A Jedi’s story yet to be told

So this is an unusual blog I have a lot I could say about very little and not sure yet how to say it. After the great support of my local green councillor I signed up to be a member of the Green Party of England & Wales. I try not to be political in my life and even thought I was a huge supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and really bought into the philosophy of ‘For the Many & Not the Few’ I never felt like he owned his own party and they seemed to blame him more for not being in power than they blamed the Tories. Which arguably left to an own goal for labour and a victory for the Conservative led by Boris Johnson at the election victory. It’s a pity your government was not as efficient at clearing the virus as you were at winning an election as it might not have quite so much blood on its hands then.

Green light goes ahead for HS2 by Boris’s Government presently see article from LBC radio again Bravo Boris another job well done.

So why am I bitching about this well I have spoken to 2 wildlife Police officers in the last 48 hours as well as receiving two emails from my elected councillor for my ward of St. David’s in Exeter. I supplied four photos of evidence of the damage that Network rail did to the railway track outside my house which led to the present investigation by the police and also led to me joining the green party.

I have also had East West Rail checking out at least one of my websites this week and they are Linked in to the people in government building HS2.

The logo is not very clear as they seem to have turned to the darkside.

I have also had confirmation from my Green councillor that they have policies to support wildlife which are as follows.

Caroline Lucas launches Green Party nature commitments, and A New Deal for Nature*

Place: The Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 
0BF.  Time: 11am.

Caroline Lucas, former co-leader of the Green Party and its candidate in Brighton Pavilion, will be showcasing the Party’s commitments on nature and launching A New Deal for Nature, at an event at The Linnean Society in central London.

‘ A New Deal for Nature is an independent report commissioned earlier this  year to inform her work in Parliament, as well as to feed in to the  Green Party’s policies on nature and stimulate public and political  debate.  It’s been written by a group of leading UK conservationists and 
nature writers, Mark Cocker, Jeremy Mynott, Jake Fiennes, Helen Smith  and Patrick Barkham.

“We are not only running out of time on the climate emergency, there’s also little time left to reverse the catastrophic decline in nature and 
wildlife,” Lucas said.

“This election has to mark a turning point and the moment when people vote for Nature.”

*Green party commitments on nature and wildlife*

It is more urgent than ever to reverse the decline of wildlife and nature in Britain, one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.  The 2019 State of Nature report found that 41% of species in the UK have declined, and a quarter of mammals are at risk of disappearing 
altogether.

The Green Party’s manifesto has more than 70 proposals related to nature and wildlife, with the boldest and best policies for protecting it – for the benefit of people and nature.  As the UN global assessment of nature, the IPBES, made clear, the breaking of environmental limits 
presents extreme danger for all humanity.

Among manifesto pledges are a 10-year transition to agro-ecological farming, more outdoor learning and the introduction of a GCSE in Natural History to encourage better knowledge and understanding of nature.

One of the party’s key proposals is for a Sustainable Economy Act, so that the way we run our economy works with nature not against it, with new legally binding targets for biodiversity, soil health and water quality alongside other measures.

It is a broken economic system which has caused both the climate and biodiversity crises, and that has to be addressed if we are to restore our natural world.

That means moving away from endless consumption and GDP growth as the measure of economic success, scrapping environmentally destructive projects like HS2 and airport expansion, and repurposing the economy so that it also serves the needs of future generations.

While the Green Party manifesto is more ambitious and comprehensive than any other in its pledges on nature and wildlife, the Party recognises the importance of being challenged by experts to ensure policies measure up to the challenges we face.

*Report recommendations*

A New Deal for Nature focuses on eight areas for change including farming, schools & young people, urban wildlife, the marine environment and biosecurity.  Among its 80 recommendations are:

* New national parks, with a goal of designating 20% of Britain asnational park.
* Every farmer should devote a minimum of 15% of their land to nature,and be paid to do so.
* All primary schools should deliver one hour a day outdoor learning every day, in addition to break time.
* Twin every primary school with a farm
* Encourage more wildlife-friendly gardens by casting off the obsession with tidiness. Ban the sale of all plastic grass, unlessfor sports pitches via planning permission.
* Wild public land. Hospital grounds to be re-greened and re-wilded toaid patient recovery
* Permanently protect some brownfield sites as SSSIs, give others “pop-up” temporary wildlife protection
* A moratorium on expansion of aquaculture operations, particularlyopen-cage salmon farming, shown to be harming the aquatic environment..
* Improve early-warning systems to assess the threats posed byinvasive, non-native species which are growing by 10-12 speciesevery year.
quite well.

Let the truth set us free.

Ecocide is the enemy and unless you know what the enemy is you don’t know how to face it or how to defeat it.

The digital phantom menace

Hello this post is part two of https://huwspace.com/2020/04/29/the-machine-struck-back/

Very little to report really. I have mostly been working from home and just heading to pharmacy to collect my medication prescription. Walked out with my coat on this morning to walk to boots where I picked up my prescription from the weather was lush. On the way back it stopped raining so I was able to put my hood down and see where I was going properly.

Still working on competing a list of parish council’s in Devon linked to parish centres and hubs. It’s really interesting and I hope to get out to some of those hubs once lock down is over and take some photos.

So I had no reply from the police and no reply from Natural England, both of who I contacted and left messages with yesterday. After getting some advice from my dad due to an incident he witnessed yesterday I decided to call the 101 number for the police and see if they had received my email. After a little time I got through to a lovely young woman who was able to advise me that the police emailing system has no record of reciting my email and that it was important that I had emailed the wildlife team as this might be a crime to investigate. She took my phone number and contact details and set up ticket ID for me there and then and asked me to re send the now lost email. How computer systems for the police lose emails I am not sure but hey, how. So I was busy preparing the information again to send to them when I got a phone call. It was a police officer that had just spoken to the women that I had been speaking to.

They still could find no evidence of the email or photos that I had sent to them or the photos that I had sent or a police log. So we both now had the log that the nice lady on the phone had just regenerated and I asked the officer if I could forward him the email I sent yesterday copying in the wildlife officer too. He agreed that that would be a good idea.

As he was speaking to me he also wanted to make a note of my address and name because as well as my email they were also not coming up on the police system. So I gave him my address and described to him where I lived and he said he would look further into finding me on the police records. It’s weird the last people you expect to have no record of you is the police. Amazon, Umber and Royal mail all know where I live so why don’t the police a little worrying.

Not long after I put the phone down on him a cop car drove past my front window so I am hoping they are looking into the culling of the trees and hedges email, but I am very surprised about how much effort it has taken to get through to the right people and still don’t know if my efforts are in vain.

So to be continued people Sorry nothing exciting no loss or victory on this matter yet.

Better photo of some of the greenery that survived

I will try and let you know if I have any news tomorrow

Cheers

P.S.

I am so thankful for my parents they both no how to both ground me and let me fly in equal measures.

Devon Bard when he was young, when there first single came out a friend of mine, who is the same chap that I pay to do the design of my website worked in a pub in Exeter called Chumleys, she was so proud of her big brother Chris Martin for having a chart topping hit and little did she or anyone else know then that he would go on to be such a global superstar.

The machine struck back

I feel like I lost a friend today. The sound of silence on my road is deafening today.

Up until now the I thought I was doing OK working from home, walking in thee morning was good and everything going ok trapped in my little bubbling filling in my time.

And then I saw it.

The photo above is a small sample image of the chopping down of a widlife corridor thanks to network rail, who in their wisdom while everyone is under lock down are going around and butchering 100’s of meters of wildlife and on the same day disposing of the evidence so that the damage that they have done has been taken away. With no evidence left they might not be able to be prosecuted. The only small wild birds I saw today are the sweet little fellers that flew out from the one remaining bush that the railway works had left standing with some tape around it. The rest of the shrubs have probably been carted off to an incinerator to destroy the evidence. This feels like a potential environmental crime scene. Over the last month the birds have been singing, dancing in the air, breeding and feeding and now one of their biggest homes right on my doorstep in the middle of a city is gone.

Action is futile

But never the less attempting to act is what I have done. First I emailed the local Green council and the local Devon Wildlife Trust explaining what had happened and asking them what to do. This was about 08:00am so before work I started work it then got to 15:00pm and I had been working hard myself on a project for Devon Communities Together and I had still not heard anything so thought I had better check on what there response would be. The Green councillor answered her phone and was keen to encourage me to act myself and gave me some neat hints and tips about what to do and who to which I took on board.

The Devon Wildlife Trust Website advised me to phone Royal Society for Prevention of Crualty to Animals which is what I did. They then advised me to contact Natural England to check if the work by Network Rail was authorised and legal to do. So I have now done that and am waitng to here back. The councillor also advised me to contact the local wildlife police officer, which is what I have now also done so I fowarded the two photos I took this morning to the Police. The left side of the photo below is where they cut everything down and the right is a small patch of how it all looked for 100’s of meters along the track.

I have no idea if they have broken the law or what if any the sanctions will be. Even if they get caught out and it is proved that they butchered wildlife while the rest of us are under lockdown and unable to witness the butchering of the bird nests. It will be a hollow and somewhat meaningless victory. I am very sad for the loss of the bird’s home in Exeter on what feels like my door step.

I had bought a wildlife bird table and food which is still traveling to me in the post I do hope my area of Exeter will have some birds around to come to it.

I am still really sad about all this and feel that only when we do nothing do bad men make decisions that impact on the good but by doing nothing we let them win without even trying to stop or prevent it from happening again. I can’t bring the nests back but I can make sure I never forget the type of men that do this and work to counter the wrong’s they do from my little bubble.

So armed with just a digital camera, a contacts list to network and a custom built PC in my lounges I now have to wait to see what happens next and hope the birds in my neighbourhood learn to sing again and that some good might come of this wicked acts and deeds.

to be continued.

HS2 rail link Ecocide

Please be a part of a movement that ends ecocide and just click the link to sign today.

Sometimes I read things that really infuse my soul with passion and anger and this is one of those things. If ecocide laws were introduced in UK this kind of wanton destruction of ancient woodland and wild places could be challenged lawfully. If not it begs the question how far must people go in order to put a stop to how far they are prepared to go. Those that see have vision. Those that do let us not forget your sacrifice. HS2 Rail Link: Ancient Woods under Threat – Woodland Trust.

HS2 rail link

HS2 is a grave threat to the UK’s ancient woods, with 108 at risk of loss or damage. We can’t let this happen. 

Up and down the country, ancient woods and trees face the axe to make way for the high speed train line. 

Despite a lengthy review process, Government announced on 11 February 2020 that the project will still go ahead. 

Woods under threat from HS2:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=13Gep69V_tKpagkcbVgJnixNdOfTe_wd8

Phase 1: latest news

Phase 1 of HS2 will link London and Birmingham. 32 ancient woods will be directly affected. A further 29 will suffer secondary effects such as disturbance, noise and pollution.

We campaigned, lobbied and petitioned Government about this phase’s impact. We argued that HS2 should first avoid and, if not possible, minimise damage to ancient woods and trees, and the species dependent on them.

Enabling works are well underway on sections of Phase 1. HS2 Ltd. has to let the Trust know of any works proposed within 100m of ancient woodland.

However, if there are works happening near you that affect ancient woodland, you can let us know using our report a threat form.

Phase 2a: the ongoing fight

Phase 2a runs from Lichfield to Crewe.

In May 2019, we appeared before the HS2 Select Committee at the House of Commons for a third time. We raised further concerns about proposed Phase 2a changes that impact ancient woodland.

These changes reduced the railway’s impact on Whitmore Wood, but only by 0.5ha. Whitmore Wood is still impacted by the single biggest loss of ancient woodland on the entire scheme – an enormous 5.5ha. A single tunnel in this area would remove this loss, but unfortunately the Select Committee has so far rejected this option. 

Phase 2b: worse than we thought

Phase 2b is in two parts. The western leg runs from Crewe to Manchester and the eastern leg runs from Lichfield to Leeds. At least 19 ancient woods are threatened with direct loss – and we expect that number to increase as more woodland is added to the Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI). 

Another 11 ancient woods are subject to indirect damage.

Over 38,000 people responded to the draft Environmental Statement consultation in 2018, with a staggering 32,000 of these from the Woodland Trust’s campaign.

We’re now waiting for a final Environmental Statement consultation. Once it’s available, we’ll let you know and help you to respond.

Key successes so far

Though there’s still a long way to go, our work has had real success, including:

  • influencing MPs to support a tunnel extension in the Chilterns, saving over nine hectares of ancient woodland
  • persuading HS2 Ltd. to remove temporary works, such as construction compounds and stockpiles, from ancient woodland
  • convincing HS2 Ltd. to examine the impacts of the scheme not just on ancient woods, but also ancient and veteran trees, and potential unmapped areas of ancient woodland
  • halting enabling works in 11 ancient woodlands due to be affected by Phase 1 during the 2019-20 Oakervee Review into if and how the scheme should proceed
  • saving 14ha – the size of 22 football fields – of ancient woodland in total.

But there is much left to do. HS2 remains a huge danger to our precious ancient woodland, a danger which, with your continuing support, we’ll keep fighting every step of the way.

|View of the woodland trust

While we are in favour of green transport and not against high speed rail projects in principle, we are strongly opposed to the HS2 route.

With at least 108 ancient woods being subject to damage and loss, we consider that the impact of the HS2 route on ancient woods and trees across the UK landscape is wholly unacceptable.

Any transport system that destroys irreplaceable habitats such as ancient woodland can never be called ‘green’.

Natures Rebirth

Having had a busy day in work preparing a database with all village halls matched to its respective parish council I was able to clock off at 5pm on the dot after having entered 200 of about 450 of the little blighters. I tell you working in Administration the fun never stops!!! I had my tunes blasting, foot tapping and tea poring all in all a good productive day in the home office.

My favourite tune that came up on my spotify account is definitely the one below, so funky.

So a little more foot tapping and slight rocking forward and backward still loving this tune. This band have played in Exeter a couple of times at the Phoenix I am sure they are amazing not seen them myself, saying that I should definitely get out more. Well get out more when this lock down is over anyway.

The second tune by them is just as cool, dance to the beat the beat the beat. It’s mystical and spooky very cool.

So back to what I was originally going to blog about tonight.

I saw the following article in the Guardian about a breading programme for Storks who have not been breading in the wild for centuries or since 1416 to be precise so a really positive UK wildlife story about action, conservation and hope.

Conservation

First wild stork chicks to hatch in UK in centuries poised to emerge

More than 100 birds have been living wild in England as part of conservation scheme

Patrick Barkham @patrick_barkham

Storks on the Knepp Castle estate

Storks on the Knepp Castle estate. The area is a hot spot for endangered species. Photograph: RA Chalmers Photography/Alamy

The first wild stork chicks to hatch in Britain for centuries are expected to emerge next month after three pairs of the huge white birds built nests in West Sussex.

Disdaining platforms constructed especially for them, the storks have created their stick nests in the heights of oak trees on the Knepp estate, the centre for a reintroduction project.

White storks are traditionally thought to bring fertility and good luck but have been extinct as breeding birds in Britain since 1416, or possibly during the English civil war.

More than 100 birds have been bred in captivity and released at three locations in West Sussex and Surrey, including Knepp, a 3,500-acre former dairy farm that was rewilded at the turn of the century.

How darn exciting

On another bit of good news my membership card for Moor Trees turned up I have rejoined them. I used to be a member when I was on the board of Directors with them and pleased to be supporting them again now membership card is made out of some lovely card.

Well that me done for another brief moment in time.

If you got this far thank you so much for reading.

Cheers

Huw

3 little birds

So I went out for my daily newspaper and rations this morning and made it to the newsagents in the Corner of St Thomas’ in Exeter. On my way I was able to take my first pictures of some birds. I did not knows if they were going to let me.

I walked from a distance around them and then all 3 flew towards me which I was not expecting and unfortuntly did not get a photo of my camera is fairly basic but it does the job.

I could have had better detail but really pleased with the 3 for 1 deal I snapped

Bob’s your uncle

St Thomas Community Spirit notice board

Options?

Exeter Indy

Just got this flyer through the post this evening from some independent restarants in Exeter standing up for their own future. Again life finds a way when you have vision.

I think I’m going to have something from eat the bird on the weekend for a treat. It will support a local eatery and be something scrumtious for me too.

So gad it’s Friday tomorrow.

I went shopping in St Thomas today and was looking around for something to photograph and saw what could have been a heroin needle dumped in the corner where local homeless people sometimes sit. I know they do not all need to take such drugs but it’s a very sad sight to see and not worthy of me photographing it.

This is the side of the lovely old railway bridge for trains to Cornwall

Not quite infinity and beyond

I would recommend in thsi day and age you pay your way what ever your doing cause no one wants to be the one caught breaking rules.

My camera was fairly basic so I could not quite catch all the seeds on this little feller looks like he is ready for when the wind blows.

Finally picture is some more hot cross buns from the bakery.

Lush and Tidy!!

African Wildlife

African Wildlife Defence Force

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to search

TypePrivate
IndustryPrivate ranger services contractor, Environmental protection
Founded2012
FounderJean Kiala
HeadquartersNgidinga, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Chokwe, Mozambique
Area servedAfrica below the Sahel
ProductsRanger training, Close quarter training, and specialist rural security services
ServicesAnti poaching, Wildlife management, Forestry management and Agroforestry consulting
RevenueDecrease US$ 10 Million
Members3
Number of employees350 (10 volunteers)
Websitehttp://africanwildlifedefenceforce.com/

The African Wildlife Defence Force (AWDF; Afrika Wildsweermag (Afrikaans), Force pour la défense de la faune sauvage Africaine (French), Força de defesa da vida selvagem Africana (Portuguese), Kikosi cha ulinzi ya wanyama pori barani Afrika (Swahili), 非洲野生動物防衛軍 (Chinese, traditional), 非洲野生动物防卫军 (Chinese, simplified)) is a private elite park ranger and anti-poaching organization based in Dungu, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. AWDF uses direct action tactics to protect wild life and rainforests. The organization was founded in 2012 by Jean Kiala, a horticulturist and forester. It serves as an alternative to regular park ranger organizations who struggle with corruption, and seeks to eliminate the increasing levels of violence which poachers face.

Truly inspirational and humbling

I had a dream

Many years ago I had a dream where I saw a polar bear looking straight at me and me looking straight back at the bear.

I was not afraid of the bear and the bear was not afraid of me. I believe the polar bear to be my spirit animal and at a time when we might wipe out it’s habitat in my lifetime I feel honoured that the bear came to me.

You have got the Love
Man is spirit
Organic versus inorganic I choose to stand with the living