July 2023

June has been a difficult month. The weather has been lovely but like many people we’re on a private water supply and the lack of rain has been a source of anxiety. Our spring just about held out, but we are all too aware that there will be more (and worse) droughts more often in the future which we need to be prepared for, and at some point, we will have to invest in larger storage tanks for water.

On the upside the WWOOF volunteers are back (lots from France this year) to help with the bracken bashing and other jobs. The croft this is suddenly full of orchids in places we have not seen them before with Butterfly Orchids and Fragrant Orchids as well as Heath and Common Spotted and Northern Marsh. The swallows are back swooping around the cows, eating midges and flies, and I can’t help wondering if the widespread use of Spot-on elsewhere has affected the wider population (we try to keep our use to a minimum). Buzzards are nesting near the house, we’ve seen a sparrow hawk in the garden, and had regular visits from a pine martin.

We are the final stages of getting our deer fences approved but the cull John MacDonald did for us last year has made a noticeable difference with natural regeneration and seedlings springing up all over the croft.  We’ve kept some areas intentionally scrubby as this kind of land full of brambles and hawthorns allows young trees to come through.

For some reason, perhaps compounded by the drought, there have been moments this month where it has felt too much and I have questioned whether to continue, especially when there is no time left for my biggest passion of making films.

But recently I met someone from London who reminded me of one of my inspirations.

When I was growing up in Walthamstow, East London in the 1980’s, my mum found out that an area of wetland not that far from our house was going to be quarried and turned into football pitches like the ones on Hackney marshes that were already drained. This was one of the only parts of London never to have been ploughed or built on and was full of nature, but it was seen as disused wasteland and was inaccessible to get to.

Mum took part in a campaign to save these marshes and became integral as the press officer. After years of campaigning, the area was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and turned into a nature reserve. Species grow there that have only been found on two other sites in England.  Thousands, if not millions, of people have visited since then and enjoyed this special habitat right in the heart of London where being in touch with nature is so precious – including the person I met from London who mentioned spending time there.

Seeing this happen as a child taught me what a difference a small community group saving one piece of land can make, and it was good to be reminded of it. When I get disheartened by the news and feel overwhelmed it is good to remember to focus back on what is around you and what you can do in your own patch. Perhaps we all have more power to influence things than we realise.