That's the message we are trying to get across to politicians ahead of the decisions on spending cuts which will be announced in October.
We are taking that message to decision-makers in lots of ways, but this week we have taken the message to the constituencies of the Secretary of State for Defra, Caroline Spelman, who has the difficult task of making the cuts demanded by The Treasury, Oliver Letwin who is a member of the Star Chamber which will decide the cuts (and who is generally sympathetic to the environment) and to the Chancellor, George Osborne, who probably has the biggest say in all of this.
Local farmers have enthusiastically allowed us to put up placards in their fields, there are cycles travelling around with signs, helium balloons, banners over the M6 and being unfurled from windows and lots of other things!
Here (below) is an example of a banner - this one on the roof of our visitor centre at Radipole!
In addition, we have placed adverts like the one above in publications as diverse as Private Eye, the Times and Guardian, the Spectator and elsewhere.
A placard never saved a skylark - but a campaign can! Add your voice to those of over 270,000 others in our Letter to the Future campaign.
That's nice Meconopsis had not noticed the mistake that might say as much about me as about you.This time you are funny without being controversial.
Concreter is far to expencive might be better with concrete !
Bob You are 100% correct all the grass margins have gone already and were really a complete waist of time, Lush grass never did anything for birds.
If you do get to see the photo of the new pond you will notice it would swallow about 300 tonnes of concreter !
Search flickr for hunterswind you will find it on about page 6.
Meconopsis, I can't open the flicker page (IE8 has a lot to answer for) but I am sure that this is a great improvement. Can I use this as an example of what I think Mark and the RSPB are saying. You probably would not have spent the money next year because times are tight, but you are also unlikely to cover that same area in concrete for use as a patio.
In a farming context a farmer might have put the pond in this year and, quite rightly received stewardship funding to do so. Next year his funding is reduced so he won't put the pond in but at that stage nothing is lost (nothing is gained either). That farmer has lost money so he is likely to plough over where the pond was going and sow wheat instead. Now we might have lost something.
If we are going to keep the environment diverse for the future we do need to support those people we expect to do it on our behalf.
I spent over £1200.00 making a pond in my garden this spring. I have several new species of birds already visiting. It makes my day to look out of the bedroom windows with the binoculars to watch what is going on down there. Question is now my own money is getting tight would I have built the same pond next spring ??
www.flickr.com/.../4653270236