News OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Angela Hewitt from Naturezones Wildlife Field Studies Centre. Ed
I don’t know who owns this cropped hedge along the road towards Whippingham roundabout from Newport, but I was shocked by it decimation.
For years it has been a rich source of nectar from the many flowers for bees and other insects for years it as been a nesting site for our returning migrant birds and the loss of caterpillars. But this year when they turn up their home will be gone.
This is precisely why our bird populations are facing catastrophic extinction.
A magnetic controlled memory
It has been thoroughly researched and evidenced that birds have a unique sort of magnetic controlled memory. This means that they return to the same nesting site where they were hatched every year.
If that site disappears they cannot raise any new young. They flounder, wander around in a feeble attempt to find a close by alternative, but there isn’t one. Out of the possible ten that successfully manage the treacherous journey back home, one may find somewhere, while the others just potter around, return to Africa with no young raised and eventually they all fade away into extinction.
So when those migrant birds return to the Whippingham roundabout nesting site they will find it gone.
Profound ignorance
There is a profound ignorance amongst landowners and the various authorities regarding nature conservation and why it is so important in supporting our environment and the prevention of the progressive climate change.
It is about time they learnt that it is ALL connected.
My mission is for our future, not today’s playground
I suppose football is more important (see background), but I have not changed my mind. My mission is for our future, not today’s playground. I have absolutely nothing against football, but everyone needs to be educated about nature including, footballers. Can’t see how removal of the hedge helps football.
Clearly the ecological consultant knows nothing about bird migration.
Why have IWC approved such destruction?
Also Cllr Jonathan Bacon claims,
“Our Climate and Environment Strategy sets out our ambitions for reducing and offsetting carbon emissions.”
“Planting trees on council land is a visible indication of the actions we are taking, and a tangible sign of our commitment to our status as a UNESCO Biosphere.”
So why have the council approved such destruction?
