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One of my holiday reads was a book written by Mary Reynolds called 'We Are the ARK' My first thought when coming across the book was that Ark referred to the biblical Noah's Arc - a refuge for each species and a way of protecting the gene pool. I could see the connection to the loss of biodiversity but this was not what it was about for the central narrative of the book is that we 'return our gardens (at least half of them if possible) to their true nature with Acts of Restorative Kindness' For Mary, an ARC is a small native ecosystem that has been created by people helping nature to restore itself. The book contains many useful ideas and practical advice on how this might be acheived and the philosophy/ideology is entirely consisten with the Gardening for Biodiversity apprach we are taking. In fact the whole idea of ARK fits within the concept of a Community Biodiversity Park. Perhaps we might visualise the Park as a multitude of small scale ARKs co-created by people, communities, landowners and estates working with nature through acts of restortaive kindness, sitting within the more or less natural landscape. On Wednesday we held the third of our Gardening for Biodiversity talks - this one was in Betchworth. Our audience of nature enthusiasts were keen to learn more about how they could do more to help wildlife flourish.  Norman Jackson
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 One of the ways we are encouraging residents of betchworth, Buckland, Brockham and Box Hill to consider the idea of a Biodiversity Park is to sponsor a talk on the theme of ‘Gardening for Biodiversity’ to show how individuals themselves can make a positive impact on local wildlife. The talk is being given by Paul Ritchie, a local zoologist and nature activist who has, with his wife Clare, turned their garden into a nature reserve. They walk the talk when it comes to gardening in a way that is kind to nature and his talk is full of practical advice, experience based knowledge and inspiring ideas. On Monday, Paul gave the second of his talks to an attentive and enthusiastic audience from the Box Hill community During the meeting residents provided feedback on what they were already doing to help wildlife floursish in their gardens, through a questionnare. They were also intoduced to 5 different ‘biodiversity encouragement packs’ resourced through the biodiversity inititiative, designed to help residents undertake their own mini project to enhance biodiversity. I came away from the meeting thinking that if we could engage 30 residents in the same way in each of the four parts of the 4B parishes, we would have a fantastic foundation on which to build a Biodiversity Park. As a follow-up to his talk, Paul is offering residents the opportunity to visit his garden
to learn about permaculture, forest gardening and gardening for wildlife. Paul and his wife show us how we can enhance biodiversity and create an environment within which wildlife can flourish, while providing food for the table. We are fortunate indeed to have residents in our area who can show, by example, how we might create our own acts of restorative kindness for nature. Further dates for talk May 29th Hamilton Room Betchworth June 18th Reading Room Buckland Norman Jackson The Forum contains representatives from the 4Bs Parish and neighbourhood Councils, Mole Valley District Council, Surrey County Council, Surrey Wildlife Trust, National Trust Surrey Hills Society, major Landowners and Buglife. It is an important group for offering perspectives on the value, pros and cons, opportunities, concerns and challenges of establishing a Community Biodiversity Park. The first meeting of the Forum was held on May 8th at Surrey Wildlife Trust Education Centre Nower Wood. The meeting was conducted in a positive spirit with participants recognising opportunities and offering many ideas which help to give meaning to the idea of a Community Biodiversity Park. The group also identified concerns and challenges that would need to be addressed. Defining the entity that is provisionally called a Community Biodiversity Park (CBP), is a key challenge, requiring the consideration of many perspectives and considerations. The use of ‘park’ to describe the area of interest was considered problematic by some participants. Other terms considered were Biodiversity Forum, Biodiversity Network and Biodiversity Landscape but no consensus emerged. It was agreed that decisions about the name would be deferred until the meaning of the entity had been defined. The working aims are broadly accepted as being appropriate but they will be kept under review and modified as, and when, the definition of the entity is more clearly established. It was felt that people need a vision in which they can see that what they do in their gardens or when they volunteer, is contributing to something bigger. A link to key biodiversity policies was suggested. The question of what resources are needed was a constant theme throughout the discussion. But there is recognition that much can be achieved with relatively little financial resource by people who are motivated and resourceful. Finding the advocates and enthusiasts who are willing to invest time and energy is often the biggest challenge, rather than funding. The opportunity for new forms of collaboration that benefit nature, between the residents of local communities, landowners, Parish Councils and ENGO’s is a major benefit from this initiative, together with the campaigning power of whole community action aimed at protecting the environment. . Education and learning are essential to developing a culture in which people are more aware of the needs of nature and how they might help nature. Alongside a programme of activities to enable people to develop their understanding and skills, their needs to be the structures that enable people to share their learning and experiences of nature. In addition to using existing channels of communication like Parish Magazines more immediate forms of communication like dedicated Whatsapp Nature Groups provide one solution. It was suggested that an Inventory of existing activities and projects relating to biodiversity across the 4Bs area would be a useful asset. It would inform and educate the 4Bs community and also provide important information when new projects are being planned. It would help mitigate concerns for interference of one project with another and also enable opportunities for understanding the potential for connectivity. The Forum demonstrated the value in bringing people together to enable participants to learn from each other, stimulate ideas and create new working relationshps. Within days of the meeting two Parish Councils began discussing the possibility of a collaborative biodiversity garden project. Norman Jackson In the interests of public transparency here is the report of the meeting. 
The first Sunday in May is the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Dawn Chorus Day. This year it was on May 5th so I went for an early walk to try out Cornell University’s Merlin app which identifies birds through the sounds they make. I walked around the garden and up into the Coombe to the Lime Kilns and listened to the wonderful symphony of bird song and the occasional fluttering of wings as wood pigeons flew close by.
The app records, identifies and lists all the birds and highlights the name of the bird with the dominant sound at any moment, so it coaches you to recognise which bird is making which sound. On my 30min walk the app identified – Robin, Wren, Wood pigeon, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Marsh Tit, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Magpie, Blackcap, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff and Pheasant. So at least fifteen species of bird contributed to my experience of the Dawn Chorus. It would be interesting to stitch together a patchwork of recordings and identifications from our area. Visit https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ to find out about Merlin app. |
BlogThis blog is maintained by the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative Team. Its purpose is to provide brief updates of activities and interactions as the project unfolds. We also welcome posts from members of the 4Bs WhatsApp Nature Group and wider community. PagesArchives
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