It's All a-Happening!

Starting tomorrow there's a three-day conference on land-grabbing in Brighton. Speakers include Tania Murray Li, who:

"... critiques land deal mainstream thinking and brings labour consequences to the centre of her analysis. She highlights how land deal dispossession leaves some without shelter, food or the means of (re)production. Like Olivier de Schutter, she is not convinced by arguments in favour of a 'code of conduct' to make land investments 'pro-poor'. Rather, she argues that, where safeguards have been effectively put in place for the rural poor, they have been the result of political organisation and social mobilisation: "Without such struggles, and such settlements, even the most assiduous regulatory regime has no purchase"..."

And, for those over Sussex way next weekend, there's a celebratory walk  in St Leonard's Forest on Saturday the 9th, organised by Action for Access. "You will see that the Forestry Commission is in the middle of a huge programme of restoration work to bring back the heathy rides and the old broad-leaved forest, to make glades and restore worn pathways. This is brave work, and comes not a moment too soon, for the early decades of their ownership, after their purchase in circa 1951, did great and harsh damage to what was left of the old forest ecosystem." And more events planned for May as well ...

April 17th and 18th sees Free Our Seeds, an invitation "to participate in two days of action during which we will make clear our opposition to EU policies and our intention to resist against them."

"We are not prepared to accept that the basis of our livelihood is handed over to multinationals. In the future we intend to maintain and pass on the heritage of our plant varieties. The main event will take place on 17 April, the day of international peasant resistance declared by Via Campesina, followed by a demonstration on the 18th. If you cannot come to Brussels, organise similar events in your countries, cities and villages!"

Not too much sign of peasant resistance 'ere in North Devon ...

Uz, um, peasants, up here be just a little bit more sedate, with the Orchards Live 20th anniversary Tea Party taking place in Kings Nympton village hall on the 1st of May.

Where Have They Gone?

Redwings and Pyracantha: who ate all the berries?

There’s a lot of argument now about whether, as well as how, what and when to feed wild birds, with the crucial word there being wild, ie not domesticated.

Now that most farmland has been turned over to little more than ‘green deserts’ of monoculture many farmland bird populations have died down to a tiny fraction of what they used to be, although some farmers are now growing some areas of seed crops to revive winter seed-feeders like tree sparrow, reed bunting, corn bunting, yellowhammer, linnet, house sparrow, bullfinch and skylark (PDF).

For anyone with a bit of garden or land, avoiding insecticides so as to allow insects and birds to flourish in the spring and summer, and growing a good diversity of plants to provide fruit and seeds naturally in the winter seems to me the best option for genuine long term benefit to wildlife.

November Nibbles

It doesn't take long to get good stuff growing in a garden or allotment if you're lucky enough to have access to one. At the moment we've still got plenty of apples, the last of the raspberries, and a few alpine strawberries, along with a windowsill of more or less ripe tomatoes. Some last carrots are still in the soil and beetroot will keep over the winter to be pulled when needed.

Just because broccoli isn't budding yet doesn't stop you cutting growing shoots for greens. Nasturtiums and cress for salad, as well as ever faithful parsley, chives, thyme and sage. Potatoes in storage alongside pumpkins. Hot and sweet peppers in greenhouse or polytunnel.

Need I point out that it all saves money, as well as being fresher and tastier than plastibles from the shop?

More Please!

Walking by Woolacombe one sunny day, what should I see but the new allotments on National Trust land in the lee of prevailing winds.