November 2024

The air we breathe is made up of about 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen. The remaining 1% is all other gasses. Breathing in anything else can only damage the body. Our oxygen is produced by photosynthesis, a process undertaken globally by green plants and some green micro-organisms, notably plankton. In return, the air that we breath out contains 4.4% carbon dioxide (CO₂). This CO₂ is essentially from oxidised carbon released from our bodily metabolism. That is, the digestion of our food and the burning of calories during exercise and other activities. This CO₂ is then taken up by the green plants etc which separate the ‘C’ from the ‘O’ and use the carbon to build their own bodies, giving us oxygen in return. We are all part of this wonderful exchange of resources that results in life as we know it. I sometimes think that us humans have forgotten this as forests are cleared and cities are built and expanded into the countryside. Also, why look for a place to live away from Planet Earth? It really is (can be) a “wonderful world” with thanks to Louis Armstrong’s song.

Some people criticize the recent trend to rewild places, previously over formalised by being planted with exotic plants from around the world. Such as, tightly mown lawns and formal flower beds of exotics like agapanthus from Southern Africa or tulips from Central Asia. These plants are truly lovely and make a fine display, however, they are of little practical use to most native British insects, except, maybe for the ubiquitous honey or bumble bees. Apparently, we are in a biodiversity crisis with many native species such as cuckoos, turtle doves, corncrakes, orchids, wild service trees, butterflies, toads and so many more life forms declining on our watch. Indeed, a BBC news item today (10.10.24) said that WWF announced that: “Global wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 73% in 50 years”. It is time for us to celebrate the local and global natural biodiversity by helping wildlife that we encounter. It is amazing what will come into a garden if planted with native plants such as an oak tree (at least 7 m. from a building) or maybe a juniper bush, some native heather varieties such as Ling (Calluna vulgaris) or Dorset heath (Erica ciliaris). Let the buttercups thrive and watch the insects visit them. Encourage birds-foot trefoil which may attract 5 or 6 spot burnet moths to a garden or verge. They fly by day and look wonderfully exotic. If space, dig a pond and see the dragonflies, frogs and newts roll up to breed there, but no fish as they will eat the babies. Fish prefer lakes and rivers. These are just ideas, there is a place for formal gardens which bring joy to humans, and robins rather like them too, but a little wildness from many people may reverse this sad trend among our wildlife. Another striking news item was that hurricane Milton in Florida is a 1 in 1000-year rainfall event attributable to human induced climate change warming the sea in the Gulf of Mexico to a record 31° Celsius (88° F.).