Winter will soon roll into Spring and a time of growth and renewal in nature. The snowdrops are great heralds of this and it is always a pleasure to see them. I am lucky to have some great displays of them nearby – and particularly Friar’s Den at Scone Palace Estate is always a good display. However, snowdrops are not native to the UK, having been introduced from Europe 300 years or so ago.
The snowdrop is not only a welcome sight but has medicinal properties too. It does raise the question for nature in general, do we value it more for aesthetics? for what it can do for us? what it can be sold for / economic value? And in today’s world does economic value out-Trump 🙂 the other ways of appreciating and valuing nature? The ‘environmental or ecosystem-services‘ provided by nature are largely under-valued and this impact’s decisions made on approving change of land use, eg in the past planting commercial forest on land that is important grassland or peat bog habitat and now huge solar-farm developments on agricultural land instead of on buildings and brown-field sites.
The winter in Scotland has also seen illegal wildlife release, lynx and some wild boar, widely covered in the news. This was undoubtedly irresponsible and unhelpful and can particularly entrench views and make it more difficult to discuss options with those opposed. Scare-mongering on possible negative impact, and the occasional actual negative event, is common with any reintroduction of a predator – there are continuing issues with birds of prey poisoning for example.
Going back to the snowdrops…. at the time they first appeared in the UK what many today photograph and think are the ‘beautiful Scottish hills’ were largely covered in trees and looked very different. There are places on a smallish scale that ‘rewilding’ is now occurring. The question that often arises is how will it be paid for? If the ecosystem services were given true value – including for example, holding water, limiting flooding and soil degradation – then there is a payback but its not the get rich quick that exploiting the environment brings. Ultimately act for today and tomorrow will pay the price, so act for tomorrow and all can benefit (but more equitably) and the billionaires won’t expand their fortunes on the same scale!
To this end, in a very small but effective way, I have been delighted to get involved in some tree-planting this year, as part of our Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust ‘Tree For Every Child’ project. Nearly 1,000 trees have been planted by school children and the community with us, on a site by the Dunkeld House Hotel Land Rover experience, as well as more trees around St Magdalene’s Hill, Perth, the Bunkhouse at Glassie Farm, Aberfeldy and school grounds.
The year ahead is going to be challenging for many of us, not least because of political change elsewhere. I hope that both Gaza and Ukraine get the chance to peacefully rebuild – not just the homes for people but also for nature. It’s known that engagement with the environment, nature and wildlife is good for mental health and well-being. So the more the better.
