The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is a massive pyramid-shaped mountain in Colombia and home to the Kogi, Arhuaco, Wiwa and Kankuamo indigenous people. To these tribes, who represent all that is left of the ancient Tairona culture, it is “The Heart of the World.” At least 800 hectares have been ravaged by fires, family homes and livelihoods destroyed, as well as rare flora and fauna also destroyed in the blaze. Traditionally constructed houses and buildings used for the ceremonies of these people have been burned to the ground. The Arhuaco and Kogi communities have been devastated.
The village of Séynimin sustained terrible damage. It is located in the eastern part of the Arhuaco territory. In the foothills of the Guatapurí river, jurisdiction of the municipality of Valledupar. The village of Waniyaka is reported to have been razed to the ground as well. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta has in the past been declared as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and yet now that disaster has struck, the English media has been ominously silent, leaving only the Spanish press to get the story out to the world. I only know of one report in English!
As many as 80 families have been affected by the fires and 50 houses have been reported to have been destroyed. The Arhuaco and Kogi people are appealing for help. On 1 March they declared themselves in a state of economic, social, cultural and ecological emergency, with fires still active in several points of the Sierra Nevada. Firefighters battling the blaze have had difficulty accessing the affected areas due to the location high on the mountain, 3,500 metres above sea level. Smoke has made a difficult situation worse. Kogi Mamos The leaders of the Kogis, who are known as Mamos or Mamas, came to the world’s attention back in 1990 in a ground-breaking BBC documentary entitled The Heart of the World: The Elder Brother’s Warning. It was directed by Alan Ereira and explained how the Kogis, who regard themselves as the “ Elder Brother” and call us the “Younger Brother” wanted to break their silence by issuing a warning to the world. They had seen more than enough signs in the ecosystem of their sacred mountain to know that we are in danger of destroying life on Earth. The top of the Sierra Nevada was no longer covered in ice and snow, the clouds had gone. These were signs we now recognise as being caused by Climate Change. It was this film that first enabled me to understand what was happening with regard to what was then called Global Warming. By the way the transcript for the film can be read and the documentary viewed HERE. I really recommend it to anyone who didn’t see it when it was first broadcast or who has not heard about the Kogis until now. How to Help
I have known about this since 25 February after being alerted by my Arhuaco friend Iku de Gonawindua, who is an an ambassador for his people, and who had tweeted about the disaster. Since then I have been spreading the word on social media. I have been waiting in vain for the world media to report the story but, as already explained, the English language media have been silent. This is why I am blogging about it here. This is a copy of information I was given: “These families lost everything after saving their lives in fires that took 3 days, requesting support from the relevant entities and required from blankets, cooking utensils, food, work tools to rebuild the town ...In the city of Valledupar-Cesar will be the headquarters of aid to the Carrera 9 # 3-69 barrio los campanos headquarters indigenous house resguardo arhuaco, in Bogotá headquarters Redepaz Carrera 10 # 19-65 office 905.” Please help in any way you can! Sharing the news helps if you are not in a position to help with donations!
I think the late Daniel Quinn was a genius, and his books, Ishmael and The Story of B, have answered questions I had, as well as giving me a new view on how the world got in the mess it is in today. I have gained a useful understanding from reading his work, and while this is all very well and good, I find myself asking: What can I do? Quinn said in interviews that this was a question he had often been asked by his fans, fans who had understood the points he was making in his work and felt moved to want to take action. The author’s answer was to go out and get 100 more people to understand. So, this is what I am trying to do here. The idea is that if 100 people understand Quinn’s theories, that they can get another 100, and that 100 can get another 100. The word will keep spreading and eventually there will be enough change in how the world is run, and this will help stop the world being destroyed. So let me tell you about my understanding of what Quinn was saying in his work. Let me introduce you to Ishmael!
Ishmael
Gorilla (Photo: Public Domain/Pixabay)
The character of Ishmael is actually a gorilla, but he becomes a teacher for the narrator of the story. Ishmael challenges the storyteller and the reader with his questions and statements. Ishmael makes the point that all of us have been conditioned by our “Mother Culture” to share beliefs, and this culture has spread globally. It is the culture responsible for world religions, world politics, global corporations, and the daily damage being inflicted on the natural world. It is responsible for consumerism, for wasting natural resources, and for the crazy belief that humans are superior to other animals, and that the world is made for them to use as they please. This has led humans from this culture to be at war, not only with other humans and themselves, but with nature. They see nature as something to be conquered. The verb “conquer” is frequently used in common speech. For example, a mountain climber is conquering a mountain. Humans like this do not see that they are as much a part of nature as the natural world they are attempting to conquer and use.
Quinn puts forward the idea that this all began about 10,000 years ago, at the dawn of civilisation, as it is taught. We have been told that civilisation began in the Middle East area, when great cultures like the Phoenicians, the Babylonians, Sumerians and Egyptians began building cities, using writing, and living in a civilised way. It is as if everything that went before this was of little consequence, primitive, and not worth talking about. These early civilisations went in for agriculture in a big way. It enabled them to settle in one location and to feed the many people who lived and worked in the cities. But according to Quinn, it was what he calls “Totalitarian agriculture,” and I will explain more about this later. But what went before these cultures and societies were hundreds of thousands of years, in which people were living on the planet and getting along fine. We don’t hear about this period of human history. I never did, when I was in school. So the greatest span of time in which humans were living on the planet is more or less unaccounted for by Mother Culture. It has been very conveniently forgotten about. Quinn calls this the “Great Forgetting.” The very many tribal peoples that lived before civilisation were hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists and combinations of these life-support lifestyles. Some practiced the herding of animals, like goats and sheep. Many still do but they are at odds with the advancement of global civilisation and development that has no problem with taking these peoples’ lands, mining them, polluting them, and destroying environments and the ways of life of indigenous people.
The Takers and The Leavers
Ishmael, who by now we realise is voicing Quinn’s ideas, calls the cultures that were the ones recorded in history as the civilised societies, the “Takers.” Not in the book, but later on in his life he regretted using this term because it has been misunderstood, but I will use it here. The rest of the world, in other words, all tribal and indigenous peoples, were, and still are the “Leavers.” There are and were fundamental differences in what these cultures believed. Quinn, speaking as Ishmael, explains that the takers violated and continue to violate the “Law of Limited Competition” that all the rest of the animal world and that all Leavers obey. He explains this law in this way: “You may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors or destroy their food or deny them access to food.” The Takers hold the view that the Earth was made for them, that they are superior in the knowledge and lifestyles to the Leaver cultures, which they regard as primitive, and that they have the right to take what they want and do what they want. Biblical scriptures in Genesis 1:28 back up their views: ‘God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."’ This is indeed, what has happened. Humans have increased so much that we now have over 7 billion, and many humans of the Takers who follow the Mother Culture and are in positions of power, have been thinking they are right to rule over all living creatures.The Takers feel that it is right to enforce their ways, their culture, their religions and their consumerism upon the Leavers and the rest of the world. This is where the Takers are “breaking the law,” according to Quinn. No other culture amongst the Leavers does this or has done. There are and were many other cultures! Salvation and Prophets At the same time that the Mother Culture of the Takers holds this view that it is right and that it should be enforced on the rest of the world, all the major religions followed by the Takers teach that humans are flawed and need some form of spiritual salvation. The patriarchal religions teach that we are born sinners and need to repent. These religions all have prophets, who came to Earth to show us the way to God. The religions of the Far East, Buddhism and Hinduism, also teach that we are flawed and need to follow disciplines, meditation, the use of mantras, etc., to attain enlightenment or to free us from the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. We are taught that we have something wrong with us, and thus need to follow scriptures with the aid of priests and gurus. Mother Culture has spread these ideas worldwide in all civilised societies, where even those people who are atheists, still understand the concept of sin and salvation. All of these religions came about and all of these prophets are said to have been here within the last 6,000 years. The question that came to my mind is what about the hundreds of thousands of years before this? Why had I not thought about this before reading Quinn’s books? The author takes a far greater look at this in The Story of B. Totalitarian Agriculture
In the Takers “Totalitarian Agriculture” it is right to keep on increasing the amount of land farmed. It is right to destroy all potential other animals and birds that can damage the crops or eat farmed animals, and it is right to prevent them from having access to their natural food. It is easy to think of lots of examples of this, where animals such as wolves, coyotes, pumas, and foxes are hunted and culled. Sea mammals are not spared. Seals are killed because they might eat fish that humans want. Seals might take fish from fish farms, so they must be shot. This stops the animal having access to its natural food, classes it as an enemy and kills it. I have recently been reading reports of seals shot in Shetland because they are viewed as a threat to salmon farms.This culling is currently in progress in many places where birds and mammals are regarded as a threat to farmed crops and farmed animals. Quinn points out that only people of the Takers do this. Only Takers break the Law of Limited Competition. Feeding the Starving Millions Quinn explains that followers of the Mother Culture talk a lot about feeding the starving millions. Increased farming is given as the way to help these people by increasing food production. However, in reality even though the amount of land given over to farming is increased, the millions continue to starve. Food is unfairly distributed and often wasted in vast amounts, and this is becoming common knowledge. It is a myth that there is insufficient food for the people on the planet. What does continue to happen from the increased food production is an increase in population numbers. People from all classes of society, including those very poor ones in the starving millions, continue to reproduce and the population continues to rise. Many people die but still the population is increasing. Quinn points out that with all forms of life, increased food sources means an increase in population. Peoples of the Leaver tribes do not do this, so their numbers stay within the natural resources of the areas they are in. Quinn is not putting forward the idea that the Leaver peoples do not have conflict with other neighbouring peoples but they work out a system whereby each tribe has a territory. It has its own culture and belief system but it does not attempt to convert the rest of the world to its ways of living, unlike those of the Takers. Human population growth is continuing to use resources, destroy the environment worldwide and drive an increasing number of other species to extinction, estimated by scientists to be as much as 200 species a day. It is easy to see that the ways of the Takers are endangering all life on this planet.
Conclusion The above represents my understanding of Quinn’s philosophical ideas. The author has given me a new way of thinking. This is what is needed. We need to think about where our beliefs are coming from. We need to understand we have all been influenced by the Mother Culture and are living in a world held in its power. Something big has got to change and each of us can contribute to that change. So what do I recommend? I recommend reading Quinn’s books and watching the interviews with him included in this blog. Hopefully you will then want to find the next hundred to spread the word!
Small Tortoiseshells on Butterfly Bush (Photo: Pixabay)
The Ely council estate in Cardiff can be a great place for wildlife as I found out when I lived there for 24 years. The gardens attract a lot of birds, butterflies, moths, amphibians, and at least one reptile, which is the Slow-worm. "Slowgies" the local kids used to call them. This legless lizard was very common in gardens and you even saw them in the streets at times. They are no longer so commonly found in Britain.
Slow-worm (Photo: Pixabay)
Many of the species that can be found in Ely are now recognised as being in an alarming decline in the UK, so anywhere they are still thriving is important as a conservation area. Anyone who is actively helping these creatures is doing a great job in helping preserve the world of nature. Gardens can easily become mini nature reserves! You just need to grow some wildflowers, leave some parts untended, and a garden pond always works wonders! A Buddleia Butterfly Bush will help attract these pretty insects and other pollinators as well.
Choice TV showing of my house and garden back in 1998
When I lived in Ely, I had a makeshift pond I created from an old bath that had been thrown out. I sunk it in the ground in the back garden and within a couple of years it supported a colony of Common Frogs as well as Palmate Newts.
A pair of Common Frogs in my hand (Photo: Steve Andrews) I know Common Toads could be found fairly near where I lived too because a man I knew called Graham used to complain about male toads strangling his goldfish, which can happen. The unattached male toads will grab onto anything they think might be a female of their species.
A mated pair of Common Toads (Photo: Pixabay) The Common Toad is one amphibian that is known to be experiencing a decline in Britain and elsewhere. All amphibians are under threat worldwide though, due to loss of habitat, pesticides and herbicides, pollution, invasive species that predate on them, and Climate Change. I am proud to be a member of SAVE THE FROGS! Charity set up to help these creatures.
Steve Andrews with SAVE THE FROGS! banner (Photo: Kerry Kriger CEO of SAVE THE FROGS!)
One of the last times I was in Ely I went to visit Parker Place the street I used to live in and was saddened to see that what used to be my front and back garden had been ruined by the Council workers, who had removed the hedge, tree, lawns and flower borders in the front, as well as the Virginia Creepers I had growing on the wall. In the back my pond had gone, as had trees I had been growing for the many years I was there, as well as a grape vine that used to attract flocks of starlings, as well as blackbirds that used to eat the fruit each year. My nettle patch for butterflies had, perhaps not surprisingly, also been removed. It was very sad to see how all my work in helping wildlife had been wrecked but I was heartened to find that Jess, who had been my neighbour, was still there and she told me she now had a pool in her back garden. It was good to know I had helped inspire this!
Moths and Butterflies
Garden Tiger Moth (Photo: Pixabay)
It is a well-known fact that many species of British butterfly and moth have been doing very badly in recent years. Once common species, such as the pretty Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly and the large and gaudy Garden Tiger Moth are no longer commonly seen.
Small Tortoiseshell (Photo: Pixabay)
They need all the help they can get. I used to have Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral caterpillars on a patch of Stinging Nettles I had growing at the bottom of my garden. I also had Painted Lady larvae feeding on Hollyhocks I had growing in the back and front. Garden Tiger Moths needed no help then and I often saw the large furry “Wooly Bear” caterpillars and the striking orange, creamy-white and chocolate-brown moths with dark blue-black spots on their hind-wings.
Cinnabar Moth (Photo: Pixabay)
The attractive day-flying Cinnabar Moth with red and black wings and orange caterpillars striped with rings of black were a common sight. They feed on Ragwort and Groundsel, both of which were common weeds. The Cinnabar has been declining as well over the past decade. I also remember having Comma Butterfly caterpillars one year on my gooseberry bushes, and Common Blue butterflies used to frequent the front lawn of one of my neighbours, who had Bird’s-foot Trefoil growing in the grass. Now I live in Portugal I often see the same species doing well on lawns between housing blocks in built-up areas. The reason being they find trefoils, clovers and Sorrel (Oxalis species) growing amongst the grass. Butterflies need food-plants for their caterpillars and nectar from flowers for their adult stage. If we supply both we will probably attract butterflies to our gardens.
Are all the species I have mentioned still to be found in Ely? I don’t know because I no longer live there but if they are, then residents of the estate can help them survive and can have something to be proud of. I am sure there must be lots of people in this vast estate who are interested in nature. Perhaps a local group could be set up? Ely is also surrounded by some excellent countryside for wildlife, with Plymouth Woods being a deciduous forest that used to have a pond and marshy area. I know frogs and newts used to live there and many birds are attracted to the wooded parts and undergrowth. Ely is an example of a council housing estate that I know, and that I also know could make a great contribution towards nature conservation. The same conceivably goes for all the other estates in the UK.
Young people need to learn about the wonders of the natural world. It gives them something to take a real interest in, and interest that can stay with them for life. All the famous naturalists, like Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham, began learning about nature when they were children. I started when I was four! I hope this article encourages more people to learn about plants and animals living on their doorsteps, so to speak, and most importantly to help conserve the natural world by making their gardens wildlife friendly.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire for a few days and fell in love with the place. I was happy to see that wildlife is thriving here, despite increasing declines in species throughout much of the UK.
Cinnabar Moth caterpillars (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Even in the heart of the city I spotted Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillars on Ragwort. There were plenty of these brightly-coloured caterpillars on plants growing on the riverbank right by the Waitrose supermarket. These larvae have orange bodies, banded with black rings. The adult moth is also a very pretty creature with red and black wings. It flies by day and could easily be thought to be a butterfly. This moths caterpillars eat various species of Ragwort and Groundsel (Senecio species). Although these plants are classed as weeds they are very important sources of life for many additional species, in addition to the caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth. The Buglife charity, which is concerned with the conservation of invertebrates, has reported that over 30 other species of insect depend on Ragwort alone.
Avon Valley Local Nature Reserve
King Arthur Pendragon, Kazz and Chris Stone (Photo: Steve Andrews)
I was in Britain for Summer Solstice at Stonehenge and also visiting my friends, author Chris Stone, and Druid and eco-warrior King Arthur Pendragon and his partner Kazz. Arthur and Kazz live locally and they suggested we could go on a walk in the nature reserve that is on the banks of the River Avon. I love nature, so was happy to agree to their suggestion, and was very highly impressed with what I saw.
River Avon (Photo: Steve Andrews)
The River Avon looked really clean and there were very many fish that could easily be seen swimming in the current. I spotted Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), Minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus), and what looked like Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus).
A Shoal of Fish (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Meadowsweet (Photo: Steve Andrews)
There are extensive water meadows bordering the river too, and in the marshy ground was plenty of Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) in bloom. It has a most amazing perfume that reminds of summer meadows and freshly mown grass, and is a most beautiful herb that is actually in the rose family (Rosaceae).
As well as Meadowsweet, there were plenty of Creeping Thistles (Cirsium arvense) in flower, and also the very poisonous, but attractive to insect pollinators, Hemlock Water Dropwort (Oenanthe crocata). Kazz spotted a colourful moth feeding on the nectar from this dangerous plant, and she asked me what it was. It was a Scarlet Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula), a pretty moth that flies by day, and is of interest because it is unusual for being able to feed. Most other species of tiger moths have no mouth-parts and do all their feeding as larvae.
Scarlet Tiger Moth (Photo: Steve Andrews)
On the thistles I saw several Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) butterflies. This was a good sign because this once common species has been declining fast in the UK over the past few years. There were plenty of clumps of Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) growing nearby, and this is its main food-plant for its caterpillars.
Small Tortoiseshell on Thistle (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Water Voles
Avon Valley Info Board (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Near a bridge over the Avon there was an information board showing species of wildlife that can be found on the reserve. I was happy to see the Water Vole (Arvicola amphibious) included. This is a British mammal that has become increasingly rare, so it was very good news to see that it is holding its own here. Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) too frequent the area I learned, and I was not surprised, because it is an ideal habitat with plenty of small fish they can hunt.
Elsewhere in Salisbury
Steve Andrews in Salisbury
I also went for an evening stroll with Chris around Salisbury and around the area outside Salisbury Cathedral. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful and it was a glorious summer evening. I was really impressed with how there was no litter to be seen, no graffiti, and no damage to trees of the city, unlike elsewhere in the UK, where trees are being felled with the support of local councils. How is it that Salisbury doesn’t appear to have the problems other towns and cities have I wondered? “I would love to live in Salisbury,” I told Chris. “I think you will find properties here are very expensive,” he told me. He also pointed out that Salisbury is a Tory stronghold, and suggested that might have something to do with how it is there. He was right that houses and flats in the city are very expensive to buy and rent, and also that the Conservative party is in power there.
In no way do I support the Tories, but it got me thinking about how it seems that it is mostly Labour councils that are behind the destruction of so many city trees in Britain. For example, this is the case in Sheffield, a city that has made world news with regard to the thousands of trees that have been felled there by Amey Plc with the support of Labour politicians. I haven’t done the research yet but I wonder how many cities have lost their street trees due to corrupt Labour councillors?
Wentloog Levels aka the Gwent Levels are a Wildlife Haven
Marshfield (Photo: Steve Andrews)
I recently went on an epic 7-hour walk in the Wentloog Levels, starting off in the aptly named Marshfield I went to St. Brides where I followed a road to a Welsh Coastal path along the sea wall. I was revisiting an area of important wetlands that lie to the east of Cardiff and extend to the outskirts of Newport. Also known as the Gwent Levels the area bears a resemblance to the Netherlands because it is flat land reclaimed from the sea and traversed by drainage dykes, which are locally called “reens.”
A Reen (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Rare Species
The Wentloog Levels are of great importance because of the amazing variety of species of flora and fauna that live here, some of which including the Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), the Musk Beetle (Aromia moschata), the Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) and the Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus) are nowadays regarded as rare and declining species. They depend on wetlands such as these for their continued survival. The Great Silver Water Beetle (Hydrophilus piceus) is a very rare but magnificent aquatic insect that is known to occur in reens, ditches, ponds and lakes in this area.
Where Elvers would congregate (Photo: Steve Andrews)
I used to come to Marshfield and the Wentloog Levels as a boy. My father used to bring the family here in his car, and I well remember seeing millions of elvers, the young form of the now Critically Endangered European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) making their way up the reens and climbing and slithering in masses over obstructions caused by sluice gates regulating the water flow and depth. I also remember catching the Ten-Spined Stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) in the reens. They are still there today, I am pleased to report, as are the aquatic plants Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) and Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia), the first of which resembles a mini-water lily with rounded floating foliage, and the second plant gets its name from its arrow-shaped leaves. Both of these wildflowers have attractive white flowers, and it was good to see them again in the weedy drainage dykes.
Frogbit (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Arrowhead (Photo: Steve Andrews)
The Seawall and Coastal Path
Seawall and mudflats (Photo: Steve Andrews)
The coastal path has a strong seawall that divides the reclaimed wetlands from the mudflats and tidal waters of the Severn Estuary. Here you will find large patches of saltmarsh, and I stopped to have a look in some of the shallow brackish creeks and muddy pools.
Brackish water where many crustaceans live (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Here I saw plenty of small prawns, shrimps and the occasional crab. These crustaceans survive here waiting for the waters to be replenished by a high tide or rainfall. Interesting plants of the saltmarsh included Sea Lavender (Limonium vulgare) and Sea Arrowgrass (Triglochin maritimum).
Sea Lavender (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Butterflies
On the grassy bank with the seawall at the top and a very long reen at the bottom there were very many Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) butterflies, and I was pleased to see this species seems to be still holding its own, while many other British butterflies are known to be declining fast.
Small Tortoiseshell caterpillar web (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Earlier on, I was glad to see evidence of Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) caterpillars that had spun a web over some nettles. The adults of this pretty butterfly were once very common all over the UK, but this is no longer the case. Another once common but now declining species is the Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), and I was happy to see one of these whilst walking the coastal path.
Birds of the Gwent Levels
The Wentloog Levels and the saltmarsh of the estuary are ideal habitats for many birds. Reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) and Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) can often be heard singing and the abundant reed-beds of the wetlands are just what these little birds need. I heard and saw a pair of Skylarks (Alauda arvensis). This is yet another species that has been becoming a lot less in numbers throughout Britain, mainly due to habitat destruction and changes in farming.
Notice Board (Photo: Steve Andrews)
A notice board by the seawall called attention to some of the now rare bird species that make the saltmarsh their homes. The Curlew (Numenius arquata) and the Lapwing are two waders that can be found here.
Saltmarsh (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Both were once common but both now have the Near Threatened conservation status. The notice board calls for "Respect for the locals" and asks people to keep dogs under control, and to stay off the saltmarsh where these birds feed and breed.
Private Shooting sign (Photo: Steve Andrews)
I saw another sign that showed that wildfowl shooting was once practiced here, and it was a grim reminder of another way we have lost so many birds.
Coot (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Still common water-birds I encountered on my walk were Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus)and Coots (Fulica atra), swimming on the weedy waterways and ponds.
After many hours of enjoyable but tiring walking in the hot June sunshine, eventually, I found a pathway that led to a main road near the Lamby Way landfill tip on the outskirts of Cardiff. I thought it was interesting to see how nature was doing so well right next to this rubbish dump.
Save The Gwent Levels
Elsewhere, to the south of Newport, the Gwent Levels are threatened by a proposed motorway being built at fantastic cost, not just financially at an estimated £1.5 billion of taxpayers money, but to the very fragile ecosystem of the area it is intended to cut through. The road, if built, will go through five sites of special scientific interest or SSSIs. Welsh naturalist and TV personality Iolo Williams is one of many people trying to stop this madness. He describes the sites as “Jewels in the Welsh crown.” Find out more about the campaign to Save The Levels and help halt this before it is too late! Take action by supporting and spreading the word about CALM (Campaign Against the Levels Motorway).
