We don’t know what we’ve got –‘til it’s gone

We have a biodiversity crisis on our hands, and it’s shared centre stage with the climate crisis for much of COP26. And we may think most of the crisis is happening in the rainforests or oceans of the world – but it’s also happening on our doorsteps. For example I realise that I saw two red-listed, and one amber-listed bird

Live large and dream small

As we head towards the end of COP26, and our COP26-themed blogs, this poem, a favourite of mine, came to mind: Lore, by R.S Thomas Job Davies, eighty-five Winters old, and still alive After the slow poison And treachery of the seasons. Miserable? Kick my a-se! It needs more than the rain’s hearse, Wind-drawn, to pull me off The great perch

Nature for people – people for nature

Climate change is here, with its soaring temperatures and rising seas, and an increasingly destabilised weather system. Whilst we all know that rising emissions of greenhouse gases are to blame – that’s only half the story. Simultaneously we’ve embarked on a campaign of destruction against the natural world on a scale never-before-seen, tearing apart the very systems that would have

Living Landscapes for a living planet

by Cathleen Thomas, Scottish Wildlife Trust Living Landscapes Programme Manager In the UN’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), starting with the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) and UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in October 2021, the world’s focus is on preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems – the natural networks that keep our planet working. The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s

Blooming meadows and booming biodiversity

A key objective of COP26 is “adapt to protect communities and natural habitats”. Through local, national and international collaboration this is a chance to make a real change. Cumbernauld Living Landscape is committed to restoring ecosystems, which will protect them, and us, from the ongoing effects of climate change. For example, as the globe gets warmer invertebrates will hatch earlier,

A sticky end?

It’s not always in the moment that you realise how poignant an occurrence is – in the grand scheme of things. This is exactly what emerged this week when I visited Abronhill Primary to deliver a Creating Natural Connections session to their upper primary school children. Having been split into 3 groups – the beetle group I recall – had

No more blah, blah, blah – young voices call for action  

“No more blah blah blah” – this was Greta Thunberg’s message to world leaders on the first day of COP26, at a rally in Govan Festival Park. The 18 year-old climate activist is the voice of youth at this momentous conference – they want to be heard, and they want to see real leadership and action. Since Greta started her

Every one of us can make a difference for Cumbernauld!

Cumbernauld Living Landscape’s vision – the reason we exist, is to put ‘people and nature at the heart of Cumbernauld’s future’. The most important words in that sentence are ‘people’, ‘nature’ and ‘future’, and besides being key to our vision statement, it’s no co-incidence that they are also the main themes of COP26 – the global climate change conference that

Healthy body, healthy mind – healthy planet

Healthy body, healthy mind is a phrase most of us recognise, but perhaps it is time to add a new clause to that old mantra. It’s now recognised that for a healthy life one of the most important factors is a healthy planet. Research shows that being amongst vibrant, biodiverse, natural spaces is vital for healthy people and communities. At

Save our bogs – for peat’s sake!

COP26 is finally here and the eyes of the world are on Scotland and on climate change like never before. With a looming global emergency it’s easy to feel helpless but here in Cumbernauld we have something that could be a key weapon in our fight against climate change. I’m talking about peat bogs, collectively the biggest carbon sink in