What Are They For?

Gradgrind might have asked "What are flowers for?" And then "Do they contribute to the economy?"

This Orchid is growing outside the supposed Nature Reserve managed by SWT on Blacka. It's beside the track running along from the car park. There would be Orchids and other wild flowers on the Nature Reserve if it were left alone but SWT decided to turn the place into farmland with cows and sheep which eat and defecate everywhere they can. The farm animals bring in farm grants and that helps to pay SWT's mortgage.That's what the cows and sheep are for. But what are wild flowers for or even nature itself? Wild flowers bring in no money so they can be ignored or trampled underfoot. Last week there were many wild flowers, Orchids and others in the meadows at Great Dixter and Sissinghurst. Even at Longshaw Orchids grow where the Ha Ha keeps the sheep off the grass. Nature here though is not a priority. Farming is. The Trustees approve, clearly. They must approve of the decision to ignore appeals to keep the cows off the Bog Asphodel. The cows have been there again. The best site for these flowers has again been trampled and given the full cow treatment. In previous non grazing years this very spot was a riot of yellow star flowers.

In addition SWT has failed to maintain the Right of Way nearby. It has become severely muddy and people now walk to the side themselves trampling the flower site.

The roadside verges fighting off  fumes from HGVs fare better.

The people who are supposed to keep SWT up to scratch are their Trustees. Do they know what's going on? Can they defend it? I doubt they even care. So what are they for?

SWT Trustees:

Chair - Anne Ashe
……. a geographer and retired chartered town planner.

Vice Chair - Philip Warren
……. has worked in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield since 1990.

Treasurer - Roderick Lees
……. an interest in the preservation of landscape and the sustainability of resources.

David Bird
…….. an Environmental Health Officer, …… from Sheffield Council where he was Head of Waste Management.

Ann Clegg
…… a retired education professional and enthusiastic lover of the countryside.

Neil McIvor
………. currently Chief Statistician in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Richard Pethen
……….. graduated in Metallurgy in Birmingham then went on to gain a PhD in Cambridge.

Alice Puritz
……. works as a trainee solicitor, and is currently working full time for her firm’s pro bono legal team on a variety of charity-related projects, including some environmental and conservation matters.

Peter Quinn
……. has a degree in Environmental Science

Margaret Spencer
……… a career in research and management in the Biological Sciences.

Patrick Vaughan
……… a bird watcher since childhood, ……. researched the early history of SWT, and wrote the Sheffield entry for The Wildlife Trust's Centenary volume published in 2012

Greg Whitmore
…….. more than 15 years experience managing technical teams and working with land owners, property developers, masterplanners, lenders and lawyers.

Tony Whiting
……… trained as a Geography teacher and eventually managed a Residential Study Centre in the Welsh Marches.