The title of Rachel Carson's polemic against pesticides, first published in 1962, provides us with a term that might come to characterise the demise of insects worldwide.
According to a new post from the environmental campaigner, Chris Rose, the spring of 2024 was certainly devoid of the thrum of buzzing insects. In his latest article on this subject, he combines anecdotal and scientific reports showing how our insect species are in freefall.
2024’s Big Garden Butterfly Count results were published on 18th September. They were confirmed as the lowest ever in the count’s 14-year history. Butterfly Conservation called it a Butterfly Emergency and Tony Juniper, head of Natural England, said it was a “warning” of what lay ahead.
What Chris points to in Missing the Garden Opportunity, is a responsibility of those of us who are 'nature able' (ie. have some knowledge of species and their habits) to help join the dots with the public, especially gardeners, and create a more aware public, that, after all, really wants to help nature. This might then translate into experiences with nature that can be shared with policy-makers.
Find Chris Rose's article 'Missing the Garden Opportunity' - here
Shine Radio spoke to PeCAN Nature Recovery Trustee Melanie Oxley about the vital importance of our wildlife, and what we can do in our gardens to help - for Our Earth Week.
The UK is in the bottom ten when it comes to protecting our nature, and only 3% of our land and sea is currently managed for nature at the moment. It's time to think about what your garden can do for wildlife between now and the spring.
