Reeling in the superlatives

David Hall’s gorgeous collection of underwater photography has continued to reel in some of the most dazzling reviews we’ve ever seen for any photography book. February’s issue of Undercurrent, for example, concentrates on Hall’s technical achievement: “It’s hard enough to take a first-rate photo of reef life in the best of conditions. Try doing it in murky, bone-numbingly cold water while wearing a dry suit with 40-plus pounds of weights around your waist, and thick, insulating gloves making it hard to use the camera controls. That’s what David Hall had to endure while photographing in Canadian waters, but those physical disadvantages make his 160-page book, Beneath Cold Seas: The UnderwaterWilderness of the Pacific Northwest, all the more amazing.” But Hall’s writing is also praised as being as eloquent as his photography. Undercurrentis a highly respected newsletter/magazine for divers that accepts no advertising and publishes thoughtful reviews of equipment, dive destinations and books related to diving; it has sometimes been called “the Consumer Reports of diving”, and most serious divers subscribe to it. Peter Symes, editor of X-Ray Magazine, is perhaps the strongest proponent of Hall’s work we’ve heard from to date: “Hall has consistently managed to capture patterns, textures and colors…as if they were created on an easel. David Hall is an inspirational master who clearly hasn’t yet gotten all of the recognition that he deserves,” says Symes. And he should know: he has been in the underwater photography business a long time, and freely confesses that he’s pretty hard to impress. He calls the photographer “in a class of his own” and says that the book is “a rare piece of art. Or rather, it is full of them.” He likens the photos to works by the great Impressionists. Outdoor Photography Magazine‘s Jemima Greaves is amazed not just by the shots but by the richness and beauty of the underwater life he reveals: “Dispelling the myth that cold, murky waters equal boring waters, Hall has captured the staggering beauty and variety of marine life found in the Pacific Northwest. Although the animals themselves are truly amazing, it is Hall’s creative eye and masterful photographic technique that really sets this book apart…” Beneath Cold Seas has also appealed to people outside the world of photography, marine conservation and diving. Queens Quarterly‘s reviewer also focuses on the unsung brilliance of the colours and variety of the underwater life in these cold, dark waters. “When we think of vibrant sea creatures, we tend to envision coral reefs and tropical waters. But although temperate oceans are colder and darker, life within them is still bright. Consider the dazzling yellow stripes splashing the flanks of China rockfish or the neon feathered tips of the clown nudibranch.” Blogger Bensozia agrees: “David Hall’s astonishing photographs show the vibrant colors and teeming life of a part of the world [where]… I never suspected these spectacular wonders. I have never looked through a book of nature photographs that wowed me so consistently. From brilliant anemones to illuminated squid to rococo sea slugs, Hall has documented an Aladdin’s Cave worth of visual wonders.”

Reasons to be Cheerful…

…One, two, three! – with a nod to the late Ian Dury. As Blue Monday takes over Twitter, we have at least three reasons to go against the trend today.

ONE
With January 25th less than two weeks away, our Burns Night app has become a hit! From one iTunes download to nearly four thousand in a few short days, we could hardly have hoped for such an overwhelming response. Much of this is no doubt due to a mention in Guardian blogger Stuart Dredge’s apps roundup, and then to getting on to the title screen of the iTunes app store under ‘New & Noteworthy’.  Perfect timing!

Exposure aside, we’re happy that we could include such stellar content (see behind-the-scenes video on Youtube). The app includes Burns songs from acclaimed Scottish singers Annie Grace, Karine Polwart and Corrina Hewat, and a rousing performance of Tam o’ Shanter from Herald Angel winner Aly Macrae. Our very own Kirsty sings the traditional melody of Auld Lang Syne, too. Annie, Aly and Kirsty are now rehearsing for the Burns Supper at the Scottish Parliament. We’re not implying that the app secured them the invitation to sing for our leaders, but we’re very proud to have featured them first!

On top of the songs and performances, Scott Smyth’s design makes the app stand out, and developers Spot Specific built us a compass to point to Burns’ birthplace, which is proving a big hit, and an autocue in case you need prompting when you try reciting Tam o’ Shanter for yourself. And for those who didn’t realise how popular Burns is around the world, we included some voices of non-Scots too. We now discover that no less than the King of Pop himself was a fan! It seems that Michael Jackson recorded his own version of several top Burns songs, and there will be donations to the Burns Birthplace Museum from the proceeds.

For anyone throwing their own party, going to a Burns Supper or otherwise commemorating Burns Night, the app is rich with history, music and poetry. The new update also allows you to tweet our very own @Burns_Night with your interpretations of his poetry, to translate lines of Auld Lang Syne in whatever language takes your fancy (be it indigenous, fictitious or intergalactic), and to tell the world what Burns means to you. So “hope springs exulting on a triumphant wing” for all at Saraband on this ‘blue’ Monday, but what else is there to celebrate?

TWO

This month sees the launch of David Hall’s Beneath Cold Seas, which features breathtaking photography of the marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Having spent over fifteen years in often life-threatening underwater conditions, Hall “combines the inquiring and exacting eye of a scientist with the soul and vision of an artists to produce uniquely beautiful images that educate as much as they inspire” (Christopher Newbert). Today we were sent a glowing review from Outdoor Photography, whose editor said, “Hall’s creative eye and masterful photographic technique really set this book apart… Imaginative shots that capture both the under and above water worlds in a single image take the reader beyond the eerie and transfixing beauty of marine life, hinting instead at the interconnectedness of both environments and our responsibilities for them.”

We’ve also just received a review from the Editor-in-Chief of X-Ray magazine, who called the book “a rare piece of art”. He describes Hall as “an inspirational master” who is  “in a class of his own”: “Like no other photographer I am aware of, Hall has consistently managed to capture patterns, textures and colors and used all of these skillfully in compositions in such a tight and controlled manner, as if they were created on an easel.”

We quite agree!

THREE

©Zhou Mengqi

From marine conservation to black and white bears: We’ve just learned that the editors of BBC Wildlife Magazine have named Panda: Back from the Brink as their Book of the Month for their February issue, saying: “Astonishing photos of giant pandas in their native habitat grace an absorbing overview… [it] is a fitting tribute to these global mascots of conservation”. Outdoor Photography’s editor also gives it the thumbs up in their February 2012 issue: “Featuring wonderful images by Zhou Mengqi – taken at the famous Wolong research centre and in the wilds of the magnificent Qionglai Mountains, in the Sichuan region of China – and insightful text covering their history, behaviour and the conservation effort around them, this book feels like the complete story.”

Panda: Back From the Brink is now the number one best seller at Edinburgh Zoo (on sale from their online shop). Pandas are a hot topic at the moment. As France’s Vincennes Zoo acquires two bears of their own, Edinburgh’s Tian Tian and Yang Guang have settled in nicely, though a dose of colic has meant one of our furry friends has had to take a few days rest from entertaining the public. Get well soon Yang Guang!

A New Year

As 2012 blows in with almost hurricane-force winds, here’s a snapshot of our New Year news.

Burns Night

Our brand new app for Burns Night is now live on app stores. It features an autocue to help you deliver your own dazzling Tam o’ Shanter performance. The compass will point you to Alloway: use it to face the Bard’s birthplace when raising your toast to his Immortal Memory. Top singers Annie Grace, Corrina Hewat and Karine Polwart have recorded two of their favourite Burns arrangements, and Tam o’ Shanter is brought to life by the inimitable Aly MacRae.

For anyone who thinks Burns Suppers are only for aficionados, download the app and get ready to order your haggis. We had some *interesting* responses when we invited people to translate some of the more impenetrable lines! They help to underline that Burns is for all, and his celebration should be fun. So, tak a right good willie-waught and get ready for Burns Night 2012. (Big thanks to Graeme at Spot Specific for all his work on the app, and to Scott for the design & illustration.)

Beneath Cold Seas

With the launch this month of David Hall’s Beneath Cold Seas, featuring superb photographs of the underwater life of the Pacific Northwest, it’s nice to start the year reading favourable reviews. Peter Rowlands, Publisher/editor of Underwater Photography Magazine, calls the photography “quite exceptional”:  “Beneath Cold Seas has taken more than 15 years to achieve, but the hard work has been worthwhile and it is difficult to imagine that there will ever be a better collection of photographs to come out of this area.” This comes after a top rating from Shelf Awareness: “David Hall has created a dazzling book filled with dazzling sea creatures, showing us an astonishing marine domain.”

The importance of marine conservation is becoming more and more widely recognised. I hope this incredible glimpse of the underwater world will contribute to the cause.

Our tribute to the world’s favourite bear, Panda: Back from the Brink has been a hit with visitors to Edinburgh Zoo (available from their online shop), who have at last been able to meet Tian Tian and Yang Guang. The book is now available as a fixed-layout ebook with exclusive video and audio from the iBookstore, as well as for Kindle, both digital versions featuring HD images.

Just before Christmas, we went to visit the new arrivals for ourselves. The head keeper, Alison Maclean, gave us behind-the-scenes privileges, so we watched Yang Guang having his weight monitored and munching on panda cake. As the new year begins, we hear from China that six captive-bred pandas will be released into the wild from Sichuan’s Chengdu Panda Base, on or around 11th January. This, after all, is the point of the conservation efforts.

Pioneer Women - cover

Continuously in print for more than 15 years, Pioneer Women, by Peavy & Smith, is now due to be published in translation for the first time. Gerstenberg Verlag are shortly to announce their own edition: Westwärts mit gerafften Röcken, which translates to “Women with gathered-up skirts”. The book owes its longevity both to a fascinating text and an outstanding collection of photos, which in themselves tell us stories of women’s resilience and resourcefulness. The English-language edition is available from the University of Oklahoma Press, where a preview can be seen.

‘A new chapter opens for Scots literary entrepreneurs’, announced Louisa McLennan, the Herald’s Assistant Digital Editor, as she presented a round-up of Scotland’s digital publishing scene last month. Along with describing some of our own adventures in ebooks and apps, she included interviews with Blasted Heath, Cargo, Ewan Morrison and Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust. It’s great to innovate, but I still love the printed book, too. I hope our volumes on the giant panda and the amazing underwater world Beneath Cold Seas will stand as testament to that.

So here’s to 2012, both for Auld Lang Syne and with an eye to the future!

Bears in a Balloon?

Like many others in Scotland, we’re in the grip of panda fever, waiting to catch our first glimpse of Tian Tian and Yang Guang as they arrive for their 10-year Edinburgh sojourn. After the long negotiations with China and subsequent months of waiting since the deal was struck, the Panda Express is finally due to land on Sunday. (You can follow their progress on this special FedEx blog.)

Yang Guang (from BBC website)

Since the arrival date was announced on Monday, Edinburgh Zoo’s carefully planned system has struggled to cope with the enormous demand for the hottest ticket in town. The media has swirled with speculation and questions. Will the pandas settle in happily? How will they adapt to their new home? Where is the bamboo being sourced? What does the enclosure look like? And most frequently asked of all: will Tian Tian give birth to cubs next year?

But with all the fuss, there’s an underlying conservation issue that many are trying to address – several environmental questions, in fact. To begin with, there’s a significant school of thought that the conservation of the giant panda species is simply too expensive, and in today’s tight economic realities, the iconic bear should not be conserved at all, but should be thrown out of the ‘species conservation’ balloon in favour of ‘more worthy’ priorities – species more deserving of our resources.

This ‘too expensive to save’ (‘too big to fail?’) argument was aired very publicly in 2009, when TV presenter Chris Packham made the case for cutting the resources currently dedicated to panda conservation. The money should go instead, he contended, to protecting habitat such as a rainforest area that supports many species, thereby making a greater contribution to biodiversity on our planet. In an interview by Leo Benedictus of The Guardian, he maintained that concentrating on individual species – as did the 1970s Save the Whale campaign – is an outmoded concept in conservation. The pandas are being saved, he argued, simply because they’re cute and furry, and not for any reason grounded in sound scientific principles.

On the contrary, comes the counterargument. Pandas are increasing in population (albeit slowly) in the wild without expensive support because their mountainous Sichuan habitat has been ring-fenced against development in recent years, thanks to the research effort that China has invested. And with the giant panda comes a whole ecosystem including other rare species equally deserving of protection – snub-nosed monkeys, clouded leopards, takins, egrets and 400 other vertebrate species, not to mention the rich diversity of flora native to this lush, high-rainfall part of Sichuan Province. By protecting the big species, runs this argument, countless smaller species get saved too. Iain Valentine of the RZSS makes a convincing case for the conservation benefits of the panda research programme spearheaded at Wolong, in Sichuan, which you can read in his introduction to Panda: Back from the Brink.

Giant panda cubs

Aside from this debate, there are plenty of environmentalists upset at the thought of the food miles involved in transporting tonnes of bamboo to feed the pandas in their new Edinburgh home. Others disagree fundamentally with keeping animals in captivity in any circumstances, irrespective of their welfare and the conditions they’re kept in. This combination of animal rights and laissez-faire represents only a minority, but it’s all part of the debate.

One thing we can be sure of though: the pandas have got us all talking about conservation and endangered species, so that has to be a good thing. And – well – yes, we admit it, there’s another thing we’re certain of. These furry bears are just damn cute! So get ready to follow Yang Guang on the panda cam. And take a look at our book, featuring amazing photos of pandas at home in Sichuan. Sales of the book help support the pandas in Edinburgh. (Digital versions coming soon.)

Inflatable pandas at Edinburgh Zoo (STV pic)

Pandamania

Today was exciting because the first copy of our new title Panda: Back From the Brink rolled off the presses. We’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time! The fantastic, rare photographs of dedicated panda expert Zhou Mengqi, the giant panda’s leading photographer, are a sight to behold.

Cover of Panda: Back from the Brink

Preparations for the new arrivals at Edinburgh Zoo are now in the final stages. Tian Tian (‘Sweetie’) and Yang Guang (‘Sunshine’) will each have their own space at the zoo, carefully designed to replicate the habitat they would enjoy in the wild. They will be housed in enclosures with bulletproof-glass viewing windows so that we will be able to see them going about their daily routine – of eating, eating, sleeping, and more eating.

Elaborate plans have been laid for the constant supply of bamboo, even in difficult circumstances, such as the total shutdown of the roads system that hit Scotland’s Central Belt last winter during a relentless blizzard. Even more elaborate plans are in place for the journey itself: it’s not the easiest of tasks transporting two large bears by plane on a long-haul journey!

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the organisation that runs Edinburgh Zoo, now has a dedicated website for the pandas. Amongst the featured pages, the head keeper of the pandas, Alison, has been blogging from China as she gets to know her new charges. Alison will travel from China to Edinburgh with Tian Tian and Yang Guang. Funny, her last entry was about the rainy weather…. Home from home, perhaps?

Meanwhile, here are a couple of pages from the book, as a taster. Or, see the preview pages on our website, or else the video trailer on youtube. The book will be available very soon from the zoo and from your favourite bookshop, or else at online retailers. We would like to thank Sichuan Fine Art Publishing Co, Ltd and the RZSS for working with us to create this book.

panda_samplespread1

Pandas love climbing trees!

Animal Magic

It was tantalising to hear last week that Yang Guang (‘Sunshine’) and Tian Tian (‘Sweetie’) have moved into their quarantine cages as final preparations are made for their move to Edinburgh.

Senior staff members from the Edinburgh Zoo team have just returned from China, and in mid-October, Chinese officials will travel to Edinburgh to determine whether everything has been prepared to their satisfaction. If so, we’ll be seeing our new guests in November. That’s not long to wait!

Yesterday, on an unseasonally sunny, warm day, I was lucky enough to be at the zoo talking to some of the people involved (and sneaking a few minutes to watch the monkeys, who were swinging with abandon and seemed to be appreciating the weather almost as much as the humans). No doubt the temperatures will be chillier by the time Sunshine and Sweetie arrive, but it would take more than Scottish weather to dampen their reception. In fact, the climate will suit the pandas just fine. It’s not dissimilar to the prevailing climate of their own habitat in Sichuan.

Here’s a first glimpse of how we’re planning to celebrate this auspicious event. More details will be released shortly, but for now, suffice to say that this book will be both gorgeous – featuring stunning photos of pandas in the wild – and of course, conservation-focused.

Photo by Zhou Mengqi

PS: we’re not meant to say that pandas are cute, but sometimes you just can’t help it!

Blooming Jellyfish

Relatively neglected until recently, issues of marine conservation have been more widely discussed during the last few years. Hugh’s Fish Fight has helped bring the issue of overfishing to public attention; yet we’ve all known for many years about collapsing fish stocks, such as occurred in the once-teeming cod banks off Newfoundland, and we know that ocean temperatures and other environmental conditions have been changing – not to mention reports now widely circulated of horrendous marine litter, like the large drifts of plastic in mid-ocean.

But it’s easy to forget in our conservation-conscious world that not all species are threatened by changing conditions: some, by contrast, are thriving in places where they were once scarce, or even not found at all.

A recent BBC website article reported on a significant rise in jellyfish in UK waters this summer, as a result (maybe) of overfishing, pollution or climate change.

Whatever the cause, one of the species that is increasing in numbers is the lion’s mane jellyfish – the largest known jellyfish species, whose tentacles, with their potent (but not deadly) sting, can measure up to an incredible 36m (120 feet)! This colourful creature features on the front cover of our forthcoming marine conservation book, Beneath Cold Seas, by award-winning photographer David Hall.

Beneath Cold Seas book cover

To monitor these changes in our seas, the Marine Conservation Society is running a jellyfish survey and asks for the help of the public in identifying and recording the incidence of jellyfish species. An identification (and safety!) guide can be found here with the survey details.

So if you’re interested in helping keep an eye on the seas that surround us – it’s time to take to the water!

Remarkable Journeys

Although it may seem that most of the world’s cameras are in London today, there are many, too, in the American South — and not only to record the shocking and tragic aftermath of the most devastating tornado in recorded history. South of the tornado’s path, in Florida, Gabrielle Giffords will be celebrating a remarkable milestone in her recovery from being shot in the head in January. Just three months ago, it looked unlikely that she could survive the injury to her brain, yet today, walking and talking again, she will be attending the historic final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, piloted by her husband, Mark Kelly. For Ms Giffords, and for anyone who has experienced brain trauma, this will be a huge achievement and a day to remember.
After the launch, the Arizona congresswoman will be returning to Houston to resume her rehabilitation. [NOTE APRIL 30: the launch was delayed yesterday due to a power failure.] Who knows how far her recovery might progress? Advances in our understanding of the brain have been made at an exponential rate in recent years, so that injuries that would have meant certain death not so long ago can now be successfully treated, restoring some, most or even all of the person’s physical and mental functions.

Another two stories about our ever-growing understanding of the human brain have made the news during the last two weeks. One of these concerns the potentially transformational development of brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs (also known as mind-machine interfaces, or MMI), which are becoming ever more sophisticated. Professor John Donoghue released updated details of his BrainGate device, a smart chip implanted in the brain that enables the recipient to control a mechanical object purely with the power of thought, via a computer. In this month’s demonstration, a wheelchair-bound woman moved a glass clasped by a robotic arm, positioning it accurately over a dot on a landing mat, all the while remaining completely motionless herself, achieving the action (from her perspective) simply by thinking about it. Professor Donoghue first tested earlier versions of his device on a young quadriplegic in 2004, and has been refining it ever since; similar research is underway in several other centres around the world.
From stroke victims and those who have suffered catastrophic accidents to patients with advanced motor neurone disease, the implications of such a device are truly enormous. Whether sudden or gradual and inexorable, the loss of independence through progressive diseases or trauma-induced paralysis is a cruel blow. The ability to control elements of the physical environment with the power of thought could be a lifeline for anyone trapped inside a body thus reduced, by whatever cause. Perhaps even more fundamental is the facility to communicate; it is widely attested as being the most frustrating loss of all when speech, gestures and even facial mobility become impossible. With the BCI, researchers have already demonstrated typing achieved by thoughts rather than physical motions. Perhaps it won’t be too long before computer-aided “talking” will be demonstrated via a similar interface from the brain.
If paralysis is a terrible affliction, crippling pain — and especially the prospect of years of chronic pain — is at least equally the stuff of nightmares. Pain relief is another holy grail of science, and for a long time it was believed that the answer would be found in the form of drug therapy. But pain-relief medication has a diminishing effect and the side-effects can come at too high a price. By chance, researchers at a psychology lab recently discovered that they could relieve the pain of arthritis by means of an elaborate optical illusion, as shown earlier this month at the University of Nottingham. Whilst testing equipment that appeared to show fingers being stretched (click here to see footage), arthritis sufferers using the equipment reported experiencing a soothing of their joint pain when they believed that they saw their swollen joints being stretched. In other words, if we can successfully fool the brain, it is, apparently, possible to take the pain away.

Pain relief experiment - Nottingham University

A related sort of “trick” treatment was accidentally pioneered during World War II in an improvised surgery treating wounded soldiers in Italy, as described in Michael Kerrigan’s Mind Over Matter, which was published this month:

Allied troops had been taking heavy casualties and supplies of morphine had been running low; eventually the moment came when they ran out altogether. The fighting didn’t cease, though, and neither did the flow of casualties. One GI was brought in badly wounded, his agony only too obvious for all to see. Necessity was the mother of invention: a nurse grabbed a syringe of saline solution and drove it into the body of the yelling, writhing man. Within moments, he had calmed himself: now, it seemed, he felt no pain. Beecher was even able to operate upon him successfully.
He hadn’t set out to conduct an experiment, but that was what he had ended up doing despite himself. And the results had been sensational. The belief that one was being given morphine might be every bit as anesthetizing as the morphine itself could be, Beecher realized. Reduced to the same subterfuge again in the weeks that followed, he had exactly the same success. Fascinated by what he had found, he pursued his researches back in Boston at the Massachusetts General Hospital when the war was over.

If only scientists had paid more attention to Beecher’s findings in the decades that followed. Could it be that pursuing the pharmaceutical route promised more profits? Or is that too cynical?

See a video of Michael Kerrigan discussing Mind Over Matter here.
And as to that other event today, the trees in the Abbey were the star attraction for me.

Mind Over Matter is available in an illustrated print edition, and for the Kindle on Amazon UK (currently part of the Kindle Easter promotion) and Amazon US.

Mind Over Matter

Barn Owl Blues?

If you found this winter harsh, and maybe had more snow again this week  (or expect it this weekend), spare a thought for our barn owls, which, according to the Barn Owl Trust, evolved in warmer climates than ours today. As hunters on the wing, barn owls must be light, so they don’t have much body fat and their insulation is limited, despite their magnificent plumage. Two cold winters in a row have resulted in roughly triple the usual death rates compared with those of average winters, and have also reduced their breeding numbers. This is not good news for a species that is estimated to have declined in population by at least 70% over the course of the last century. It was therefore even more poignant to learn this week that a small female barn owl was deliberately shot in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

Barn owl in flight: pic John O'Neill

Owls have historically acquired something of a bad press, as symbols expert Clare Gibson (@MrsSymbols and the author of the excellent Seeing Symbols blog) notes in her forthcoming book on symbols in art. Despite being a universal symbol of wisdom (perhaps because they can see in the dark, penetrating the darkness of ignorance) and an attribute of Athena/Minerva, the Greco–Roman goddess of learning, the owl is widely associated with death and spiritual darkness.

But it is the undermining of the owl’s hunting habitat that threatens their survival. In the soon-to-be-released book On Rare Birds, Anita Albus notes that:

In former times, a tremendous explosion of field mice every three or four years used to transform fields and meadows into a Barn Owl Land of Cockaigne. Modern agricultural practices have put a stop to that. Since the 1960s, nobody has needed any advice about how to prevent cyclical plagues of mice [British barn owls rely on voles]. Constant fertilising makes meadow grasses grow too densely, rendering them uninhabitable for mice. Stubble is immediately ploughed under after the harvest; deep furrows in winter destroy whatever rodent nests are left; there are no longer any embankments, fencerows, or hedges in consolidated farmlands to provide winter shelter. Pesticides have a delayed effect until they eventually poison rats and moles, which become toxic prey for owls and raptors.

(translation by Gerald Chapple) In spite of all this gloom, however, one of the happier aspects of the barn owl is that it’s amongst the best-loved birds in the world, perhaps partly due to its distinctive heart-shaped face. In the UK, a concerted drive to boost the species by providing nesting boxes has brought these beautiful birds back from the brink of extinction. Up to three-quarters of our barn owls now live in man-made nesting boxes. Whilst it’s true to say that barn owls face stiff challenges, and some owl experts (like the World Owl Trust) believe the population may still be in overall decline, there’s every sign that active conservation efforts will continue to support British barn owls and safeguard their survival.

Here’s how Anita Albus describes barn owl parents nurturing their new broods:

One chick after another hatches in a rhythm synchronised with the owl’s egg-laying. For an average flock of chicks Mr. Owl has to slay dozens of mice every night. The female uses just the guts and tender muscles for the nibblies she passes on. She is careful to distribute food equitably, to clean the nestlings’ downy coats or the fleecy suits of the larger ones, to remove faeces from the small ones, to keep them warm while simultaneously incubating, turning the remaining eggs, and keeping the hollow clean. The larger nestlings meanwhile cannot fit under the brood patch anymore, so they cuddle up to their mother’s plumage on the outside.

Such tender care!

Our Vital Woodlands

The Coalition may be so busy slashing and burning its way through the UK’s national assets that it hasn’t noticed what the UN is up to, but it happens that 2011 has been designated by the UN as International Year of Forests, its aim being “to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.” (See the UN’s IYF portal here.) So, while the rest of the world celebrates the fantastic natural resources that clothe our planet with precious oxygen-breathing, carbon-sinking trees, we seem to be in danger of losing ours to private interests.

Yes, really. It sounds crazy – it clearly is crazy – but they  are planning to sell our woods off, and this must not be allowed to happen. Such a move would not only damage our rights of access to our woodlands, places of natural beauty and tranquillity that are invaluable in our stressed, urban-based society (even just seen from a selfishly human perspective), but would endanger our biodiversity, reverse any modest gains we’ve made recently in climate change, throw our experienced and committed foresters on the dole, and destroy our natural heritage for future generations – and that’s just for starters. There are many, many more reasons why this must not take place.

A similar move was briefly considered in Scotland two years ago, but MSP Elaine Murray reported that new private owners might just “chop down timber that was planted at public expense, walk away with the profit and then get paid to plant more trees” – so where’s the saving to the public purse here? There’s a scathing article on Private Eye’s site today pointing out the holes in the government’s putative ‘savings’ plan (Forest Chumps).

And even if we still have access to some of these spaces after privatisation, and even if those are planted up with trees rather than simply denuded of them, will the private forests retain their biodiversity, their glorious character, the canopy of broadleaves and the carpets of wild garlic and bluebells, the sounds of birdsong and the rustle of small animals, the mushrooms hiding underfoot, the nuts and berries ripe for gathering, the delicate wildflowers, the soft mosses? Probably not, according to a spokesman from the Wainwright Society. We’d most likely see an invasion of Sitka spruce plantations: death to biodiversity; woods so eerily quiet that they’re quite creepy to walk in. “The fear is that rules on access and environmental protection will be waived or, at best, lightly applied to encourage the private sector to offer the best price. This could lead to a return to monoculture plantings and severely restricted access for groups such as walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders.” (See grough site for more.)

Only a few months ago, Ian Edwards, editor of Woodlanders: New Life in Britain’s Forests, wrote these optimistic words:

“2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. Individuals and groups around the world are celebrating their national achievements as part of the international effort towards meeting the target of the Convention of Biological Diversity to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010. In a crowded environment like the British Isles this means how we have managed the balance between the conservation of nature and providing a comfortable, healthy and safe environment for 65 million people. Nobody believes we can protect biodiversity if we take ‘all the trees and put ’em in a tree museum/and charge the people a dollar and a half just to see ’em’. We have embraced the idea of our gardens being a refuge for birds and butterflies, of turning our school playgrounds into wildlife reserves. At the same time woods have become places for recreation and enjoyment. The Woodland Trust has more than 1,000 sites, comprising an area of over 20,000 hectares, much of it open to the public. There are more than 200 community woodlands. Changes in the access legislation mean that the right to roam on woodland estates and even wild camp for a few nights is protected by law.”

What a difference a few months make, if we can no longer be confident of our rights of access!

Trees have rich symbolic resonance, with individual species each having their own associations, but the universal tree of life symbolises (of course) life itself and, because it reaches for the heavenly realm, aspirations and hope. Woodlands, then, are vital places: vital in the sense of ‘full of life’ as well as crucial to our wellbeing in so many ways.

If you haven’t already done so, register your opposition to the forest sell-off here. And join the campaigns to Save Our Woods here.

We need to show the government that we are, after all, a nation of tree-huggers.

Lodore Forest, Cumbria