Blogger: Laura White. PA to Public Affairs Manager

 I love impressionism, Claude Monets capturing of the light around him was so accurate that scientists are now using his paintings to work out the composition of gases in the atmosphere at the time he was painting. I wish I was blessed with a talent to paint, as the landscape of Norfolk where I live is so inspiring and lends itself to the ideals of impressionism; it invites me to put brush to canvas. At the moment the country is in its yellow phase, rape seed, dandelions and daffodils blanket the fields and verges. There will be a brief cross over between this stunning moment with its next phase the white phase. The hedgerows and cherry blossom will blanket the landscape and lead into my most favourite time. RED. Norfolk is at its most beautiful when it is red. Seeing a blanket of poppys is one of the most beautiful sights you will ever see. It amazes me how each colour palette blends seamlessly into another one illuminating my life and the life of those around me, I think it’s so beautiful it must be magic. Of course working at the RSPB I work with lots of people who are able to explain the science behind this majesty. They study long and hard in order to explain the magic thread which joins all living things. But it doesn’t matter how much they explain it to me, the fact that everything is in place will always fill me with wonder. Except that everything isn’t in place to keep this happening. We’ve just recorded the warmest March day ever and this change in our climate will lead to loss of habitat and biodiversity. Just as the gases in the atmosphere in Monets time made such beautiful paintings, they also killed lots of humans through the London Smog. The pollutants in our atmosphere are far less easy to see, but they are there. And slowly they will alter the landscape around us. My deepest worry is that one day Norfolk canvas will be brown. That there will nocarpet of daffodils or poppys just barren dry earth.