Week 1
So it starts. New Year's Day, a new beginning, and somehow to look at Nature seems appropriate. If there is anything that shows mankind to be a tiny blip in the history of our world, it is watching Nature ebb and flow.
I am an Englishman, living in my country’s rural Lake District, a large National Park north-west of Manchester, and a magnet for global visitors. I have been here for three years, which makes me a newcomer, and I arrived with little knowledge of Nature. But I am learning fast, and as I see my own species on a downhill slide with extinction a near inevitability, I watch Nature grow, decline, adapt, and adjust to the damage mankind is creating. Politicians debate, the public converse, a few protest, but most have a something-must-be-done mentality, although that something must come from others. Mankind is active in opinion but inert in resolving its troubles. For me then, I will focus on my garden, my land, which I regard as The Bit Outside.
I have become a renaturer, not a rewilder. Renaturing is, to me, a realisation that to let things uncontrollably grow - as if mankind is an unwelcome visitor who should never have existed - is wrong. Renaturing is to take an area of land and adapt it, so that Nature and mankind can coexist. It is an active process that demands attention, effort, even strife. No longer is our world about human dominance. We have limited time, restricted space, and need Nature to support us. Renaturing is my tiny contribution to this effort.
I do not have much land, roughly half a hectare, but for three years I have allowed it to do what it desires, while trying to gently steer it. Even in this short time I have seen it change. I have spotted wildlife returning, and not just domestic cats and dogs. I have been deafened by the buzz of bees, seen butterflies and moths, I have watched pheasants taking dust baths outside my front door, red-legged partridge become over-friendly, pine marten creeping by, deer munching just about everything, grass snakes slithering, crested newts crawling, and badgers digging holes after gnawing through my fence. There are foxes on the prowl, hedgehogs scurrying past hoping not to be noticed, while crows repel buzzards and kites overhead as the raptors seek a tasty morcel from another bird’s nest.
The vegetation is astonishing. I had no idea it was possible for a small piece of land to be so active. I have damp spots and dry spots, mostly damp, a compost heap that has become a wildlife haven, and an area I call The Mossarium where many different mosses thrive. I have dry stone walls that I have seeded to make a herb garden and plenty more besides. If a wall was horizontal, it would become a rockery. I see no reason why being vertical should be any different.
The Lake District has an acid soil, with a topsoil that is thin. For my land, a depth of more than 20cms is a bonus. Lakeland, another name for the Lake District, started near the world’s Equator, and headed north over many millions of years, as the planet’s tectonic plates shifted. Lakeland once had mountains that would have put the Himalayas to shame, volcanoes, glaciers, and the densest forests. Now it is different, with plentiful earlier geological activity leaving the topsoil slender. Despite this, the diversity of vegetation is astonishing once it is given a chance to grow. In the three years I have been here, The Bit Outside has performed brilliantly. Last year alone I witnessed more than 150 different species of plant, few of which I first recognised, but I am more expert now. I no longer think of weeds, nor of stripy lawns. If something wishes to grow, I encourage it. If it fails, or never appears, then I wonder why. Jays land and plant acorns. Some time later an oak begins to grow. Right now on my half-hectare I have 46 oaks, thanks to jay-planted acorns. Not one did I plant myself.
There are others who see life differently. To them, land is judged by appearance, not on how it functions. They are not renaturers, nor rewilders, and eye me with suspicion. Saplings should be uprooted, mosses and weeds destroyed, dandelions unwelcome, while trees are felled to make a view, or give room to house an extension. To these people, whom I call the Stripy Lawners, mankind is the controller, whose personal desires overwhelm anything Nature may seek. I see the stripy lawn, the felled tree, the plastic bottle of weedkiller, and although I recognise their uses, I worry about the environmental damage and the fossil fuels that have been used to get there. Had I used the same logic, my 46 oak saplings would not exist. Nor the cuckooflower[i], tormentil[ii], bird’s-foot trefoil[iii], devil’s-bit scabious[iv], carpet bugle[v], poppy[vi], cornflower[vii], corn marigold[viii][i] and the 150 other species that cry out to grow, spread and be seen. They are there, just under the surface, out of sight for the moment, but will soon beg for the chance to sprout.
Renaturing has allowed me to see this, despite the work it requires. Never think that renaturing, or rewilding, are easy options. They are not. Now I have seen how Nature responds, I find it difficult to imagine going back. The only way forward for mankind and this planet is co-existence, and a realisation that Nature is clearly boss. If we behave differently, for that matter if we continue as we are now, calamity is just around the corner.
On this New Year’s Day, my land is unimpressive. It has been raining heavily, soon to be followed by snow. There is plenty going on beneath my feet, but almost nothing I can see. It is windy, at times uncomfortable, but around me there is Nature. She has become my friend in a way I once thought was impossible. I intend to look after her if she looks after me.
Let us see how the year proceeds.
***
Acknowledgement
Take it from me - none of this would be possible without the help of RSG Horticulture. Rufus, who runs it, has far more energy than me and is full of ideas and skills.
References
[i] Cardamine pratensis. Commonly known as “Lady’s smock”. Seen April to June. Young leaves are a good substitute for cress in salads. County flower of Cheshire and Brecknockshire. Picking this flower is considered unlucky. Leaves are rich in vitamin C and have been used to treat chronic skin conditions and asthma. Good for digestion. [ii] Potentilla erecta. Seen May to September. Has been used to treat colic, diarrhoea, gum disorders, wounds, bleeding control, and inflammation. Can also be used to make toothpaste and a version of schnapps. Rich source of nectar. Belongs to rose family. [iii] Lotus corniculatus. Sometimes called “Granny’s toenails”. Member of pea family. Seen May to September. Important foodplant for caterpillars of certain protected butterflies and good for bee pollination. Useful to treat insomnia, depression, nervousness, and anxiety. [iv] Succisa pratensis. Seen June to October. Used to treat scabies and sores in the Black Death. Can be taken as an infusion for coughs and fevers and has been used against tuberculosis (TB). Good source of nectar and larval foodplant of marsh fritillary. Has a very short root when picked as it is said the Devil bit it off. [v] Ajuga reptans. Also known as bugleweed or carpetweed. Seen May to September. Used as an astringent and a dye for leather. Can treat mild diarrhoea, minor inflammations of the mouth, and also makes a good herbal tea. Good source of nectar for solitary bees. Seen June to September. [vi] Papaver rhoeas, somniferum, orientale, nudicaule, cambricum. Seeds rich in oil, often used for cooking. Part of the coat of arms of North Macedonia. A symbol of peace, sleep, and death. Painkiller for toothache, earache, and sore throat. Expectorant for a cough and good as a digestive. Used in lipstick and can reduce wrinkles. Good source of pollen. [vii] Centaurea cyanus. Also known as “Bachelor’s button”. Endangered in its native habitat due to the overuse of pesticides. Extracts from the flowerheads are anti-inflammatory and can treat minor ocular inflammation. Once worn by men in love. If the flower faded too quickly it meant the man’s love was not returned. Once the national symbol of Germany. Good source of nectar. Seen June to September. Contains a natural insecticide. [viii] Glebionis segetum. Also known as corn daisy. Good source of nectar. Seen June to October, with a long flowering period. Wide range of medical uses, including contusions, bruises, and varicose veins. Promotes healing of eczema and sunburn.
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