Blog Posts

External recognition

3/8/2023

POST #17 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

It’s always nice to receive recognition and this year our work for nature with the Betchworth Community, was recognised by Surrey Wildlife Trust. The Trust’s Community Engagement Officer, Claire Harris, saw how we are trying to work with our community to help nature. As a result, we were invited to contribute to a SWT workshop for nature activists working in their communities. They also made a video to showcase our work and to cap it all, we were shortlisted for one of the Trust’s new Community Champion Awards.

The Oscar styled Award’s Ceremony, held on August 3rd and was attended by over 80 SWT staff and community activists across Surrey. It’s purpose was to showcase community projects, and enable people to connect with other like-minded local groups who are trying to help nature and wildlife in Surrey. Here I am with two of my team mates.

Reaping the rewards of helping nature

30/7/2023

POST #16 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

During July the Oxeye Daisies whither, they loose their petals and eventually all that is left is a brown stalk with a small dark brown seed head containing perhaps 100 to 200 seeds. I spent some time collecting the seed heads in order to sow on patches of ground that had few oxeye daisies and also for the field where I am cultivating a wildflower meadow. Many smaller flowers persisted in this natural meadow together with occasional thistle, knap weed and ragwort and these provided abundant food for foraging insect pollinators.

All my efforts to create a wildflower strip were rewarded as, the wildflowers emerged over a few weeks. Small daisies are the dominant perennial species even though they only formed 6% of the seed mix, but there are also borage, deep purply blue viper bugloss, thistle, agrimony, knapweed, St John’s wort, hawkbit, birds foot terfoil and interspersed with colourful annuals like red poppy, blue cornflower, corn marigold and purple corn cockle.

While most of the seed seems to have germinated, not all of it has flowered. The areas that were sown late (in early April) have far fewer flowers and one area has no flowers. The wildflowers – especially daisies, together with thistles have grown more vigirously on the the mounds I created with overturned grass sods. I will pull up some of thistles at the end of the growing season as these will eventaully dominate the mounds.

The natural meadow, cultivated wildflower strip and field supported a healthy population of butterflies. Over a few weeks I identified 15 different species some of them – like the gate keeper, meadow brown, small white and common blue, in considerable numbers. On a warm sunny day, at any one time I could see perhaps a dozen butterflies close by.

The feedback I gained from seeing and walking amongst the wildflowers, seeing and filming the foraging insects, identifying and photographing the plants and insects and making movies from my photos and videos,have all contributed to my sense of satisfaction and wellbeing.

Only recently have I realised that as my wildflowers die they leave behind a genetic legacy in their seeds. I started collecting seed heads today and as I did it I imagined how I would use the seed to expand the wildflower meadow I have started. In this way I am actively participating in the ecosystem as an agent for propogation and it made me feel good about it. I also had the idea of collecting seeds for other members of our community. I have a lot of orchid seed that I'm sure some of my neighbours would like. In this way new ways of interactimng with my environment and my community have emerged.

Feedback, Motivation & Evaluation

12/7/2023

POST #15 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Feedback is the flow of information resulting from our interactions with our environment that helps us understand whether what we are doing is having the desired effect or impact. This information then feeds into our sense of satisfaction which in turn influences our motivation and decisions to continue doing what are doing, change what we are doing, reduce our involvement or stop, what we have been doing.

According to John Dewey, everything we try to do, especially if it is something that we do for the first time, is an experiment. The only way of seeing if our experiment has worked is to experience and observe it and perhaps measure and record what happens. In other words gain feedback from the environment and participants about the effects of what we are doing.

In the last month I have experienced several different types of feedback from the activities I have been undertaking to help nature, the environment and sustainability.

The first type of feedback was an invitation by Surrey Wildlife Trust, an important player in managing and supporting wildlife where I live, to give a short presentation at their community workshop in early June. They wanted me to talk about the work we have been undertaking for our Betchworth biodiversity-line and it was well received by participants and SWT staff. This was followed by SWT making a short video film using our work as a case study and then our RE-B charity being shortlisted for an award.All these things helped me form a judgement that the work we are doing is seen as being valuable by an important organisation in the local natural environment and by my peers working in community action for nature groups.

The second type of feedback was from an event we organised on National Meadows Day (Juky 1st), which we called Wildflower Wander. A total of 20 residents participated in two walks I organised to visit three types of wildflower meadow in our biodiversity line. The thanks we received at the end of the walk and in emails showed me that participants valued the experience and what we were doing more generally.

The third type of feedback I received was from the wildflowers growing in my garden. Throughout June my family and I have been treated to the most spectacular sight of tens of thousands of Oxeye Daisies and towards the end of the month hundreds of wild Orchids. By not cutting the grass this is the visual reward and its aesthetic value cannot be quantified. To say it is uplifting is an understatement and to see the insects foraging reinforces the value to nature of this resource. This feedback means that I will continue to manage the garden the same way each year and continue to expand the area by scattering the seed I collect around the edges of the meadow.

As for my new wildflower cultivation, I spent most of March digging up the turf in about 300m2 of field and then sowing wildflower seed. I knew that sowing in spring was not the best time to sow and my optimism was further dented with the wet cold spring weather. Through April and May I could see quite a lot of germination but little growth. It was only towards the end of June after some warm weather that I can now appreciate that, although patchy, my wildflower cultivation will succeed and I can measurably see an increase in the diversity of the flora in this field. Furthermore, I can see that there are plenty of bees, butterflies and other insects are foraging amongst the flowers, which is one of the reasons for trying to help nature and a sign that my efforts have been worthwhile.

It is fair to say that all these forms of feedback have had a positive effect on me. They tell me that the task I set myself – to encourage and cultivate more wild flowers to grow in order to support insect pollinators - is being accomplished. Furthermore, the efforts of my RE-B team to help nature within our community are being recognised both inside and outside the community. This feedback is motivating me to not only continue doing what I am doing but to go further.

Pathway to a More Sustainable Future UPDATE

4/7/2023

POST #14 PATHWAYS TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

This is my second essay describing my activities aimed at increasing biodiversity by creating or encouraging wildflower-rich habitats for insect pollinators

june_report.pdf
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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.

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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