#30DaysWild Today's News, Tomorrow's Cage Lining

My last post was about taking a lunchtime walk down the Regent's Canal in London. Over the last few days the Wildlife Trusts' #30DaysWild Challenge has given a welcome relief from the depressing referendum campaign and the wrangling afterwards. Conversely it also got me thinking about what the referendum result will mean for the green spaces and wildlife I love.

Day 23 - A good day for snails

June 23, White-Lipped Snails (plus one) on our path.

It was wet on Thursday, the day of the referendum. When I went to get my newspaper, I found many colourful snails on the path.  Later in the day, I looked up from my laptop and watched a female blackbird collecting small worms and other food from the edge of the grass.

Day 24 - A worrying day

I woke up to the news that my country has voted to leave the EU. This has been the most vicious poll of any sort that I have ever known. After months of argument, there has been much heat and little light. There is literally blood on the floor.

View North towards and beyond Buxted.

I found myself gazing out over the countryside to our North and wondering what would become of it without the EU protection that reduces development round Ashdown Forest. Will some other protection be put in its place or will the view be engulfed in development?

Craig Bennet (Friends of the Earth) tackles this in his Guardian article. He says "About 70% of our environmental safeguards and legislation is European".

I am hoping that some will be replaced with home-grown versions but, of but there is no guarantee. Mr Bennet then goes on to point out that ...

'... during the campaign, it was Nigel Farage that finally said the words I’ve wanted so many politicians to say for so many years; “Some things are more important than the economy”. '

Obviously Mr Farage wasn't talking about the Environment. No-one was. So I personally feel the need to keep an eye on the situation and be prepared to fight (or at least write letters!) to protect our precious green spaces and wildlife.

Day 25 - Today's News, Tomorrow's Cage Lining

Yellow Corydalis on an Tower Ride wall.

On Saturday, I cut down Tower Ride to deliver used newspapers to a person who uses them for lining animal cages.  I found lovely Yellow Corydalis on the walls.

Poppies on Uckfield High Street

Just across the road from Tower Ride, there are poppies peeping over the edge of a wall.  While I photographed them, a lady walked by, saw me taking photos, looked at what I was photographing, and said that although she walked by every day, she hadn't noticed them. We chatted about enjoying wild flowers by roadsides and we went our separate ways.  I dropped the newspapers off and thought about the animals pooing and weeing all over stories of division and angst. Let's hope that we soon remember that, in the words of Jo Cox, the MP murdered during the referendum campaign "We have far more in common than that which divides us".