Meeting nature's new defenders
Whether it's guerilla gardeners, coral farmers or grouse moor campaigners there's plenty of inspiration here this week
Good morning! I’m Sarah Hartley and this is The Northern Eco weekly update. As you’ve received this newsletter then either you subscribed, or someone forwarded it to you. If the latter, then you can click on this handy little button below.
Don’t pack your summer reading until you’ve checked out the list below! As it’s the last Tuesday of the month, we’re starting today’s newsletter with the latest book recommendations with a green tinge from Claire and Alan at The Wonky Tree bookshop, perfect for the holidays.
But it you’re scrolling down for news, you won’t be disappointed as there’s plenty including:
The launch of a new movement to reclaim grouse moors
Trees celebrating the solstice
A look ahead to the eco events coming up fast in July
The Cuckoo’s Lea by Michael Warren
Description: Birds have long inspired our emotional and imaginative connections to physical environments, but where did it all begin? Hidden in the names of English towns and villages, in copses, fields, lanes and hills, are the ghostly traces of birds conjuring powerful identities for people in ancient landscapes. What are their stories and secrets?
How did people encounter birds over a thousand years ago? In The Cuckoo’s Lea, Michael J. Warren sets out on the trail of these ghosts. Captivated and guided by the secrets of place names, he finds their stories entangled with his own explorations of places through birds all across England. The past is hauntingly and movingly present on timeless marshes where curlews cry, where goshawks are breeding again for the first time in centuries, through silent cuckoo-woods lost under concrete sprawl, in the winter roosts of corvids and an owl village that vanished centuries ago. Weaving together early literature, history and ornithology, this book takes readers on a journey far into the past to contemplate the nature of place and to discover a fascinating heritage that matters deeply to us now when so many places and their birds are threatened or already gone.
“When much of the natural world is under threat, this book showcases our natural heritage, rooted in the past, at an important time in its evolving journey.”
You can order this book here.
Wild Service by Nick Hayes and Jon Moses
Description: In May 2022, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences released a paper that measured fourteen European countries on three factors: biodiversity, wellbeing, and nature connectedness. Britain came last in each category. The findings are clear: we are suffering, and nature is too.
Enter ‘Wild Service’ – a visionary concept crafted by the pioneers of the Right to Roam campaign, which argues that humanity’s loss and nature’s need are two sides of the same story. Blending science, nature writing and indigenous philosophy, this groundbreaking book calls for mass reconnection to the land and a commitment to its restoration. In Wild Service we meet Britain’s new nature defenders: an anarchic cast of guerilla guardians who neither own the places they protect, nor the permission to restore them.
Still, they’re doing it anyway. This book is a celebration of their spirit and a call for you to join. So, whether you live in the countryside or the city, want to protect your local river or save our native flora, this is your invitation to rediscover the power in participation – the sacred in your service.
“A call to action!”
You can order this book here.
Nature’s Heroes by Lily Dyn
Description: The natural world is a rich web of animals, plants and other organisms. But this delicate balance is at risk - facing challenges such as climate change, pollution and destruction caused by humans. While the threat of the biodiversity crisis may feel impossible to overcome, individuals from all over the world have dared to fight for nature, and their astonishing stories prove that change really is possible! From cleaning-up the mighty Mississippi, to farming coral, to inventing plastic alternatives made from seaweed, it only takes one person to stand up for their beliefs and inspire others to join them. And when we stand together, we can start to change the world.
Featuring Dame Jane Goodall, Titouan Bernicot, Txai Suruí, Chris Packham, Quannah Chasinghorse, Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, Hamza Yassin, Sylvia Earle, Thai Van Nguyen, Elizabeth Wathuti, Ananda Kumar, Deborah Post, Chad Pregracke, Mya-Rose Craig, John D. Liu, Katharina Unger, Ron Finley, Peggy Eby, Paul Ward and Sarah Langford.
“An inspirational collection of short stories celebrating twenty pioneers working with nature to save our world. The perfect gift for any aspiring nature activist.”
You can order this book here.
The three most clicked links from last week were:
In other news
🐞 25 easy and effective ways you can help protect insects, from Tess McClure at The Guardian.
🌿 Around 40 local residents from Sheffield and North Derbyshire have started a campaign to bring local grouse moors in to community ownership. The group Reclaim Our Moors held its inaugural meeting earlier this month where campaigners offered the Duke of Rutland £1 to buy Moscar Moor ‘as it is in such a sad and sorry state’. RaptorPersecution blog has more.
💦 Esh Construction company has secured a £160 million contract with Northumbrian Water for the management of the region's wastewater network, reports Gavin Engelbrecht at The Northern Echo.
🌳 For millennia, the summer solstice has marked a pivotal moment in the human calendar – a turning point steeped in mythology, when the oak king is said to yield to the holly king, and the days begin to shorten. Now, science is increasingly revealing that trees really do respond to this celestial shift, reports at Linda Geddes at The Guardian in this fascinating look at trees.
🌏 Darlington Borough Council, which has reduced its carbon emissions by 50% from its 2010 baseline, has released a series of short films showcasing the different ways its services have embraced sustainability and are supporting a cleaner, greener environment for people living, working and visiting the town. You can see the films here.
⚠️ Environmental campaigners have criticised a decision to allow a new asphalt plant that local residents fear will be a danger to public health in North Yorkshire, reports Joe Willis.
🌏 Last year, County Durham’s council won an environmental award after cutting its annual carbon footprint by 50,000 tonnes over 15 years. The reduction was down to the use of green technology such as wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage. So will the new Reform UK administration will keep up the good work? Bill Edgar’s report here.
☀️ And talking of former mining communities, Damien Gayle at The Guardian asks if solar energy could mitigate unemployment crises in former coal areas.
💦 And finally this week, if you want to support a cause close to David Attenborough’s heart then take look here…… Bottom trawling is still allowed in dozens of England’s so-called Marine Protected Areas, destroying fragile seabeds and wildlife. The Angling Trust is demanding the government stop this destructive practice and protect our ocean properly and has started this Change.Org petition - Ban Bottom Trawling in 41 English Marine Protected Areas.
That’s it for this week but don’t forget there are updates on the website and via social media through the week too.
Have a great week!
Thank you for reading edition number 140 of The Northern Eco. I hope you’ve been enjoying being kept in know about environmental issues. We produce this newsletter on a Pay As You Feel basis so, if you feel it’s worth a few quid, now’s the perfect join our paying subscribers. The main newsletter is sent out at 7am every Tuesday and can’t exist without our paying subscribers . 🙏
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I’ve just added Wild Service to my list. Thanks for the rec!