All Aflutter over Butterflies and Beavers?

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Butterflies, beavers, food security and climate change.... so much debate, we can’t think straight!

‘The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.’ Sir David Attenborough.

With a population of eight billion, the world actually produces enough food for over 10 billion. The challenge we face is not whether we have enough food, but how we protect the environment in which it is grown for the future, how we distribute it, and how we use it. Currently, a third of global edible food is wasted.

Food production depends on a healthy environment. But the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world – in 75 years we have lost over 75,000 miles of hedgerows and 97% of wildflower meadows. Forty million birds have gone since the mid-1960s. Our flying insect population has declined by 60% in just 20 years. But we need them; they sustain our agricultural systems through pollination. If these little miracle workers disappear from our landscape, could we end up pollinating our crops by hand? Unthinkable maybe, but a reality in some places already. Where rewilding takes place, we see how quickly nature can recover. By providing space in our gardens and marginal land for nature, we can improve our soil, water, and air quality. More widely, by bringing in natural engineers such as the beaver, we can do much to mitigate flooding and improve habitats.

The Landulph Climate Group is working hard to protect our local environment because it’s where we live and it’s how we feed ourselves. If we look after nature, nature will look after us.

Amy Hurn, Landulph Climate Group

16th November 2023