There’s a little patch of trees not far from where I live. One of my first jobs from school, I used to walk through this little patch of trees. They grow on a strip of grass between two roads, but they create a little archway, and it feels like you’re walking into a little oasis. You can no longer see the busy road or the factories that surround it. The grass is long where no mowing machine can reach, Magpies lazily poke about in the grass looking for food, and make their nests way up in the tall trees. It’s a beautiful little habitat protected by these tall, arching trees. A tiny little paradise in the middle of two busy roads. It made my morning to walk through there, I always had to pause and take a deep breath of nature, before gently strolling on, feeling elevated by the green.
Now, many years later, I hear
they’re planning to build on my little patch of trees. My local council has plans to build on lots
of little plots of grass and trees all around my small town. They want to boost the economy with new homes
and new businesses. I’m going to miss my
little patches of green.
But this isn’t just happening in
my town, it’s happening all over my country, all over Europe, and probably the
world. And it won’t just be little
patches of trees, there’ll be bigger patches.
Patches of meadow, marshes, and forests; all containing their own little
ecosystems of wild birds, animals and insects.
Some of whom are endangered.
How can we protect them?
I was surprised to learn
that there are no British laws protecting our wildlife and their habitats. The only laws that have been giving any
protection to British habitats is the European Union’s Nature Directives. (I’d never even heard of these). They include a Habitats Directive and a Birds
Directive. They look after our little
friends and their homes.
The EU now wants to
review these laws and see if they are still needed. Given that the main focus is on regeneration
and development, I think these laws are needed now more than ever. While these laws may not be perfect, they may
be the only thing standing between our countryside and a bulldozer.
The EU thinks these laws are
little known about in the UK, they think no one over this side of the pond
cares about them, or our natural habitats.
I think it’s time we stood up proudly for our countryside, and protect our
little patch of land.
The EU have put together a consultation questionnaire to find out what people think of these laws. Over 100 organisations have joined together to
try to keep these laws. To make it simple for us to respond, they have
created a pre-filled in questionnaire submission form. Whether you are in the UK,
Europe, or the rest of the world, please take a couple of minutes to click on this link,
fill in your name and email address, and let Europe know we want these laws to
protect our countryside all across Europe.
Let’s look after our little friends, for in turn, they look after
us.
If you want to find out more
about what these organisations are doing, you can take a look at The WoodlandTrust’s EU blog post. You
can also send a message to the EU through The Woodland Trust, telling them in
your own words how important our wildlife and habitats are, and why we need
these Nature Directives.
Please help save a little patch of trees.
