Blog Posts

Impermanance, Continuity & Diversity

20/6/2023

POST #13 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Nature teaches us to be patient – life unfolds at its own pace. Nature also reminds us how transient life is but there is continuity as one generation creates the conditions for the next. There is also the lesson of diversity – as one species completes its life cycle another species alongside is progressing through its life cycle. In this was there is another sort of continuity in an ecological space.

For several months I watched the Oxeye Daisies grow reaching their prime in early to mid June. During this time they provide an abundant supply of nectar for numerous insect pollinators – bees, wasps, flies, hover flies and beetles and butterflies particularly the Common Blue. Higher up the food chain the feeding insects attract birds and dragon flies.

Towards the end of June the daisies begin to wither and by July 1st most of the daisies have withered and only the seed heads remain ready to shed their load on the ground to begin the life cycle again. This is what continuity means in the world of the Oxeye Daisy.

There are however plenty of other wild flowers in the meadow that persist long after the oxeye daisies have withered like Greater Bird’s-foot- trefoil, Hairy St John’s Wort, Creeping Cinquefoil, and taller Hawkesbeard, Oxford Ragwort, purple Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris), Veronica, Spear Thistle and Clover and common daisy. These wildflowers persist long after the Oxeye Daisies have gone.

And then there are the purple Orchids. They first appear in June and by the end of June, after the daisies have withered, they are the dominant larger flower. Pyramid Orchid is the overwhelmingly dominant species, sometimes reaching up to 30 plants per square metre. Bee Orchids are much rarer, I found 6 this year along the side of path I had cut through the meadow, but there may have been many more within the meadow. There are also a small number of paler Spotted Orchids near the pond. They prefer shady places and they are more plentiful in the woods.

Oxeye daisy meadow

31/5/2023

POST #12 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

For the last 5 years I have not mown the grass in a substantial area of my garden until late July. This year I have expanded the area as a contribution to the B-Line project to around 1500 sq m. Slowly but surely since the end of April 5 weeks ago a multitude of stalks has risen above the daisy covered grass, herbs and mosses that constitute what we call our lawn. With the late May sunshine and warmth the beautiful white oxeye daisy flowers have emerged in their tens of thousands. They are a magnificent site especially when the wind catches them and they bend and ripple as if in a synchronised dance. It is easy to see why they inspire people to write poems or in my case create a nature movie.

Oxeye daisies are a small perennial plant and they are quite common where I live but nowhere do they occur in the density and profusion as in my garden. Typically they are 40 – 50cm tall with a 3 to 5 cm wide flower comprising pure white petals surrounding a bright yellow centre. The yellow centre of the oxeye daisy is made up of many small flowers which hold nectar and are exploited by various pollinating insects, including butterflies, bees and hoverflies

The plant is self-seeding: a mature plant can produce up to 26,000 seeds. They also spread by shallow, creeping rhizomes. These ways of reproducing mean that the plants can quickly establish and spread over quite large areas if the conditions are right. Prior to 1970 when my house was built this was agricultural land so I don’t know whether the daisies are naturally seeded or were sown by a previous owner when he dug out the pond to create this garden.

While it would be interesting to know how and why these daisies came to be here – the point is they are here now and thanks to the happy accident of leaving the grass unmown five years ago we are now able to share and enjoy their annual cycle of renewal.

Helping nature to fulfil it’s potential, in the sense of enabling the oxeye daisies to reach maturity and produce the seed for a new generation of plants, makes me feel I am doing the right thing and the magnificent spectacle they provide encourages me to not only carry on doing what I am doing, but to do more. In other words the feedback I gain from my garden encourages commitment to sustaining these activities. Furthermore, there is no doubt in my mind that the sight of these flowers and the life they support makes my spirit soar and they inspire me to try to be creative using the medium of photographs, video, music and digital art.

Some experiments in digital art using free Lunapic software

They will probably flower for about a month, and in that time they will provde abundant food for many insect pollinators. With the help of an ecologist friend, I will try and observe and record the insects that are attracted to this bit of wildflower heaven. The results of this work will feed into our inventory of life in our biodiversity study of our village and its surroundings. I will also pay attention to the other wildlife that use this wonderful habitat. In these ways I am able to enjoy and integrate experiences of living and playing with nature-art and natural science and feeling positive about what I am doing.

The perpetual cycle and struggle for life

14/5/2023

The garden is buzzing with wildlife. A few days ago we had the first sightings of the Canada Geese goslings. They are very much part of our annual cycle of life but they arrived and bred a little later than usual this year. This year is different from previous years because we have two pairs of geese with goslings. One pair has 7 chicks and the other has 5. It will be very interesting to see if they all survive. For the last two years all the chicks have been killed by predators.

We know that we are fortunate to live so close to nature. When I look out of the window there are usually rabbits to be seen and often a squirrel darting across the grass in search of seeds or nuts. At this time of the year there are geese and ducks, and sometimes a coot. More rarely, in the evening, we spot one or more deer and often a fox. This morning a pair of herons were hanging around the pond. There are always crows and magpies, often wood pigeons and doves and smaller birds - thrushes and sparrows and more rarely more exotic birds - a low flying green woodpecker or screeching red kneched green parakeets who roost in the woods. In the twilight there are bats and most days there is bird of prey circling overhead. Everything is hungry and small animals, like the baby rabbits and goslings often become a meal for a larger animal. It got me thinking that I should try to make a wildlife movie for the wildlife in the garden.

Animals have used this space long before there was a house and garden and they will carry on using it long after we are gone. There is always movement ain this space and it feels and acts like a nature reserve.

This evening, as it was going dark, I noticed a fox systematically patroling the garden looking for food. he came very close to the window and was oblivious of me standing watching him. I took some video. You can also see a deer scuttling away at the start of the film.

Planning a wildflower wander

11/5/2023

POST #11 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Today I met with two other members of my Betchworth B-Line team. We reviewed progress to date and considered what we had to do next and how we would do it. While I am doing the lions share of the work in planning and designing, it feels good to have the camaraderie of team mates, their validation of ideas and suggestions that make the plans better. One of our community engagement strategies is a wildflower wander on National Meadows Day (July 1st). I decided to walk the route and visit the locations on the walk to get a better idea of timing. I also managed to persuade our local garden centre to allow us to use their car park and give free drinks to participants. I asked a neighbour if he was willing to let the participants see his small garden and he willingly agreed. We also talked about the possibility of making a film of our B-Line using his drone: a lovely example of how new possibilities emerge as we engage other people. I finalised a map and flyer So all in all a productive day.

Nurturing my creations

9/5/2023

POST #10 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

I know that in just a few weeks a big area of my garden will be knee deep in wildflowers, and I can see them growing, but I’m impatient. Most days, when its not raining, I walk over to the field and have a look to see how my wildflower patch is progressing. It’s a bit patchy, some parts of the ground were I sowed seed are densely packed with new shoots of all shapes and sizes. Other parts, especially at the southern end of the strip, are more sparsely populated with quite a lot of bare soil. This is partly due to the later sowing of this area – nearly three weeks after the northern end, and partly due to the fact that I used a different seed mix in this area – for heavy clay soil.

I went to look at the established wildflower strip on the village green. Here the wildflowers are already about 60cm tall compared to most of mine which are between about 1 and 10cm. But again I should know that I am comparing seeds sowed between 5-8 weeks ago with established plants with well developed root systems. I also visited two gardens high in the Coombe. They had been seeded 3 to 4 weeks ago but there was barely anthing to show other than weeds. It made me feel better as much of my seed has germinated.

The wet weather we have had has meant that I haven't had to water the new plants but this week I spent about 5 hours weeding - mainly thistles which had taken over parts of the wildflower strip and some nettles and small brambles.

I’m going on holiday next week so I had to make sure that a number of things were set up for the end of the month and early June. I convened a planning meeting for our RE-B B-Line team to discuss the surveys we are going to undertake, how we might record the results of our project, the zoom meeting we are planning for early June and the celebratory wildflower wander we are planning for National Meadows Day – June 1st. I prepared a document to support discussion. I contacted the Garden Centre to confirm the arrangements for sponsoring the wildflower wander.

Apple and Cherry Tree Blossom

8/5/2023

POST #9 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

The last three weaks has witnessed the flowering of our ornamental cherry and apple trees. It's a most beautiful site but the blossoms seem to come and go so quickly. This year I paid attention to the role of insect pollinators on the apple tree. For days the weather was cool, or wet and windy and there did not seem to be any pollinator activity. But there were a few days when the temperatures reached about 17 or 18C and I was lucky to spot some bees. After about 30mins of watching the busy bees I realised that a couple of busy bees could probably visit all the flowers on the tree in a few hours. It really doesn't take many pollinators or many days to fertilise a tree.

Connecting to Nature: Connecting Our Memories to Nature

5/5/2023

POST #8 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

We are the products of nature and like all forms of nature we have a natural rhythm that connects to the natural cycles of the world around us. Like many English people I see spring as a time of renewal and I look for signs of spring from the meoment we pass the winter solstice. Each of these signs contributes to my sense of wellbeing and I am able to enhance this feeling through photographs and videos. This year, I have realised that I can make a more useful contribution to the annual cycle of renewal by investing my resources in helping to enhance biodiversity by planting bulbs and trees, and sowing seeds.

Today, is a special day. It’s the 24th anniversary of my first wife’s premature death and I attach particular significance to the forget-me-nots that seem to spring up everywhere as a beautiful and timely reminder of her continued presence. Connecting the sad memory of her death to these unassuming but colourful wild flowers always makes me smile and helps me feel more positive. They help ease my passage through this moment in my annual cycle. This year I have bought some forget-me-not seeds and I am going to try to cultivate more of these flowers along my woodland pathway (blog post starting-a-woodland-b-line.html).

Our memories are like a garden which we can cultivate and nurture and, at special times, experience the past and the emotions they draw. And perhaps, what this story reveals, is we can mediate the sometimes upsetting effects of our memories by connecting them, in a positive way, to the natural world around us. In this way nature helps us at a time of need.

We are programmed to seek, find and create meaning in our everyday lives and the personal meaning I give to the forget-me-nots at this time of the year is my way of trying to understand the meaning that is my life.

Later in the day I spent time making a movie of the bluebells and wild garlic in a local woodland where I had walked a few days before. Making the movie helped me maintain a positive and appreciative mood. There is lots of evidence that connecting to nature is good for our wellbeing and their are many different ways in which we can achieve this connection. I find that taking photographs of plants and animals while I am immersed in the natural world and then making short movies or sometimes digital art enables me to continue enjoying the experience of connecting to nature.

Co-Creating a Culture of Environmental Interest & Activism

26/4/2023

POST #7 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

One of my beliefs about environmental activism is summed up in this cartoon by Brenna Quinlan – it’s the belief that by working together as a community we can help each other accomplish so much more. Implicit in this representation is the idea that by working together and sharing what we do, we co-create a culture – a new set of norms that inform and shape further action.

It takes a long time to achieve this in any society and our small band of RE-B environmental activists have only just begun to engage with our community. Working with the concerns and interests that the community itself has. Its not through doing one single action but rather engaging in a number of actions and activities that appeal to different members of the community. Its also about building on relationships.

Earlier this week myself and James from our RE-B group of environmental activists were invited to give a short presentation about our work at the annual general meeting of the Betchworth and Buckland Society. The meeting was attended by about 30 people and they listened intently to what we had to say and then threw themselves into a short discussion about what mattered to them in their local environment. The questions we posed surface a number of interesting ideas that we can feed into our own planning for future projects.

Sharing what we do is an important part of showing others that we are actively engaging in and delivering our own mission by working for nature, the environment and sustainability. The second thing we did this week was publish the third issue of RE-B magazine which describes our activities and celebrates the ways in which we are working with our community. The magazine was shared with Surrey Wildlife Trust, who were impressed with our B-Line mini meadow community project. They have now invited me to contribute to one of their community action workshops – and this is how we connect what we are doing to what other bigger communities are doing. When we started our magazine I argued that it would be good vehicle for disseminating our work beyond our small community and this is the first example of us succeeding in this way.

EARTH DAY APRIL 22nd

22/4/2023

POST #6 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

It's ‘Earth Day,’ a symbolic moment in the annual cycle when we recognise the significance of planet Earth as the home of humanity and all living things. Earth Day began in the US in 1970 and it has grown into a global movement. Its mission is formed around investing in our planet. At the local scale its concerned with how we invest - our time, effort and other resources to help nature and the physical world in the bit of the Earth where we live.

As owner of a 9 acre property which includes a garden, a field and a small woodland, I accept responsibility for the investments of time, effort, materials and finacial resources necessary to maintain and sustain it. Indeed the ideas of sustainability and regeneration are morally baked into this sense of responsible ownership and stewardship.

Some of my effort is undoubtedly concerned with how my garden, woodland and field look. I care about their appearance and therefore I'm willing to invest time and effort cutting grass, weeding in areas that are highly visible and cutting highly invasive brambles so they don’t overwhelm other species. In maintaining a lawn I am mindful that I am not seeking to create a mono-culture. My ‘lawn’ is more like a cropped meadow in the sense that it is full of weeds, flowers and mosses and many species of grasses. A few years ago I decided not to mow the grass until late July and what resulted was a beautiful wildflower meadow. It taught me a valuable lesson that sometimes just leaving nature alone is all it needs to regenerate.

Increasingly, I become more aware of the need and moral obligation to help nature, I am expending efforts that are not aimed at the aesthetic appearance of my garden and surrounding areas. Rather my efforts are directed to trying to encurage a healthy environment and increase biodiversity. For example removing deseased trees and planting new saplings. Or cutting/removing invasive plants so that other plants might have space to grow. My mini B-line project falls into this category of action. It is an attempt to enhance biodiversity and specifically to increase populations of pollinating insects.

As temporary steward of this landscape I accept the cost of caring for it but rarely count the cost, unless it is a big project like felling trees or replacing a fence. But for this project I want to consider the economics of trying to help nature and the environment by estimating costs alongside my attempt to show the impacts and benefits. The table lists the costs of my mini B-Line work so far and the essay below describes the activities I have undertaken and my progress so far.

making_my_mini_b-line.pdf
File Size:	1714 kb
File Type:	pdf

The joy of spring

13/4/2023

There is something very special about spring - it is the period when the Earth around me regenerates through a process that slowly unfolds and the very act of witnessing this revealtion brings new hope and optimism for the future. The first signs emerge in Jaunary but the slow revelation continues past the spring equinox well into April. I have come to realise that if you don't keep a watchful eye and pay attention, you miss the detail in the unfolding pattern of new life. This movie is my attempt to record a little of this wondrous and timeless process.

PATHWAYS DIARY
In March 2023 I began an experiential inquiry called Pathways to a Sustainable Future and many of my posts between March-September were written for this project.
Diary Starts Here

Garden Notes
My garden is much more than a garden. Its playground, a studio for my artistic efforts, a natural laboratory for experiments and learning and a place for contemplation. It keeps me busy and gives me the exercise I need to keep fit, although it does damage me from time to time. But more than anything else it gives me pleasure, happiness and a sense of belonging and of doing something useful and worthwhile when I am immersed in it. It enables me to express myself creatively and draws my attention to the beauty and ecology of life. In this blog I am telling the story of my garden and my involvement and experiences in it through my writing and the photos, movies, music, paintings and other artefacts - it inspires me to create. I have become more conscious of the UNs Sustainable Development Goals and our important role in enabling their achievement my experiments and projects in the natural world show how I respect and try to understand nature and try to enable life to flourish. I know that one day I will not be the custodian of this beautiful landscape we call our home. I must make the most of it now and preserve its presence in my memory knowing that it will carry on long after I am gone and that someone else will care for it and call it their home.
In March 2022 I joined a group of environmental activists in my village and so I have decided to expand my blog to take in the natural world around me.

Useful Links
RE Betchworth
Wildlife Garden Forum
Surrey Wildlife Trust
Habitat Network
Plant Identification UK
GAIA
GOOGLE EARTH

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