Keep Britain Tidy; Keep Britain Green!

Posted by#rebelbotanistsPosted inUncategorized

The lane, featured in this post, locally known as ‘scruffy lane’, is often strewn with discarded rubbish: cheap broken furniture, cigarette ends, plastic toys and bags. However, this human detritus is juxtaposed by the beauty of nature, so we felt we needed to highlight this in a chalking.

It would have been good to have found Sweet peas perhaps, rather than this bag of frozen peas scattered everywhere. In the background a selection of dumped furniture and a lampshade 😔
Another frozen pea packet, really! 😔

The firework-explosion of colour from the Buddleja davidii, encouraged bees, birds and butterflies.  The ‘singing’ apple tree, bursting with rosy red fruits, had enticed a myriad House sparrows in birdsong.  A sensorial delight.

Passer domesticus
Bombus lucorum
There are 3 particularly good-sized Buddleja davidii in the lane providing nectar for bumblebees and sparrows, who visit daily.

The previous post, about our Wales walk and chalk, stated that it is apparently, one of the top best countries for waste recycling in the world!  Yet, not far away, England’s recycling statistics are far lower and motorway verges and some city streets are sometimes strewn with litter. So why is this? Why are people in Wales seemingly more caring and respectful of their environment, than their English counterparts?

Dirty plastic containers thrown into the lane (reusable)
Abandoned furniture (reusable)
Empty candle holders (metal, so recyclable)

However, nature provides beauty against this ugliness…

Purple top Vervain have delicate vibrant flowers
Just love how this Prostrate knotweed has framed this drain hole, like a verdant soft carpet.
Is it Sticky Groundsel, one of us queried…Well, gently touch the leaves and you will see why it is so called.
A close up of the yellow flowers of the Senecio viscosus
When this plant flowers it looks like an old man’s white curly beard.
Lots of blackberries on show along the railway fencing – great for the birds!
On this faded graffitied wall there is a lovely show of Maidenhair spleenwort, with their gorgeous green distinctive leaves.
Despite the rubbish, the plants will grow including this Euphorbia peplus
And, look, over there! Evening primrose. In fact there were lots growing inside the fence on the railway land, growing tall and proud.
Purietaria judaica, Pellitory-of-the-wall, both fabulous names.
We spent some time explaining to a passing gentleman how to identify the Little Robin plant. He then went on to identify one further up the lane 👏👏
And here it is, Geranium purpureum. Note the deep red colour of the stem and leaves.
Lots of Centranthus ruber, good for butterflies, and the amazing Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Public information films were a series of short films televised as adverts between programmes, from the 1950s. They were commissioned by the Government, to highlight dangers and offer safety advice in a range of contexts. They became obsolete by the 2000s, with the closure of the Central Office of Information. They were great – amusingly memorable, but with a serious message. Take a look at some of the best ones: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_information_film
Which one do you like?

Looking at the state of our streets and disregard for the nature that surrounds us, wouldn’t it be a good idea to shed some of those boring repetitive adverts (enticing you to spend money you haven’t got, on things you do not need) and replace them with a public information films, to Keep Britain Tidy? Check out this one from the 80s:  https://youtube.com/watch?v=r5k34-L-yv0&feature=share

If you want to help keep our streets clean for nature, why not:

1. Shop for need, not greed, 2. Buy goods with less packaging, 3. Reuse and recycle what you can, 4. Ensure all your waste fits into your recycling bin with the lid down,
5. Join a local litter-pick group. It’s a great way to meet like-minded people too. 
6. Write to the BBC or ITV asking for Public Information Films to be reinstated that address the problems of today: e.g. Keep Britain Tidy, Pesticide-free cities, Reducing Carbon Footprint 

Thank you for joining us on this walk. We received several positive comments whilst chalking this lane. One commuter returning home said: “You’ve made my day. I really enjoyed reading all that. Thank you.” We hope you enjoyed it too, and please share this to anyone you think would benefit from this public information 🙂👍🌼

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