Propaganda

When Sheffield Wildlife Trust pins notices on Blacka you’re advised to read between the lines and with imagination. There’s usually more than a little imagination gone into the writing of them. With SWT the assumption must be that every statement is spinning a story they want you to believe in order to massage your perception of themselves as an organisation. So nothing should be taken at face value. All is part of a constructed narrative for the unwary to swallow.

They have put two notices up on the gates. One is the dreaded one we knew was coming but just hoped it wouldn’t appear, the one telling us they are bringing their ‘crop & crap cows’ onto the moor, their anti-nature storm troops. We’ve examined this sceptically over the years and there’s not much more to say apart from that it’s pretentious nonsense.

The other is this one.

What it suggests to anyone coming fresh to it might be this.

Last year, near where people walk with their dogs some lapwings have bred. The dog-walkers had co-operated with SWT. It would be really appreciated if other dog walkers who didn’t know about this made their dogs behave as well.

This is being economical with the actualité to say the least. If the lapwings bred on Blacka (and it’s possible, about as possible as that SWT might sometimes tell the truth) they did not nest anywhere near the places that dog walkers – and really all other visitors – go. They may have bred at the far side of an adjoining area known as the inby land that most people probably don’t even consider to be part of Blacka. It’s the cropped grassy enclosure usually full of boring sheep and covered with their smelly faeces. People don’t enjoy walking there and would struggle to find a decent place to sit down never mind have a picnic. It would be a long way from the bridleway and there is only one other path from which any of the few passers through rarely deviate. There is very little to attract most people although there are badgers and hares and, at the moment, wheatears.

Two years ago SWT dug some scrapes especially to attract lapwings so they want to be able to say it’s been a success and it may have been. I did see a quite large group of passing lapwings at the top of the pastures on two occasions but I rarely returned partly due to a foot injury and partly because it was so unpleasant unlike the previous year when they had problems with their sheep and it was covered in wild flowers. I might have expected to see signs of more regular ones but could have simply missed them

I specially like the ‘Thank You’ bit. It’s promoting a narrative of co-operation between the public and SWT which they hope will translate into more supporters and the idea that they’re good eggs after all despite their incompetence and insistence on messing up everything they do. But then some newer visitors could not be aware of that.