One Planet News: Why nature is at the bottom of the heap when decision are made.
Go Wild With Annette
By Annette J Beveridge
I honestly believe that most people care about animal welfare and environmental issues but life is too busy for many to really think about nature's plight or to do something that makes a difference.
Why are we so busy?
The answer is simple. We are on a treadmill of an unhealthy lifestyle balance. I know people who are working several jobs, not because they want to but because they need to. Unless you are in a high-powered well-paying job, you juggle life and have little time for family and friends.
This takes away something rather special as well as adding copious amounts of stress, it deprives us of being out in nature.
Nature benefits
It has been proven that nature has a calming effect and that it heals us. Time out walking in a woodland or following a river’s undulating turns is soothing. Whether we think about it or not, we absorb that peace and wonder on an intrinsic level. So it is isn’t about people not caring about the natural world but that many are too tired to do all the things they want to.
When a work/life balance is healthier, there is more time to appreciate the natural world. We all need time in the countryside, to enjoy a picnic, go walking or wildlife watching. It sorts our frazzled minds out. It actually cleanses us and makes our perspective clearer.
Nature realities
The system is stacked against the average person. It is a money-making system but where does that leave nature? Nowhere. It leaves the natural world at the bottom of a very big pile. Even when the question of nature protections rise to the surface, it is quickly pushed to one side. It also leaves us more and more stressed and further away from the natural world of which we are part of.
Government needs to be pushing the nature agenda but it is actually making it worse. It is signalling to people that nature is not important when it is probably the most important thing possible. We live on this planet but we are happy to destroy it. Such backward thinking.
Political choices
So what the Government is doing in the UK is driving us away from nature and that's wrong. We are one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and this is a label we should not be proud of.
The only way we can change this is by telling Government that they are wrong and that we want greater nature protections. We need to tell them loudly that we don't want the country to always put money first but to help us be healthier by having wonderful green spaces we can escape to easily.
The problem with housing developments
Housing estate after housing estate that eradicates our green spaces and displaces wildlife is not a solution. When the decision was taken to guarantee thousands of new houses, there was no thought about ensuring developers work with nature in mind.
Why cut down established trees to replace them with saplings? It is tokenism.
With political will, there could be beautiful green corridors flowing in and around new developments. This would enable wildlife and us to roam freely. It reduces the sterile look and feel of new developments and would be more appealing for people.
These are not necessarily huge expanses but should be thoughtfully placed and not be an afterthought. All it takes is conscious planning for wildlife.
Health
The reality is that the UK is not a healthy place. Many are struggling financially and are burdened with stress. The Government should be thinking carefully about this not just adding more pressures.
We need to vote in people who care about wildlife and the environment and about us. We must make this country a nature-rich place in which we can all enjoy. That’s the real solution. Once our decisions take nature fully into account, the benefits will be visible.
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