PLANS FOR 2018

So it's that time of year again to make some plans with the intent of projecting them as far as possible  into the thick treacle of current times and see how far they get in the face of chaos as the Sixth Extinction escalates. Each year my ambitions get less and less ambitious. If I'm still doing this blog tradition in ten years time I can see these ambitions amounting to getting out of my pyjamas and stop licking the window.

Who knows in the not so distant future following insufferable prolonged self-inflicted misery at the brink of total annihilation our society will turn against the Capitalist Cult and start building a society that values nature and  human well being above everything else. In the meantime trying to save as much as possible and get it through the bottleneck is all that can be done so here are my over enthusiastic and doomed plans for 2018.

BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS AND HACKBRIDGE

1) Stand as a Green Party Candidate in the local councillor elections to campaign for more local community engagement with nature, the implementation of the local neighbourhood biodiversity plan and the opening of the reserve. Also campaign for rent caps and compulsory living wage in the ward so that people can afford time off to enjoy the local nature. Escalate the campaign both locally and wider to peak around the time of the local elections and deliver the petition (now over 4000 supporters) to the Head of Council and request a formal hearing.

2) Scale down the volunteer effort for Viridor. A fundamental error has been treating Viridor as if they are a conservation organisation. Conservation Organisations (and decent companies) treat volunteers as the priceless goods they are but generally Corporations see volunteers as complete idiots who they can milk for green wash so anything we produce that Viridor can use for green washing will be charged at corporate rates. Any money we make from that can go back into the conservation effort.

3) Support the local neighbourhood development group in re-applying to the Community Fund for local area biodiversity improvements and integration with the developing nature reserve. Viridor already blocked this road by rejecting three applications in 2017 presumably as part of their agenda to water down any local community aspirations about the reserve development and to support their agenda to default as much as possible on planning conditions.


LITTLE OAK TREE AND GARDEN CARE 

1) Integrate biodiversity improvements into our tree and green space management plans and push hard to our management company partners

2) Maintain the current three team configuration and attempt to develop a new cell with the cell being run as an autonomous unit run from a central blueprint- i.e. attempt to generate organic growth/ cell division.

3) Increase defence and security- following loses of £75K in the last two years to theft, security is going to be a big issue as the social and economic environment declines around us.

AZORES NATURE 

1) Attempt to make progress with the report backlog.

2) Maintain the current natural history and pelagic trips and maintain support/promotion of the autumn vagrant season.

THEE BRYANS

1) Live performance in March 2018

2) Work on a video


OTHER

1) Travel plans in 2018 include a visit to Ghana, Malta, a road trip in the summer and trips to the Azores.

2) Look into moving house