Sustainable Environment

Nature Conservation

It’s great that more people are becoming aware of the impact of climate change and human activity on our planet and want to be more involved in helping nature. But can we be sure that we are helping? In this article Rose Revera, Ecologist at Neath Port Talbot Council, looks at some of the misconceptions that underpin some popular activities which could have the opposite effect to that desired.   

Mythbusters

The underlying message of this article is that ecology is unbelievably complicated and nothing is ever as simple as it seems! If you are in doubt about how to progress a nature project, it’s always worth consulting someone in the know, such as someone from your Local Nature Partnership (https://www.biodiversitywales.org.uk/Swansea )

Myth 1 Plant a tree to save the planet

There are a few caveats to this that you need to think about before planning a tree planting project. People used to think that woodland was the ultimate habitat, stretching from Lands End to John O’Groats and a red squirrel could bounce through the trees all the way without touching the ground, but this has been proved to be incorrect! The UK, including Wales, used to be a mixture of woodland, scrub and grassland, changing over time and managed by large herds of wild herbivores, such as wild cows (aurochs), wild ponies (tarpan), deer, moose, bison and boar. These would have been moved around by the large predators we used to have, including wolves, lynx and bear. Sadly we made most of these species extinct or domesticated them into the cows and ponies we know now. Native hardy breeds, such as Welsh Mountain Ponies and Welsh Black cattle, are important tools to manage the mosaic of habitats we require for a functioning ecosystem.