Planning law changes and wildlife.

I recently used the CPRE web site to send another letter to my MP on the question of planning changes.
Here is a copy of my letter.

I strongly support the CPRE campaign to minimise the damage to our productive and beautiful countryside, under Government proposals more than half of it would not be adequately protected from development.

Green Belts, National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty make up about 40% of the English countryside. I welcome the commitment to retaining special protections for these areas. But here in Somerset we are also concerned about what the Wildlife Trust calls Living Landscapes. I am concerned that the Government’s reforms to the planning system through the National Planning Policy Framework will remove protection for these important areas of the countryside. Currently, countryside is protected for ‘its intrinsic character and beauty’ but its also vital for its role in enabling the production of food, maintaining the quality of the air we breath and the water we drink.

This policy of protecting the quality of the open countryside has been in place for decades and has been supported by successive governments during times of growth and recession. It doesn’t prevent all development but it has helped ensure that ordinary, though valuable, countryside is not unnecessarily lost to speculative development.

For almost 20 years there has also been a requirement that previously developed land – otherwise known as brownfield land - should be developed before green fields. The Government is also proposing to abandon this policy. Yet, a new report commissioned by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Building on a Small Island, demonstrates that the supply of previously developed land is actually increasing, including in high demand areas, and that England has previously developed land suitable for providing 1.5 million new homes. I know that some previously developed sites can be important for wildlife but surely these can be protected without scrapping the brownfield-first policy altogether?

Protecting the countryside and building on previously developed land go hand in hand. Time is running out to persuade the Government to think again. I gather that Ministers are currently considering the final changes to be made to their new planning policies.

Please raise my concerns with the Planning Minister, Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, and urge him to ensure that the National Planning Policy Framework makes it absolutely clear that the countryside as a whole needs continued protection, and that building on previously developed sites first should remain an important planning priority.

Yours sincerely

Botany Study Group field work

Somerset Wildlife Trust,   Heart of the Levels Botany Group

Feb field trip 2012.

In its third year the Groups programme of activities for 2012 puts the emphasis on field work.

Our first session was on Feb 7^th. It was a fairly cold but luckily dry day. We met up at 10.30 am and walked to a small private wooded area , where the owner had planted a large variety of trees around 30 years ago.The venue was chosen to give us an opportunity to practice our winter tree identification skills.

There were 15 members present, all well wrapped up against the cold, and led by Anne Bebbington. Most of us have been with the Group since its start up with one or two recent new members.

For this field session we worked using an identification system published by CT Prime and RJ Deacock. We followed their key to identify around 20 different species. They included for example, English Elm, Crack Willow,Horse Chestnut, Cherry and Blackthorn.

As a bonus this last species gave us the chance to search for and find Brown Hairstreak Butterfly eggs.

After about 2 hours field work we had a pleasant lunch at The Angel cafe and community centre in Langport.

This was followed by another fascinating presentation by Anne using Johns very special photography to review much of the greatly magnified detail of the buds, bark and catkins we had found on our walk.

This first field session was a great success.

Our next outing in March will take place on a meadow in Curry Rivel. The aim will be an introduction to survey methods used by Botanist to identify and record the presence of flowers and plants in an organised and measured way. Such records are of fundamental importance in the conservation of the natural environment.

This is of considerable topical interest as the Government introduces Neighbourhood Planning schemes. Surveys of local remaining unspoilt fields and woods will be vital in the formulation of local planning schemes. Every Parish in Somerset needs this work to be undertaken.

DG 9.2.12

South Somerset Climate Action Group

A lot is happening in the world of Somerset Wildlife Trust!
The trust has announced a new management structure to help in these difficult times, we had one of our regular meetings of all our local area volunteer groups at Frome on Monday, I was pleased to be part of our first field session for our Botany Study Group on Tuesday ( more soon on that) and last night I attended a discussion meeting in Ilminster.  Here are some initial comments on that:

South Somerset Climate Action Group.

Presentation with question and answer session.

Topics covered: New economic thinking, business as usual pursuit of GDP and growth,Tim Jackson, secure renewable energy supplies, 2050 European target for carbon reduction and many others.

Speakers:

Stewart Wallis, NEF  ( New Economic Forum)      


Sir Graham Watson MEP

A brief history of the meeting!

A revelation, inspiring, ( which is why I'm writing this now), eye opening, plain speaking and understandable talk by two very well qualified speakers.

The SSCA must be thinking this was a milestone in their short history. I've followed the groups since coming to live in Somerset and applaud the work it does.

Giving a few facts and figures doesn’t convey the impact of the important messages being presented.

I'm very impressed by the NEF ( New Economic Forum) and by the MEP's work in Europe.

I hope to see a copy of Stewarts presentation soon and will post more information then.

In the meantime here is an extract from the NEF web site:

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New Economic Forum

"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist" - Kenneth Boulding

There is nothing ‘natural’ about our current economic arrangements. They have been consciously designed to achieve a simple objective: growth. But growth is not making us happier, it is creating dysfunctional and unequal societies, and if it continues will make large parts of the planet unfit for human habitation.  

We need to do things differently, and soon. 

This means starting from first principles and building a new model for how the economy functions. Right now every one of us is dependent on growth. The way our economy is structured means that unless there is growth people lose their jobs, the tax base shrinks and politicians struggle to fund the public services we all rely on every day.

For NEF web site click here. http://neweconomics.org/projects/new-economic-model

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Sir Graham Watson had a tougher job following on from Stewart. It was really eye opening to hear about European thinking on the need for a high voltage DC electricity grid system across Europe. Capable of bringing electricity from solar power stations in north Africa.

( we have had such a link in operation for many years bringing electricity from French nuclear power stations to Kent via DC cables across the Channel )

Here is a relevant quote from Sir Graham's web site, click here:

Tue, 07 Feb 2012

Liberal Democrat MEP and ELDR President Sir Graham Watson, who is Chairman of a global network of MPs and MEPs from all mainstream political parties working to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy called the Climate Parliament has today said that the switch to green energy has now become just as much an energy security issue as an environmental imperative.

Commenting on the ongoing crisis where Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Germany have experienced reductions of up to 30% in Russian gas supplies from Gazprom over the last few days, Sir Graham said:

"The freezing conditions across Europe highlight yet again the dangers of being so overly-reliant on Russia for a quarter of our gas. Gazprom has - understandably - diverted its supplies to keep Russian homes warm, leaving many European countries short and prices on the rise."




There were many questions from an audience of over 100!

A photo a day Jan 26th to Jan 31st

To complete this group of photos for Jan 2012 I had to take three of them whilst on holiday in the lovely ancient  city of Worcester whilst on a walk along the river side. In fact they could all have been taken in or near our own garden.They were the three for 26th, 27th and 28th.

 Teasels, Dipsacus fullonum. Growing on the banks of the River Severn. Flowers in  July and August leaving these dry spiky involucral bracts. 26 Jan

Sticky buds on a Horse - Chestnut. Aesculus hippocastanum.  Flowers in May /June.  27 Jan

Mahonia aquifolium, flowering in Dec to May has attracted a Bumble bee. About a week ago I saw a Bumble bee in our garden on one of the flowers shown earlier. 28 Jan

An early sun rise after a cold night with a clear sky. 29 Jan

There were a number of small white feathers lying on the plants in the garden and on the lawn so perhaps the remains of a pigeon. 30 Jan

Possibly Wall Screw- moss, Totula muralis Pottiaceae  31Jan

A photo a day Jan 21st to Jan 25th

Its a lovely bright sunny morning today  but at mid day the air temperature is still 0 C. We did make sure there was some food out yesterday for the garden birds who of course make the most of our offering.

This next group of photos continues to record very basic observations walking around the garden. Its clear that many plants are making progress despite the short hours of sunlight and low temperatures so plenty of activity is going on but its a bit difficult to find ways to show it. I might try a time sequence of photographs  of a plant taken from the same point each day but that would be a bit boring really!

 This bunch of Snowdrops has opened fully now. I think you can identify the species by the green markings on the petals but I'm not sure enough to name them!  Jan 21st

 I like taking photos of the sun rise which is always changing depending on the cloud formations,mist and fog at this time of year. Sometimes the sky is criss- crossed by vapour trails which is either good news or bad depending on your point of view.  It certainly changes the natural patterns illuminated by the sun. Jan 22nd

 This bunch of winter flowering Aconites was looking quite defensive having had to withstand a significant shower of rain.  Jan 23rd

The rain left  some attractive views of water drops  such as this leaf stalk on a climber which could I'm sure produce a much more impressive photo than mine. The drop does act as a lens and it should be possible to see a picture through the droplet. I must try again. Jan 24th

Some gardeners would be going along to their garden centre to buy spray on poison to eradicate this lichen which I suddenly noticed because we have been doing some pruning of shrubs. Its on the underside of a dead branch so I had to get low down to get this picture.It looks spectacular to me. What do you think?  Jan 25th

Field Study Centres face closure

I have been passing this message on by Twitter and it may be of interest to Bloggers too. Its an extract from an email I received yesterday!


Use this link to view the youtube video produced by the Field Studies Council: 


   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPEenciK8uQ

From: Steve Tilling [mailto:steve@field-studies-council.org]
Sent: 25 January 2012 10:46
To: Steve Tilling
Subject: Save Our Outdoor Education Centres

We have launched a petition to the government calling for them to protect outdoor education centres from imminent closure.

One in three Local Authority outdoor education centres are facing closure which could mean millions of young people are denied potentially life-changing experiences, at a time when health, physical activity and contact with nature are all declining.  Some children from poorer and disadvantaged groups may not have another opportunity to share a night away from home and visit places they would not otherwise see. 

The sad fact is that closure need not happen, in many cases given extra time these centres could become self sufficient.  If centres close they may not reopen again.

****************************************************************************

I'll add a link to see the petition a bit later.

This photo is nothing to do with the email above. I took it in a pub whilst having lunch the other day. Its a very good view of the parts of a flower. The sort of thing our Botany Group have been studying.

A photo a day Jan16th to 20th

A rainy day to day, managed a few photos after the rain and taking the opportunity to update my Blog.

The small pond freezes over. 0 C  - Jan 16

The dragon fly bugs I photographed in August have been identified for me:

" It looks to be a libellulid dragonfly larva, most probably Libellula depressa, the Broad-bodied Chaser.  I think your pond was in its first year last summer - is that correct?

It would be nice to know when it was actually filled with water.  This dragonfly is an early species (May) and a colonizer of new ponds.  So very likely your specimen was hatched out from an egg laid in May and had grown well and quickly thro' the summer.  The adult should emerge next spring i.e. in about 4 months all being well. "

I will be hoping to photograph the event!!       

Garryaceae elliptica fully in  flower-Jan 17

Rose picked in garden -Jan 18

Snowdrops in shade on east side of garden just opening  -Jan19

Probably Helleborus orientalis. Jan20

A photo a day Jan 11th to Jan 15th

All a bit time consuming, this photo a day lark.  Trying to keep up with it as a record of things happening in our garden. The middle of winter is a hard time to start but it is surprising just what nature is busy doing despite the cold. So here are another batch.

 

 This is the first snowdrop found in a corner of the garden. -Jan11th

This lonely crocus was showing in the lawn and a bit tattered. - Jan12th

The weather forecast was spot on and it was foggy across the levels of Somerset. - Jan13th

The next day was quite a different picture and frosty. - Jan14th

In the middle of our lawn in a spot from where it will have to be removed this thistle has been steadily getting established. This takes us to 15th Jan.

A photo a day jan 6th- 10th

Lonicera fragrantissima-Jan6

Crambe cordifloria-Jan7

Mosses and Lichen on slab by lawn-Jan8

lichens various-Jan9

Ivy- Jan10

The big question

Our local wildlife conservation group has frequently thought about what we are trying to do and whether it is what our members expect and so in the next copy of the SWT magazine we hope to show the following open letter to our members. But you can read it first.

Yes, but what do you do? I've been asked that a few times and considering all the meetings and events we organise, I see it as a wake-up call.

It gives me the feeling that we're not making much impact. I'm still searching for a sensible answer but we do have options.

We can play it safe with a few meetings on easy subjects or we can become much more radical and arrange discussions on the bigger issues. These could be changes to local planning rules and the status of local wildlife sites, delays in setting up marine conservation areas or the effect on wildlife of anticipated changes to farming subsidies.

We could do more to support local campaigns like the appeal for the Chalkhill Blue Butterfly project.

Our national body, The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, is celebrating 100 years since it was set up and pursues nationally important campaigns including how the High Speed train projects will affect wildlife. Should we get more involved with these? Check out their website.

What do YOU think? We'd like to know but whatever we do, we need your active support. Find out more and how to contact us at:

http://www.somersetwildlife.org/Heart_of_the_Levels