So going forward into the next decade the emphasis is going to be more on independence, less on mainstream society and more of being part of a community with shared values. Hoping that our small company/organisation can support regional and global objectives by helping to implement initiatives and opportunities on the front line. So even though there may not be an official global nature conservation corporation we will act as if we are part of one by supporting leads and implementing initiatives from where ever they might come and hopefully the community that we are part of will all evolve into something more coherent , structured and influential.
The key regional and global objectives that will benefit us most is incentives for environmental friendly businesses, penalties and high taxes for the bad guys, better nature conservation policies and enforcement and more representative government at all levels, particularly local government for us. So will we be supporting and campaigning for that higher level framework as we will need it to achieve things on the ground.
Here's a few key objectives on our projects LITTLE OAK GROUP over this year and the coming decade.
LITTLE OAK ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Website
Website
After successfully navigating through the stormy brexit muddied waters of 2019, I'm predicting at least one or more years of difficult economic times as everyone still tries to get some orientation on where things are heading. It gives us time to tighten things up, push some of our wildlife friendly products/services and scope out any potential for growth, which we ideally hope to achieve through franchising. Keeping things ticking over and tidying things up is the 2020 plan.
AZORES NATURE
Research Gate Log Here
Research Gate Log Here
Really hoping for a big push on this in 2020. We've got a new website due to be launched soon, hope to make progress by working with friends and partners with catching up on the Azores Rare Bird Report and the Azores Bird List, got one or two papers due to be published and with any luck will be marketing both our trips, the Azores Safari and the Birder's Pelagic and increasing our social media impact.
THE BALKAN ECOLOGY PROJECT
Blog here
Blog here
I'm heading off to the Black Sea next week to finalise the purchase on a 2000 m2 piece of land within a Natura 2000 network area. The plan is to spend several weeks over the Spring and Autumn to build a small naturalists lodge, develop a wildlife garden/mini reserve with photography hides and set up wildlife recording systems. Eventually hoping to invite guests to stay on the mini lodge. Very excited about this!
GHANA PROJECT
Trip Report sample here
Trip Report sample here
The plan this year is to revisit the target/study area and continue with the birds and lepidoptera inventory to look for any ecological unique selling points.
THEE BRYANS/ ACTIVISM/ EXTINCTION REBELLION
The plan is to record some new songs and also perform at the Carshalton Environmental Fair. We are planning on supporting Extinction Rebellion and will campaign for a local focus on the issues at Beddington Farmlands. With the local councillor elections coming up in 2022, also want to support any initiatives to have local councillors that support local nature or to replace those councillors with those that do.
BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS/HACKBRIDGE PROJECT
Having to deal with people who are legally obliged to create a major nature reserve in London but who are not interested in nature or nature conservation is absolute hell so stepping well back from all this from now on. Lessons have been learnt- do not waste your time trying to work with or help people who don't care about what you care about - its better to use activism and political gaming on them.
Planning on still visiting the farmlands at least once a week, hoping that I can hand over all the report writing to another group member (or scrap it all together as its only used as toilet paper), will try and automate and simplify systems as much as possible (we have been providing champagne services for beer drinking decision makers so we can de-civilise down to their levels and save a lot of work) and happy to review documents and plans and support committee members in challenging corruption and also supporting activist groups in maintaining pressure. After a small leap forward in 2019 ahead of the petition hearing (where they quickly carried out a few cosmetic works), the next four years are going to be Viridor dragging their feet along,attempting to reach a crisis point where they will try and persuade stakeholders to scale down ecological ambitions and we will then get to the end of 2023 (the legal completion date) with the reserve incomplete and a potential horrendous legal quagmire for all involved where they will push for a quick finish and open it in a shadow of the form it was planned. All we can do is maintain and apply sustained pressure on them at every level and using every means possible, expose them locally and nationally for their ecocide and corporate hypocrisy (they masquerade as an environmentally friendly business) while not loosing any sleep over it. We've already wiped out three local councillors and the local MP and we will wipe out the lot in 2022 local elections if there isn't more opposition to the Viridor agenda and more support for localism from our local councillors.
So here's to 2020 and beyond!
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