Bottom of the charts? 50,000 thoughts? Why is it not the longest running Chart Topper?

If I asked you how many things you think about every day – you may have between 20,000 and 50,000 thoughts!

What we need to know is how we put nature in your top 10 thoughts?  

What we need to know is what would make you want to do something with nature or to make a difference to nature?

And so, my next thought , of my 50,000 or so today is .........

If we made a pie chart to represent the different things that make for a balanced, healthy human being, a large chunk of that pie chart would be taken up by:

1. Healthy food

2. Good quality water

3. Good physical health

4. Good mental health

These all contribute to a balanced body and hopefully to a happy life.  That’s a large chunk of the pie chart that makes us who we are!  A good deal of those four elements come about through having a healthy environment.  The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the wind that blows through our hair, the waves that crash on our beaches....................................................  Our physical and mental sustenance!

Counting nature is a way to measure the health of our environment.  It’s one in the same. 

Well, what is the State of Nature?

On Wednesday, a report called the ‘State of Nature’ was published by lots of organisations including the RSPB.

Frankly it's not a great story - ok there are some things doing well in our countryside. However, on the whole it's a disaster!  60% of animals and plants that have been monitored are in decline, and more than 1 in 10 are under threat of disappearing.

It has too many statistics for my brain to absorb - but there are some shockers. Here's one - in the last 10 years over 72% of butterflies have declined, including common 'garden' butterflies that have declined by 24% in that time.

So, what should you and I do with those statistics? What does it mean?

Will you have forgotten by tomorrow? Will the big press push today leave an impression beyond this week?

On Wednesday a few folks from different conservation organisations, including myself, chatted to Karen Bradley, our local MP - so that she knows just how important the changes to nature are.  She was very interested and hopefully will not forget so quickly.

So, for YOU, Karen, Guy Corbett-Marshall (my colleague at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust), me. . . . 

This is a call to action!  

I'll be honest though I'm not quite sure what the action is - mainly because I think it needs to be more radical than we are used to.  We're watching as things disappear all around us - and the majority of us are not seeing the writing on the wall.

Apologies for bombarding you with questions - but please bear with me............

• What does nature mean to YOU? 
• Do YOU recognise it's value to us all?
• Do YOU know what impact managing our environment can have on the quality of our water, for example?
• Could there may be a time when there aren't enough bees to pollinate our crops?
• Do YOU have kids that rarely, if ever, play out in the countryside.

Why would all this be forgotten tomorrow?

Why do we walk past green fields without any flowers or insects and not wonder why?  And do we really think that it’s all ok?

Are we walking blindly in to a world that’s less healthy and less happy? 

After lots of technical breakthroughs and increased lifespans – are we now actually going too far??

What do YOU think?

So - I can help you, help me, help you..........

Come and enjoy a wildlife oasis at Coombes - and tell us what you think - how do we get nature in to the Top 10 Charts of thought.  Or send me an e-mail to share with my colleagues - at jarrod.sneyd@rspb.org.uk

If you are reading this – you’ve already elevated nature to be quite high in your thought chart – so it might be useful to ask a friend with less interest – and ask them some questions (perhaps you shouldn't bombard in quite the same way I have!) 

Cheers

Jarrod

For more information visit RSPB Conservation Director Martin Harper's blog at:  http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/martinharper/default.aspx

Coombes Valley Site Manager Jarrod Sneyd, Karen Bradley MP for Staffordshire Moorlands, Guy Corbett-Marshall, Chief Executive of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Dr Sarah Henshall, Lead Ecologist from Buglife -  embracing the State of Nature Report.