“Artificial Intelligence enables us to track environmental footprints, extreme weather events, carbon emissions, and biodiversity loss. But can it help us to find solutions to tackle some of our society’s most pressing environmental issues? AI has a staggering carbon footprint itself – but can it help us find solutions in a rapidly changing climate?” https://www.agile-rabbit.com/event/environmental-intelligence-can-ai-change-the-world/

After seeing this event advertised our curiosity aroused, we decided to board a train and walk the beautiful woodland walk to Dartington to attend. We came across 400-year old chestnut trees, listened to a melodious Great Tit and saw an Egret and a Grey Heron standing majestically in marshland. We also, serendipitously, met a couple of friends there, making it an even more interesting evening.

The panel, made up of 3 university professors from the fields of business and computer science, the CEO of the Met Office and environmental journalist and activist, George Monbiot, were presented by a BBC interviewer. Whilst they discussed how AI could model future weather patterns and climate warming to consider what plants and trees would be more suited to different areas, it was evident that AI was still a tool to be wielded by the rich and powerful. Who would ultimately control the organisations developing AI? As one speaker pointed out, look at Google. I did later, to discover it was founded in 1998 and is still owned by the same two shareholders. In 2023 the company revenue was over US$304 billion!

The dichotomy of discovery (for the good) and control (for the bad) was very evident, in the talk. We are already seeing how machines are taking over skills-based jobs in farming and supermarkets, for example. The swift tide towards the digitalisation of money is raising concerns of monitoring where and how much each of us spends our incomes.

When questions were offered to the floor, a hand shot up. “Can AI predict when the permafrost will melt?” asked my friend, Chris, a biologist of 40 years. A significant question indeed because it’s effect will not only cause inevitable land destruction, it will release millions of tons of stored carbon, methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere and may well rob us all of our final breaths. Climate warming is already causing permafrost to melt, creating landslides, craters and swampy land masses; without the ice keeping the soil intact, giant sinkholes are swallowing up land and releasing greenhouse gases, adding to the existing climate warming problem.

It would seem that “Current climate change forecasts may underestimate the emissions from permafrost because they only take into account gradual thawing of the ice layer.” https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/permafrost-ice-melt-thaw-arctic-global-warming-carbon/

Left as they have been, for thousands of years, permafrost lands act as a carbon sink, but the continuing human activity of excessive burning of fossil fuels, increasing global temperatures, are melting these frozen areas and releasing these toxic gases.

“Paleoclimate evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly 10 times faster than the average rate of warming after an ice age. Carbon dioxide from human activities is increasing about 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age.” https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter02.pdf

Scientists are revealing the already devastating effects through traditional methods of field and empirical research (positivistic science) that biodiversity is in peril:
“The tundra of the western Canadian Arctic has long been carpeted in cranberries, blueberries, cloudberries, shrubs, sedges, and lichen that have provided abundant food for grizzly bears, caribou, and other animals. Now, however, as permafrost thaws and slumping expands, parts of that landscape are being transformed into nothing but mud”. https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-melting-permafrost-is-beginning-to-transform-the-arctic.

It is clear that whilst AI can be used constructively for modelling predictions, more needs to be done, and fast, if we are to combat the key problems that are killing our planet. For this, AI is not necessary because we have known for decades that burning fossil fuels, mass deforestation, industrial development and chemical and waste pollution are destroying the biodiversity of our living, breathing planet.

George Monbiot’s response was crystal clear: Governments must act upon the findings of scientific research; there has to be system change. The rich are continuing to live lifestyles that literally fly in the face of sustainable living.

What good is AI if it is controlled by the rich? What benefit comes from the findings if they are not acted upon because the rich want to get richer despite the devastation they are causing? When is enough, enough?

Rachel Carson, an environmentalist, scientist and writer, fought hard, to the end of her life in 1964, to highlight to the world how pesticides were destroying birds, insects, plants and healthy soils, in her book ‘Silent Spring’. Yet, 60 years on these toxic chemicals are still being sold on supermarket shelves like sweets! Why, because Governments allow it, the media advertise them and big business sells them – the rich mediate everything, often to our detriment. How can the general public make informed decisions when so much information is polluted?

We cannot rely on believing everything we read in newspapers and on digital platforms. We have to seek and research, more deeply. As Rebel Botanists, we walk the urban streets seeking out nature, finding out for ourselves what we are looking at, what value these plants provide and have discovered that everything is ecologically connected; providing food, habitat, and medicine for human and wildlife. We use all our senses, we discuss with one another subtle differences to establish greater understanding and we do it, above all, with a sense of wonder and enjoyment in the hope of making the world a better place.

Researching to find the truth amongst the “lies, damned lies and statistics” (Mark Twain) can be daunting, but self-discovery is empowering. Talking and sharing your findings and opinions with others you trust promotes empathy, understanding and comradeship. So, please, keep talking. 🙂🤝

The distress caused by the “pointless and mindless” felling of the 300-year old Sycamore Gap is still evident a week later, as highlighted on Mark Radcliffe’s BBC2, Folk Show, on the 4th October. http://(https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001qvbx) He made this tree the theme of his show, engaging links to nature and Hadrian’s Wall, where it had stood: an ancient life beside an ancient monument. His show opened with a song by Paul Armfield: ‘Woodman, Spare the Axe http://www.paularmfield.com; of course this plea is too late for the Sycamore Gap, but can we learn something from this dreadful incident?

‘The woodman’s axe has been responsible for many gaps’ (The Project Gutenberg eBook of Memorials of Old Derbyshire): consider only recently the chopping of 110 trees in Armada Way, Plymouth. The local campaign group, STRAW, http://www.strawplymouth.co.uk borne out of this tragedy, slapped the council with a high court injunction.

The Guardian covered the story with the headline description of ‘an act of vandalism’. Looking at these before and after photos, the devastation is palpable.

Consider, also, the destruction of ancient woodlands, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, wetlands and wildflower meadows by the government’s HS2 debacle.

Some people might say, why are we so upset, it’s only one tree; well, actually the Sycamore Gap is representative of the thousands of trees that are being thoughtlessly slaughtered in the UK every year.

Bravo to Mark Radcliffe for raising further awareness of this ecocide. Whilst many people are evidently moved by this tragedy, due to the Sycamore Gap’s iconic and aesthetic location, we really must remember all other trees that need protecting. Every tree is a living breathing being, that provides oxygen, cleans our polluted air, provides habitat and shelter to many thousands, yes thousands, of wildlife species that are also under threat.

So, what can we do? What can YOU do as an individual?

Firstly, start respecting trees: walk amongst them, take note of the bark and leaf shapes; how many species can you identify? Learn a little about them. To name them correctly is a great start.

Secondly, join a local group to plant and protect trees. The singer, Paul Armfield, mentioned earlier, not only sings songs about trees, but protects them too. If you live in the Isle of Wight, you will be aware of his Songs Beneath the Trees Project – check it out. If you live in Plymouth, consider joining Moor Trees, a brilliant organisation planting trees on the moorland.

Join us, the Rebel Botanists and learn about trees and wildflowers through creative street art practices. Wherever you live, there should be something going on with nature protection at its heart.

Thirdly, why not plant a tree in your garden, or join a local ‘Friends of…’ group that care for your local park.

If you teach, embed sustainability and environmental good practice in to your curriculum and, even better, do it outside: outdoor learning is far more exciting and memorable than reading information from workbooks. 🙂👍🌳

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.

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.

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?

However, nature provides beauty against this ugliness…

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 

Did you know that Wales is one of the top performing countries in the world for waste recycling? Travelling through to Pembrokeshire, for a 4-day visit, this became evident: hardly a scrap of roadside litter to be seen. What joy! And so began this mini Rebel Botanists adventure.

Pembrokeshire has an impressive 186-mile coastal path. We stayed at the start of it, in an eco-farm at Llanteg.

Close by, at Amroth, a giant fish sculpture stood proudly beside the pebble and sand beach, composed of re-used plastic bottles. It exemplified the care given towards cleaner seas by the local residents. It was pleasing to see that all the beaches we visited, along this coastline, were Blue Flag awarded.

The eco-farm owners,Terri and Tom, had a recycling bin for every waste stream, their fields flourished with wildflowers and grasses and they had a beautiful woodland to explore, which we did.

As we walked towards the mixed broadleaf trail, across the valley we could see a monocrop of conifer covering the hills; a sign of the slaughter of World War 2. It represented not only the slaughter of the trees that once stood there, but all the wildlife it had once supported and the subsequent depletion of wildlife since. Wars take, not just human life but, wildlife too. Once we entered Terri and Tom’s dense woodland, we were thrilled by the rich variety of life all around us, stimulating our senses.

Soft, inviting mossy blankets carpeted the gnarly oak, Quercus, boughs; other epiphytic plants were springing up from the embracing verdant branches.

All around, lacy polypody ferns, Polypodium vulgare, and silky-smooth Hart’s Tongue, Asplenium scolopendrium, were growing resplendently. Little wildplants were springing up before us, as we made our way along the muddy track: self-seeded oaks, elders, Sambucus nigra, hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, holly, Ilex, and rowan, Sorbus.

Tiny flies were buzzing everkywhere and birds were around to feed on them, flitting from tree to tree, we identified Song Thrush, Turdus philomelos, Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus, and the European Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis, amongst many others. This woodland was full of life, life on life and every shade of green imaginable. 

We noticed some of the oaks were distinctly tall and slim, stretching their arms high to find the sunlight above other established trees. Having recently read Guy Shrubsole’s book, The Lost Rainforests of Britain, we wondered… could we be walking in a fragment of lost temperate rainforest? Many of the plants we saw were indicators, and this area of Wales is recognised as being in the climatic zone which would have supported the swathes of ancient woodland that once covered ‘over perhaps a fifth of Britain’. Now, sadly,  ‘less than 1%’ remains.

However, thanks to this diligent couple who are allowing nature to come back over their land, we may just have experienced a rainforest walk.

Our journey took us on to St David’s – the smallest city in Britain – with a population of just over 1,300 people; a village really, with a huge and impressive cathedral. It was here that The Lost Words exhibition at Oriel y Parc was on show. The author of the book, of the same name, Robert McFarlane wrote: “What we do not love we will not save”, so with, “more than 50% of species in decline”, we clearly need to learn to love nature again. 

The book began as a protest against the ‘removal of everyday nature words from a widely used children’s dictionary’; however, it has also become an assemblage of words, illustrations and spells to raise awareness of our diminishing wildlife.
In a world where nature is fast being exploited and depleted, the words and the very existence of wildlife, should be a primary focus for everyone, not being eradicated from children’s reference books.

Education is at the forefront of the Rebel Botanists’ activities; if people have the knowledge and understanding of the intricate and vital connections of biodiversity, then hopefully they would make more ethical lifestyle choices.

The beautiful words and imagery of this exhibit enthused some chalking, and off we went… in different villages and towns naming wildplants, and even a beached jelly!

We must not allow the words of nature to be lost, nor the last remaining ancient temperate rainforests. Instead, we must nurture and revitalise them. Talk, chalk and walk in nature, you’ll feel better for it 💚

What’s in a name?  Well, when we’re talking about wildplants, there’s rather a lot!
As Rebel Botanists, we’re very keen to discourage the broadly used label ‘weeds’. Oh, it almost makes me shudder to say/write it! Thank goodness, and at last, the RHS agrees too, according to a recent Guardian report
(https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/25/chelsea-flower-show-gardens-rebrand-weeds-hero-plants) which has headlined them as ‘hero’ plants.

“Sheila Das, a garden manager at Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Wisley in Surrey, said gardeners should stop using the term “weeds” in a derogatory way…Tom Massey at the Royal Entomological Society (RES) said there’s a lot of stigma around the word ‘weed’.

The word has become a very derogatory one, that is clear, conjuring up distaste, verging on hatred. It reminds me of school playground name-calling; it seems the human species are very good at creating words to fix things into convenient boxes, paying little attention to individuality, and very often using these words to belittle and discredit. But, why? Why do we do this?

This fixation to turn the positive into a negative, I feel, generates hatred and possibly the seeds of poor mental health. In the case of wildplants, it is also completely unwarranted.
Nature’s wildflowers are indeed heroes.

Many wildflowers are vital to wildlife health, as well as our own.
Did you know, the Dandelion, for example:
“is full of vitamins A, B, C and D, as well as minerals, such as iron, potassium, and zinc. The leaves are used to stimulate the appetite and help digestion. Dandelion flower has antioxidant properties. Dandelion may also help improve the immune system. Herbalists use dandelion root to detoxify the liver and gallbladder, and dandelion leaves to help kidney function.” https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/dandelion).
“Dandelions are an important early source of food for pollinators – so let them grow!” say the Wildlife Trust on their website.

With a massive 60% decline in flying insects, in just the last 20 years, there can be no excuse to cut these vital food sources.
“…we would starve without plants, we wouldn’t be able to breathe without plants. And yet people’s understanding about plants, except in a very kind of narrow way, has not kept up with that.” David Attenborough stated in 2022. (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/david-attenborough-the-green-planet-appeal)
Wildflower heroes are in your gardens, on grass verges, climbing up the walls, nestled by trees – they are both beautiful and vital. We have to see them for the individuals they are and what they bring to this incredible planet.

Please research each one as you come across them, to understand their value. Look at reliable sources of information, e.g. Plantlife.org.uk, Wildlifetrust.org, Woodlandtrust.org.uk, Britishlichensociety.org.uk and so on.  You’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn.
Remember, we probably know less than 15 percent of the value of nature around us. There could be species going extinct today, that may cure some of our cancers or prevent dementia. There is still so much we do not yet know.

So, whilst we can start to replace that horrible ‘w’ word for wildplant heroes, let’s also consider using the specific names to identify the plants we are referring to – it really does help.

If you’re lucky enough to have these lovely delicate pale pink wildflowers in your garden, or on a nearby verge, then you may know it’s called a Cuckoo flower.

However due to cultural/regional differences you may know it as Lady’s Smock, Mayflower or Milkmaids. So, how can we be sure we are all looking at the same flower?  Enter Latin, to solve that problem.

Latin offers stability of recognition across the world. So regardless of the regional names, we know this flower is recorded as Cardamine pratensis. Pratensis is Latin for meadow, so we know this is predominantly found in meadowlands. Cardamine is a large genus of flowering plants in the mustard family, Brassicaceae, known as bittercresses and toothworts. It contains more than 200 species of annuals and perennials. Species in this genus can be found worldwide, except the Antarctic, in diverse habitats. (Wikipedia). The leaves of the flowering plant are used to treat chronic skin complaints and asthma. It has beneficial digestive and stimulant properties, also (https://www.conservationhandbooks.com/wildflowers/cuckooflower). Importantly, it is a valuable source of food for many species of bees, hover-flies, moths and butterflies, including the Orange-tip, Anthocharis cardamines, that feed on the flowers and lay eggs on the leaves, which their larva will later feed on.

If we refer back to the delightful Common Dandelion, its Latin name is Taraxacum officinale.  Officinale tells us this wildflower has uses in medicine, herbalism and cookery. The first part of the name, Taraxacum, is Arabic meaning ‘bitter herb’.  However, the word Dandelion comes from the French dents-de-lion, referring to the yellow floral rays resembling the shape of lions’ teeth.

You see, when we really think about how we use words, they can be to all of our advantage, educational and fascinating!  So, let’s start losing the derogatory labels and reveal our wildlife heroes through the use of their individual names and appropriate use of language.