Every now and then, our politicians dream up a scheme that is doomed to failure from the very start because it has been botched and public opinion just won’t accept it. The great Forest sell-off debacle is just the latest example. However, in this case it probably says as much for the unpopularity of our present government than for our deeply heartfelt love of forests.
We had a lucky escape this time, due largely to the efforts of the highly effective 38 Degrees for organising the massive petition against the sell-off, backed up by the National Trust and their firm but polite lobbying behind the scenes, and much of the Forestry Commission too. But where were our mainstream environmental and conservation organisations while all of this was going on? Does this latest peoples’ victory now make them irrelevant I wonder?
Anyway, for me the most important lesson for us all is this; we must now prove that our relationship with our forests, woodlands and wild places is not just skin-deep – now that spring is on the way we absolutely must get out there and use them – or we may still lose them!
I have always believed that our disconnection from nature is at the heart of our ecological crisis, and that we must re-connect by spending much more of our time outside – a principle that is now supported by a significant number of scientific studies, combined with masses of expensive research proving that being outside in nature improves our health and wellbeing.
Next time, we may not be so lucky. We need to show how much our natural world means to us. Lets all get outside this and every weekend and enjoy our amazing natural heritage – I can guarantee we will all feel better for it.
