What’s Going On Here?
Last week Rewilding Britain published a plan calling for a quarter of the UK to be ‘rewilded’ to help tackle the climate crisis.
How? By redirecting billions of pounds from farm subsidies towards restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas – thus bringing both health benefits to us and the planet.
What Does This Mean?
Each year the UK government hands over £3bn to agricultural organisations, supporting farmers and ensuring us folk have a stable supply of affordable food. ⛏
Sadly, just 13% goes to supporting environmental schemes – so there’s potential for some of these subsidies to fund restoring the UK’s long lost wilderness.
The plan proposes £1.9bn being redirected to creating 2m hectares of new woodland, species-rich meadows, and fully protecting the UK’s 2m hectares of peat bogs and heaths.
Why Should We Care?
We wrote about the importance of biodiversity a few weeks back when we covered Natural Climate Solutions.
The proposed rewilding plan would reduce government investment into intensive farming practices and the production of meat and dairy whilst also boosting biodiversity and helping to decarbonise the UK. That’s the kind of news we like to hear!
The plan comes at a good time as a recent study estimated that millions of people in the UK ‘lack access to a park or green space’. Shockingly, it was calculated that the average amount of green space per person is less than half of a six-yard-box on a football pitch! Not such great news.
Be Curious!
From a weekend wander through an overgrown cemetery to letting your lawn run wild to boost bee counts – start appreciating the au natural near you. “Green exercise” is also becoming a thing, with scientists having calculated that more than eight million people each week took at least 30 minutes of outside exercise in a natural environment.
So for all you city dwellers out there – don’t overlook the power of urban green spaces!
P.s. check out this cute video on rewilding
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