Fiery Beech

At this time of year I feel that I need to spend time absorbing all the fiery colours of autumn, to store them up in my mind so that I can return to those memories during the dark, dull days of winter. The colour of the Beech leaves is particularly intense now, though it won't be long before a strong wind removes the last survivors.

This image was taken on a supposedly therapeutic afternoon walk to try and shift my mood. I spent the morning working on some data and comparing it with a previous report for the site. The previous team of ecologists, all accredited by CIEEM, had recorded scarcely half the plant species I found, and hadn't found any of the nationally rare ones, which included a sizable population of a protected plant. How are we supposed to improve the biodiversity of the UK when there are so many professional ecologists doing such a bad job?

Fortunately, this evenings online meeting of the Peterborough local group of the Wildlife Trust was far more positive, describing a five-year project to enhance the biodiversity of the Nene Valley by working innovatively with farmers and other landowners. I just hope this sort of positive work continues as the UK develops a new system of agricultural subsidies, though I fear that biodiversity aspirations are already being whittled away.