Thank you - I really did not know how my last update would be received - but in all the scenarios I imagined I did not think I would be overwhelmed by such a wave of kindness, love and support. I do not think - in fact I know - I have never caused so many tears to be shed before!
The response has filled me with hope - because it reveals the downright decency of you (well, most, there were a few who decided that this was the opportunity to be mean spirited ... why do that?) - the underlying love that generates that sort of reaction is the reason I have hope. If we can love each other, then we are on the path to creating a better world.
Another realisation is that so many of us are labouring under our own stories - we put on a front to the world that might at times be brittle - but underneath there is often pain. To those of you who have shared your adoption story - thank you - and those who have those stories still hidden deep inside - try and find a way to bring them into the light.
Before I get back to business - I was amused by the number of comments saying that I should write a book ... would seem that my attempts at advertising have been rather ineffectual ... so here are some link to some of the books I have written ... though not yet on this subject ...
Obviously - if you can use a local book shop, all the better, this was just an easy way of advertising the fact I have written a few!!
So - COP15 - you might just have heard about this in the news, but probably not. There was a flood of excitement about COP27 - the climate summit that took place in Egypt recently - and which did not really create much hope. Well, in Canada, starting today, is COP15 - this is the biodiversity meeting (COP15 is shorthand for 'the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)')
I would argue that this is just as important, if not more so, than the climate meeting. The UN’s environment chief has warned that “we are at war with nature” and must “make peace” - it is a great myth that we are somehow removed from the natural world - the reality is that everything we rely upon itself relies upon a healthy environment. We cannot begin to tackle the climate crisis if we ignore biodiversity.
This is a useful introduction to the biodiversity crisis.
So how do hedgehogs fit into this? Well - hedgehogs are, as we all know, the nation's favourite wild animal - every vote or poll has the hog at the top ... yet we are also well aware that the hedgehogs in the UK are still suffering dramatic population declines - just look at the latest State of Britain's Hedgehogs report.
This is the wake up call ... when we then lift our gaze from our prickly neighbours to the wider world of nature we need to take that love with us - realise that life on earth is part of a wonderful web and each and every part of it is vital.
One way to look at it is to think of the Forth railway bridge - 2.5km long it is an engineering marvel. It also has 6.5 million rivets. How many of those would you be happy to lose and still use the bridge? How many species do you think the planet can lose and for it still to function?
We need to fight for every single species in need - through this petition we are doing a small thing - asking for a change in planning law to be given some 'teeth' - but more importantly, we are a constant reminder that people really do care. Many of us have taken active steps to help hedgehogs ... we just need to share the love we give for this one species - spread it to the ecosystem on which we rely.
Here is one way - swifts - one of my favourite birds - please have a look at Hannah Bourne-Taylor's petition and sign if you agree.
Picture of Rosie the Riveter - lets value each and every one of those bolts!