It's quite interesting, isn't it, that the Government is getting into a bit of a tight spot over forestry sell-offs and lease-offs. People aren't uniformly enthusiastic about small government when it comes to slimming down the Forestry Commission and handing things over to Big Society. And to be fair, it's difficult to find much of Big Society that seems terribly keen on it either.
I was at an excellent conference on Saturday, organised by the Sussex Ornithological Society, where, after my talk, I was asked a question about forest sell-offs. The line that I gave was, of course, the same as in this blog. And it seemed to be pretty much what the audience thought too - dispose of some commercial forests, with safeguards, by all means, but protect the biodiversity-rich heritage sites.
And the same issues will be coming along with NNRs soon too.
As publicised over the Christmas break, a group of NGOs including the RSPB have agreed some principles about whether we would be prepared to take on heritage sites from NE and FC.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
Sooty, Sorry I have got to question that one. At an early age I could walk anywhere. I could watch badgers (sorry trimbush) and even had a small collection of eggs (sorry Mark). I could collect conkers, eat chestnuts, understand the seasons. I did that by walking in the woods on my own, learning in school groups and on my bike.
Today youngsters don't get the opportunity to get outdoor education. Nature will suffer if you don't allow access and it will suffer because future generations won't understand. If a youngster doesn't use it he/she won't understand its importance when at a later age they may have to fight to protect it or otherwise.
The Cotswold Water park sightings website
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