Please read this inspiring report, realeased today by the National Trust, written by Stephen Moss. It's evidence based writing on the fact that our children are losing access to nature. Wild places are not just for the middle classes who can afford large private gardens, it should be for everyone and within easy access of where you and I live. I went for a walk along the Rea Brook through the heart of Shrewsbury earlier and had been thinking, "Maybe I am being a nimby after all. Maybe housing and the loss of wild open space at the edge of town is OK, because green corridors will survive and be better than what we have now?"
Our walk along the Rea Brook was pretty, but it was tame, fenced in and my son got covered in dog poo as a result of exploring a little way off the footpath.
Can this type of environment be described as part of a sustainable future?
I am constantly thinking of what the councillor told me yesterday. "If developers make a profit then they must be doing something right". Really? Is financial profit justification enough?
No financial justification isn't enough at all. Unfortunately though we live in a world obsessed with money but also one that is ruled by the financial markets, it's actually often difficult to bypass that I think
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I am constantly trying to keep a reality check and think can local communities afford wildlife? This is what it comes down to and is often the only language the decision makers understand. Have you got wild spaces where you are?
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