Our local patch...

Maybe it’s something to do with partially coming out of lockdown at last, or perhaps it’s just the joyful arrival of spring, but there’s definitely a natural feel to this month’s issue and an appreciation for the wildlife closer to home. Ornithologist Ian Carter puts it nicely in his essay on page 59 when he says

of his ‘local patch’: ‘ It’s not an area that is, in any way, exceptional for wildlife, though it does have a few things going for it.’ As even the smallest park or patch of green almost always does. So too does he land on a particularly important point about appreciating what’s closest to home: if we locals don’t take an interest, will anyone notice when it’s gone? Loss of nature can creep in quietly, but also signal a wider trend. Did the people who first spotted a dying elm tree on their village green in the 1960s know that it would shortly mean the death of more than 90 per cent of these iconic trees in the UK at the hands of a deadly disease? On page 34 Mark Rowe asks what the future holds for elms in Britain today and whether we can ever repair the damage done.

And then we have a powerful reminder of the power of nature on page 20. Norman Miller examines the world of bioremediation, in which man-made pollution is cleaned up using organic materials such as plants, bacteria and fungi. Leave anything for long enough and nature will usually find a way to make use of it, consume it and extract energy from it, making it a potent and powerful agent for eliminating waste. The humble pennycress, the sunflower, the oyster mushroom – all have such powers. That’s why it’s so vital that we all keep our eyes peeled – we have the power to spot change before it’s too late.