Acting locally for global impact

This weekend marks the start of the North Pennines NatureFest. This year’s events include opportunities to get closer to nature and find out more about what makes the North Pennines special. There are guided walks at High Helbeck and RSPB Geltsdale, as well as the return of the fantastic Nature Camp. You can book on to these activities and find out more at https://northpennines.org.uk/visit-explore/north-pennines-naturefest/

Today is also the International Day for Biological Diversity and the theme for this year is acting locally for global impact. We are encouraging everyone to think about what they can do for wildlife where they live. It’s easy to think that what one person can do is too small to make a difference, but it’s all about doing what you can at the scale you can do it. One of the best things you can do for wildlife is provide water. At the scale at which the National Landscape team works, we’ve been partnering with farmers, land managers and gamekeepers across the North Pennines in the last few years to create hundreds of ‘scrapes’ – small, often temporary, wetland areas and pools. These scrapes provide important habitat for a range of wildlife but are especially good for our wading birds. This is just the scale at which we work, but each person can make an obvious difference for nature on their own, just by providing a pond. With just a one square metre space, you can create a viable pond that provides habitat for a huge variety of wildlife, stores carbon and brings you real pleasure in being able to see nature close up. No garden? No problem. An old sink, or a large tub can do the same job on a smaller scale, and bring a pocket-sized version of the same benefits for you and for nature.

We can all do something for wildlife, and it doesn’t have to be on the scale of hundreds of wader scrapes in order to make a difference.

Chris Woodley-Stewart
Director, North Pennines National Landscape and UNESCO Global Geopark