Policies, Politics and Winges – Page 2

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019

Misleading Green

Resolved to try and walk a new, to me, path and area of Surrey at least a couple of times a month. Had a couple of hours to fill last week and decided to explore an area of land bounded by the Wey navigation, Old Woking and a newish development at Westfield.

My wife and I frequently park near Trigg’s Lock and walk along the river to the New Inn at Send. Beautiful walk, decent beer and food, beautiful walk back. We never park at Trigg’s Lock and walk across the fields and it was to this end I set out.

Clear blue sky, distant woods and pretty good hedge, what’s not to like? Trouble is it just felt too quiet and lacking in life to begin with.

Look the other way and the view is sadly more……..industrial?

Well managed for horses? Certainly. Good for the countryside and wildlife? Depends on where you are standing I suppose.
Horse culture and modern beef cattle production both cause unintended consequences for both the appearance of the countryside and the wildlife that live in it. Little attention is given to maintaining hedgerows and wild flowers/weeds are given little chance to seed and provide food for farmland birds.

The irony in this instance was that feeding in the horse paddocks was the largest flock of Meadow Pipits, 40 odd, I’ve seen for quite a while!

Walking on the path crosses old flood meadows, largely improved grasslands but still with lots of wet scruffy bits.

A herd of Canada geese was happily minding its’ own business but I was amazed to find a dozen Teal hidden under some fallen willow.

Long time since I’ve seen these pretty little ducks locally.

Clear skies and wonderful open grown trees make interesting views.

Path skirts the old printing works, now rather lovely looking flats with some hidden gems to find.

Just as you reach Old Woking there is a small common open to all for a wander and for beady eyed wildlife.

Fortunately for me Yes moved lower!

Returning across the field and through a farmyard there was a notable absence of any finches and buntings which only a few years ago would have been common place.

Then whilst bemoaning about farmers obstructing paths and missing way markers (carry an OS map!) I stumbled on a tiny field where an old brassica crop had long gone to seed.

Impossible to photograph but I estimate that there were a couple of hundred finches and buntings of half a dozen species crammed in to a small area. Not green or attractive in appearance but clearly really important as one of the few bits of the local environment that was supporting biodiversity.

Did I enjoy my walk and the birds? Absolutely yes but do I think green can sometimes be misleading? Sadly also yes.

November 15, 2018

Cause and effect

As the countryside continues to change it’s pallet through golds and orange to starker dark outlines the time for much countryside management recommences.

Having just attended Surrey Wildlife Trust’s AGM the consequences of Surrey County Councils belligerence are becoming more and more stark. With the justification of massively reduced central government funding and the frankly fatuous excuse of “funding the countryside is not a statutory function of a local authority ” a small number of councillors have continued with the deluded approach that the countryside can pay for itself.

In simple revenue terms IT CANNOT!

It is not possible to reduce budgets, even if assisted by additional so called commercial income, without really serious effects. The most obvious of these “harms” is to the ability of SWT to convincingly maintain engagement with local communities and communicate accurately with their concerned membership. The loss of so many skilled staff as a result of justified fear of continued cuts has ramifications.

Sadly it feels like Groundhog day for me and probably for many others among ex colleagues and those old enough among the local communities. The antagonistic relationship between SCC and local communities that existed in the 80s and 90s is returning with SWT caught in the middle and increasingly being identified as part of the problem.

Again let me emphasise that I continue to believe that the best option is for SWT to continue to manage the SCC estate but not on the present basis. It is not in the interest of Surrey residents for the estate to be broken up and managed by other, national, NGO’s with even less accessible accountability. Breaking up the estate would also have another not often recognised effect in that all the minor sites (of so much importance to their local communities) would slide back in to complete neglect.

I remain dismayed at the betrayal by SCC of their own legacy but at least it has given me a title for a thesis, “The Rise and Fall of the acquisition and management of the countryside by SCC”.

November 5, 2018November 5, 2018

My place of peace

I suspect most people have a special place or a room where they find a level of peace. For me , though the countryside in general often facilitates, a hill top in south west Surrey is my favoured spot.

Some years ago my then boss, Gavin, asked me to pop down and have a look at a small countryside site a few miles outside Farnham which had been recently added to the list of places managed by SWT on behalf of SCC. I found a small rural car park at the bottom of a wooded hill with a summit that presented magnificent views across to Hampshire and Hindhead.

Frankly it was like finding a little secret jewel. Yes I know that lots of people have enjoyed this special place before but the personal surprise at such a discovery is always a joy.

A couple of days later I was visiting my dad in hospital and whilst chatting mentioned my happy couple of hours walking up and round Crooksbury Hill. At the point where I explained my pleasure at discovering somewhere “new” he chuckled and said “but you have seen it before” which led to insistent denial from me and then amazed capitulation. My paternal grandfather died when my dad was young and we only have 1 photo of him, Andrew Ben Fry, with my dad, Stan and his Mum. This photograph had hung at my family home for years and this photo was taken on the top of Crooksbury Hill!

Evidently they would walk from Farnham on a fine Sunday and picnic. In the early 30s my grandfather was a baker and few people owned cars so you walked or bused. Quite a walk, particularly as my dads sister, Doris, was often with them and I suspect a bakers picnic meant plenty to carry.

He and I were pretty certain that the photograph was taken facing north with the distant Hogs Back just visible as the distant skyline. Following my dads death a few months after the conversation we scattered his ashes and put up a bench on the spot.

My dad was passionate about the countryside, Surrey’s in particular, and celebrating him in this manner is still important to our family and many of his friends.

The countryside in surrey has been treasured by its residents and visitors for decades hence it is sad that SCC feels the need to reduce funding management of their legacy to an unsustainable level.

Gone are the days it seems where there was such pride in the authorities work that officers might be celebrated with permanent memorials like the OS triangulation pillar on the summit of Crooksbury Hill.

Beautifully restored the plinth also includes

Worth a visit? Absolutely. Worth celebrating conservationists like my dad and Mr Durrant. Absolutely, as a reminder that though the view may change peoples needs remain remarkably constant.

There’s lots more that I will return to regarding Crooksbury Hill but for now I will mention one last thing, or should I really say confess 1 last thing? Close to the bottom of the hill is a small village called The Sands blessed with my favourite pub, The Barley Mow. Walk up the hill then eat a delicious meal with a pint, can’t be beaten.

October 9, 2018

Too Tidy, Too Human

If there’s one thing that is going to upset me it’s when we humans apply our “values” on to the natural world. There are many examples of this in modern everyday life and with my conservation instinct at the core of how I look at things there is one that stands out. I am constantly bewildered at how many vital habitats are ‘ tidied up ‘, all because some say they are untidy. There are 1000s of people across the length and breadth of our country who on any given day, could be tidying up our green spaces. This can range from forestry to gardening where people will be trimming hedges, cutting lawns, cutting roadside verges, felling trees, spraying chemicals and countless other activities in order to keep things NICE and TIDY.

Due to social conditioning, many people seem to think this is the correct way to do things and despite various warnings, we are now living in serious times where there are real possibilities of many species becoming extinct due to habitat loss, climate change and persecution in some cases.
It was untidier when I was younger and I recall seeing a flock of 300 chaffinches feeding in winter stubble on a local Farm. You’d be hard pushed to see a flock of chaffinches that big these days let alone a winter stubble field! This is a big example of the “tidying up” of our countryside with farmers being part of the problem but government management of our agricultural land being a much bigger issue. In today’s modern farms, winter wheat is by far the commonest grain grown and is harvested in August most years. The reason winter wheat gets its name is because it is sown in autumn and will slowly develop over winter. The time of harvest till the land is ploughed up and re-sown is the only time where birds and mammals can get access to the fallen off seed. With the old-fashioned stubble field there was access to the seeds throughout winter. This fast production system has taken away a huge amount of vital food for the wildlife and this crop seems to have led to fields being enlarged often at the cost of headlands and hedges and habitats of many plants and animals.

The changes in our agricultural land use since the second World War have had a catastrophic effect on our wildlife. The statistics are proving it and most farmers would say that land productivity has increased, which it has undoubtedly has, but the price has been paid for by our wildlife. Since 1945 97% of meadow lands have gone and all of the associated species have also gone. That’s how serious things have got in these times. The pressure farmers are under from government policy is relentless and serious polices need introducing as soon as possible to redress the balance.

When I used the words tidy and tidiness in this piece I realise that the farmers are more pressurised by government policy in how they manage their farms but other issues of over tidiness seem to be more avoidable, but would need a change of thinking. I’m mainly directing this last comment at the host of gardeners amongst us. I’m constantly amazed at how many gardens have either turned into car parks or bowling greens. It saddens me to see how many gardens have been so heavily manicured and over fertilised that they are little use to wildlife. There is also the massive issue of pesticides that are used on the farms, high ways and now in gardens. We know what these pesticides are capable of and how they kill one of the most important links in the natural food chain. It seems crazy to me to see some dangerous pesticides for sale in supermarkets now days. I urge all gardeners to not use any chemicals and leave areas in their gardens to over grow and encourage invertebrates to make their home. A little untidiness can go along way!

We can but hope that more government money will be put into nature conservation but I’m not holding my breath. With this in mind we should do what we can on a practical level; in our garden for example and if you feel motivated enough, an email to your MP may help raise their awareness that people do care about the state of our countryside. My last advice is, don’t cut the whole of your lawn if you have one, make a compost heap and plant some wildflowers.

September 20, 2018September 25, 2018

Ever Changing World

There are very serious problems in the natural world at this time in our history and I am forever reading depressing reports on various different species of how they and their habitats are declining. I have seen this with my own eyes over 40 plus years of observing wildlife in the UK and still cast my mind back to memories of childhood sightings that would be impossible to imagine in today’s world. I live in hope that things can change and we can redress the balance very soon before we lose any more valuable biodiversity.
In amongst all of the depressing news a few species have reversed the trends and actually increased their numbers and a number of species have established themselves in UK from continental Europe. Since 1990 seven new species of dragonfly have been recorded in the UK which is quite a lot in a short space of time.
So why have some species been able to increase in such troubled times? There are many answers to this question and impossible to fully
here but a number of the reasons can be seen and felt on a daily basis right here in Surrey. As in everything I write about nature and the environment, the weather is at the root of many of the changes.

The above mentioned dragonflies species are among a number of species that are regular breeding species in central and southern Europe and with the rising temperatures that we have been experiencing in the UK over the last 30 years it is not that surprising that these insects have colonised the UK. These heat loving insects have been joined by a number of other continental regulars. Butterflies are another good indicator group into how the temperature is warming up with the Clouded Yellow being a good example of this. Once a very erratic migrant species arriving in tiny numbers if at all or on mass over southern England this species never used to be able to survive the UK winters and perished with the cold. In recent years they have now become resident on the south coast and survive the winters and can have 2 broods each year!

Things have moved fast in the last 30 years. There are numerous insects that have benefited from the warmer climate and some species that were on the edge of their range have spread greatly, the impressive Golden-bloomed Grey Long Horn beetle and Jersey Tiger moth are 2 very impressive examples.
Insects are not the only group of animals that have done well because of the changing weather patterns and again I can remember over 30 years ago the afternoon that I saw my first ever Little egret. The first breeding record for the UK occurred in 1996 and there are now nearly 1000 pairs breeding in this country! The other winter a flock of 7 were seen in the water meadows on the edge of Guildford and it is not uncommon to see them around the county.
In general it is quite obvious to see that the warmer climate has encouraged a number of new species to the country and extended the range of others but that is not the whole story. This point really hit me five years ago when one sunny late July afternoon I watched a farmer cut hay on a field on the edge of Cranleigh. In the sky above were 3 Red Kites and 2 Common Buzzard and I recall jokingly recall saying that I felt like I was in Wales not south Surrey. Both of these species have increased populations greatly in the UK particularly over the last 25 years but the reasons for their increases are very different. The story of Red Kites in the UK has been well documented and from the first English reintroductions in 1989 this species has managed to spread out and it now can be frequently seen all over Surrey. The human intervention has undoubtedly helped this species recolonise various parts of its former range. The Common Buzzard spread from south west Britain all along the southern counties then northwards and is now found all over the UK. This species has managed to spread by filling gaps in the food chain and has greatly benefited from fewer gamekeepers and a reduction in the levels of specific insecticides.

Gamekeepering is always a controversial subject and one that will forever be argued but the evidence conclusively proves that the activity of game keepers in the past has had a detrimental effect on birds of prey numbers in the UK. Buzzards have shown that through lack of persecution they can survive and prosper although there are gamekeepers and some farmers that are now calling for licenses to be issued to control Buzzard numbers. I hope this kind of mentality does not become widespread again for the sake of all predatory species that suffered unjustifiably in the past.
We have seen a few examples of how species have and can prosper and the bottom line is that humanity has caused our wildlife to become depleted. Some of the examples discussed have shown how global warming has caused some species to become regular British species. The effects of this warming has encouraged warmth loving species but let’s not forget that it will have the opposite affect on cold loving species such as several fish and seabird species. It’s a complicated issue and time for some serious action to help our struggling wildlife. Nature is adaptable and can survive, it just needs a helping hand with some sensible management. We shall see what happens in the coming years. I’m hopeful that government will finally start taking our wildlife and environment more seriously.

Francis

August 21, 2018August 21, 2018

Old friends and new acquaintances.

Having promised myself to keep my ramblings, both literal and physical, to Surrey I hadn’t figured out that this leads to problems if I am away! However I am now pleased to say that it is now very likely we will be staying at Hempstead for at least a further year.

What’s changed in and around our patcher the last couple of weeks? Well physically, and rather sadly, the elderly and substantial apple tree in the front garden has quietly subsided to the ground. Still attached with bark and laden with fruit I am not going to clear yet in the hope that we can use the last crop. (they are the best apples in the garden). I suspect this tree dates from shortly after the house was built, 1911, and as you may know the best Bramley apples grow on an old tree. To my knowledge this wonderful tree has hosted a tit family every year for the last 24 and some years has also provided home for families of House sparrows, Blackbirds and Robins. A good friend and supplier to me and to the birds.

After a short pause in bird activity round the feeders, probably whilst many were in moult, numbers are rising again with the addition of some “non Hempstead breeding” species. A family of Starlings seem to have discovered the fat balls and my pleasure is tinged with sadness as Starlings nested regularly in my loft till a couple of years ago. The nest hole and habitat round us still looks good enough to me but it now seems unlikely that we will ever again see the autumn and winter flocks develop over the field rounds us.

Much is being said about declining numbers of some breeding birds and how that relates to the massive drop in flying insects across Europe and the further loss of marginal land from agricultural landscapes. It seems the blame is frequently attributed to intensification of agricultural practices and this is often in turn attributed to EU legislation embodied in CAP. To me this explanation is far too simplistic. There is very little intensive agriculture anywhere near where I live and there is still much undeveloped land including large areas of uncultivated military; yet there are still only a tiny proportion of the flying insects about as there used to be. I am old enough to remember it wasn’t long ago that ones car windscreen would be covered in squashed insects particularly during a summer like we have just enjoyed/endured.

I have little doubt that the causes for declines in insects and hence birds are largely anthropogenic but they are going to end up being a cocktail of atmospheric pollution/habitat fragmentation/interruptions to migration routes/hunting/climate change as well as industrialisation of agriculture and subsidy driven farming. Most real farmers instinctively understand the arguments for conservation, most profit driven agribusinesses simply don’t care enough.

July 26, 2018July 26, 2018

Who Pays?

Priorities for spending of tax payers money by both national and local government seem rather perverse to me. I think we all understand that there isn’t enough in the pot to pay for all the things we, the ordinary people, would like but it is the assumption that politicians of all ilks can make decisions based on their personal beliefs without accountability or realistic debate that infuriates me.

Surrey County Council’s attitude to the management of our countryside estate expressed through Cllr Mike Goodman as cabinet member for environment and transport is truly strange and deeply flawed in its application.

For me and many many others it is perfectly reasonable to use taxes to maintain and enhance the countryside both for public access and wildlife. In fact as I wrote the last sentence it struck me just how “reasonable” it is. Why would you imagine anything else when your very own health, both mental and physical, is so interlinked with the health of the countryside?

Many politicians believe that the “user should pay” but this principle is so unequally applied across services as to become empty rhetoric. It’s politically expedient to make noise about Global warming, climate change, international treaties on CO2 emissions, local and national strategies on waste…….the list is endless BUT what about meeting the simple challenge of maintaining and enhancing the local countryside for local people and the wildlife that lives in it?

I do not believe that all “countryside” should be managed by private landowners or NGOs or that it should be dependant on funding subject to the vagaries of whatever grant scheme is politically expedient. Public access countryside is not self sustaining financially, and never will be, if looked at purely as a “direct user pays” revenue earner.

Please do understand that I am also a pragmatist and therefore, sadly, whilst there are politicians like Cllr Goodman and others who stick to their own agenda no matter what, despite advice and consultation, it may well be that all access land should end up owned by NGOs and the existing private landowners.

Think the heat is getting to me!

July 12, 2018July 12, 2018

New friends

Always surprises me just how nature provides a peaceful moment of wonder when you need it, even not invited. Difficult and busy few days but “our” young doe is spending plenty of time eating round the garden. We had noticed she was enjoying any low hanging apples and accompanying leaves, surely indigestion must follow……..

A delighted call from my wife pointed out that this week our young doe revealed that she was in fact a mum with twins. I will never tire of such encounters.

The youngsters gradually relaxed and commenced further pillaging of the garden.

On a serious note, we all (particularly politicians) grossly underestimate the role of the natural world in maintaining our mental, let alone physical, health. Whatever the mechanism is , ecosystems services, green pound or many other ways of monetising the natural world, it still strikes me that they all obscure the basic truth; most of us ordinary folks instinctively understand the value of the natural world and accept that we should spend taxes when necessary in order to maintain and improve that natural world. We are all part of the natural world not just consumers of it.

July 7, 2018July 26, 2018

Just a Field

I lent against the old fence the other day watching marbled Whites and Meadow Browns flying over the rough grass land. To my side was bramble scrub where Whitethroats and Garden warblers fed their young and like all of those who watch wildlife felt a sense of excitement to see these wonders of an english summer. Excitement soon turned to sadness as I turn to see the metal fence round the fields where last year as saw the same species and many more disappearing under a housing development.

This field can show us many things if we take closer look. Situated on the edge of a large Surrey village and like many other formerly productive agricultural fields are now seen as a financial asset by the owner and potential building land. I first encountered this field 8 years ago, rough grasses , bramble patches and a few small Sallow trees already established and then we have seen the changes in the species that have occurred from the ground to the skies. the species lists collected show the incredible variety of life that these fields can support given the chance to recover from its former species poor state as an agricultural field. We have observed 24 species of butterfly including Small Copper

Brown Argus, Common Blue, 3 species of Skipper and the Marbled Whites. Amongst the grasslands we found Grass Vetchling.

Scarlet Pimpernel, Birds foot Trefoil

and clumps of beautiful Black Knapweed all feeding a mass of insects. We stood and watched Red Kites and Buzzards in the air together last year, after the presumed farmer cut the grass and made a short lived bounty of food. One winter we watched a Goldfinch feeding on a teasel head and then in a split second its life over taken by a male Sparrowhawk.

My partner Sam and I have watched the sad decline of the wildlife in these fields after so many amazing wildlife scenes, too many to describe.

We believe all habitats are vital if we are to repair the already fragile natural habitats in this country. The current UK government have nature conservation as a low priority which is fundamentally wrong on so many accounts. They and local government need to realise that building on the Greenbelt is whats slowly killing natural biodiversity. Protect what we already have and lets try to repair some of the damage is what I believe we should be doing. Time for the politicians to actually do something constructive to protect our countryside.

For my dad Francis,

Francis Willis

June 21, 2018June 21, 2018

A Little History

Much has been written in the press about changes to the countryside of Surrey and its management, particularly about alterations and charges at Newlands Corner but there seems to be a wilful ignorance on behalf of SCC of the history of areas like Newlands which are outside SCC ownership.

SCC completed agreements with two large estates during the early 60s to secure public access over some 350 acres of Newlands Corner, Silent Pool and St Martha’s Hill together with, approaching 500 acres of Puttenham Common. After a more protracted negotiation an access agreement was also made during the early 70s over some 1300 acres of Wotton and Abinger Commons together with White Downs.

When these agreements were made they were important as they secured legal public access over several areas that had a long history of use by the public whilst helping the landowners with the practicalities (and costs!) of managing access particularly where uncontrolled car parking was causing damage.

All perfectly laudable………then!

The reality now is that the land subject to these access agreements is now only small part of the operations of 3 major estates namely Albury Estates (the Duke of Northumberland), the Wotton Estate (the Evelyns), and the Hampton Estate (Thornton/Biddell). It is also a fact that much of the land is registered common and therefore if the Agreements were terminated the publics rights of access would be secured under the Countryside and Rights of way Act (CROW). So why, in view of the recent attitude of SCC towards their own estate, do the 3 estate owners still seem to wish to continue a superfluous agreement with SCC? Surely it would be far simpler and frankly more honest for the estates to work direct with Surrey Wildlife Trust as regards Rangering and ecological advice? There is no merit that I can see for the estates to continue an outdated and unnecessary agreement with SCC.

As ever I am more than happy to correct any errors in the above post.