farming/

Local Nature Reserve, Batty Piece, Somerset

A friend has just taken these photos for me showing some of the interesting wildlife to be found there at the moment.

Photographs taken by John Bebbington

Climate Change and UK Government action plan

In case you find UK government plans boring here is a photo of a Broomrape which is growing on our garden lawn ( because I haven't cut it for a couple of weeks!)
and also is present in quite large numbers in our local meadow.

Climate change is a big business opportunity for the UK as it and countries around the world are increasingly hit by extreme weather, according to a government report published on Monday. The UK's firstnational adaptation plan sets out the risks to the UK, from floods to water shortages to higher food prices, as well as the economic opportunities.

"The UK is already one of the global leaders in this industry of the future and this market [for climate adaptation] is expected to grow by 5% or more year on year," said environment secretary Owen Paterson. "As the world's climate changes, Britain's expertise in areas such as weather forecasting, flood modelling, infrastructure and insurance are already coming to the fore to prepare us for the kinds of events we might see more often." The adaptation sector is currently valued at about £66bn a year, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Obama , his speech ,some comment

The Guardian puts together some initial comment on the Presidents speech in an article today.
Here is a link for you to read it for yourself;  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/jun/25/obama-climate-speech-expert-verdict

The contributors are :

Nicholas Stern, Grantham Institute.
"I am glad that the president chose to close his speech with an appeal to young people to make the case and to press politicians for action. Our generation will be judged by the inheritance we leave."

Christiana Figueres,  UN.

"President Obama's climate action plan is a necessary next step to meet an immediate, worrying shortfall in action to deal with climate change and can be a critical move forward on the path towards a new, global climate agreement. It remains vital that the United States as the world's largest developed economy is seen to be leading serious action to deal with climate change, both at home and abroad. These new steps will help to meet those goals, if they are implemented to the fullest extent to which they are intended.

It is significant that the new plan aims to start up rapidly and covers the full menu of solutions to climate change: clean energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency and the many actions that all countries need to take to adapt to accelerating climate change. This climate action plan should be positive for the US economy and the economies of other countries, as the US shifts faster towards a sustainable, low carbon model, including addressing directly the heaviest sources of emissions from unmodified coal and gas plants."

Bob Ward, Grantham Institute.
"President Obama's excellent speech laid out very clearly the choice that the American people face. A high-carbon economy and unmanaged global warming will create increasing risks from rising sea levels and changes in extreme weather, fundamentally undermining the prospects for future prosperity. But investing in a transition to a low-carbon economy offers a more secure and sustainable source of growth."

Jessy Tolkan, 350.org
"I've waited four years and 158 days to hear the president give this kind of speech on climate change. This is the kind of leadership my generation expected when we first elected, and then re-elected President Obama to office. This speech has been a long- and hard-time coming, but the president's plan outlines meaningful action that begins to meet our global and moral responsibility to address climate change. It's refreshing to see this second-term president finally step into his administrative powers and take the reigns in this fight."

Van Jones, former White House adviser.
"I think the tables are turning against Keystone. I don't think the president wants to lose his youth base by being a president who is spying on them while cooking the planet with a dumb pipeline that everybody hates. I just don't think he wants to do that."

Barack Obama's climate action plan

Barack Obama's climate action plan – in full

The president's strategy for tackling climate change, published ahead of a landmark speech by Obama at Georgetown university

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2013/jun/25/barack-obama-climate-action-plan


There is a lot of encourageing words here.

Our Area Group organisation changes and development. Heart of the Levels.

The Heart of the Levels local Area Group of the Somerset Wildlife Trust is currently following nature and evolving into a different form. Our Chair for the last year is stepping down for personal and business reasons and its not clear yet quite how we will continue.

The committee has agreed to continue as best we can whilst we consider our options.

We have asked the Trust to write to all our local members explaining the situation to them and asking for their help and comments.

We already have our next two public meetings organised and our Watch Club for children is continuing as usual.

Our Botany Study Group also continues as usual.

Our Group is hosting the next meeting of all Area Groups and that will also go ahead as planned.

One way or another we will continue to support the Wildlife Trust  in their efforts to look after the wildlife and natural environment of this lovely county of Somerset.