Shifting Baseline Syndrome Explained
So a new year and an opportunity for some New Year resolutions! Will we as individuals choose to make things worse, do nothing, or maybe, just maybe, do something to improve the environment. The choice is ours but what is clear is that within the parish if we do not do anything, no-one else will. Those working in conservation now refer to Shifting Baseline Syndrome and this means that each generation has a lower expectation of wildlife and the wild places that (for the time being) surround us than the previous generation. If you were alive in Wenvoe 20-30 years ago you would have heard the Cuckoo, regularly each Spring. You took it for granted – it was the norm. But the Cuckoo is no longer heard in the parish so the norm, the expectation is no Cuckoo. We still see hedgehogs but if their current decline continues they will soon be a thing of the past, read about in books like the Tale of Mrs Tiggywinkle but never seen pottering around our gardens. Remember the windscreen test? After a long summer car journey your windscreen used to be splattered with squashed flies, moths and other insects. Now you might just find one or two.
So are we part of the problem? The RHS reports that over a ten year period the percentage of front gardens lost to paving, gravel or concrete rose from 8% to 24%. And back gardens are changing as well as they shift to fake lawns, decking, paving and outdoor rooms – one estimate being that plastic grass in increasing by a rate of 10-15% each year. Not only is this bad for wildlife but it is bad for us and our health. Plants help to reduce the effects of climate change, roots absorb water and help to prevent flooding, branches reduce the velocity of wind and leaves help to lower temperatures during hot spells. People who can see trees and greenery recover from illness quicker and mental health can also benefit. Yet 5 million front gardens have not a single plant growing in them. It is said that we are shifting from green to grey.
Thousands of people have now signed up to the Greening Grey Britain campaign run by the RHS. They pledge to do something positive like planting a tree or shrub – even a small window box. So do we cut down that tree in the garden because it might appear at times to be a bit of a nuisance; do we plasticise our lawn so that we do not have to mow it or do we cover our gardens with decking or concrete slabs because it makes life just that little bit easier. It is worth thinking about – talk it through with your partner or a friend. Most importantly discuss it with the younger generation because they will inherit what you do.