The Problems with Being Green

Hi all,

So...I have been thinking, pondering and drafting as to how to write this blog post. What do I say? How do I say it? Does anyone read this? All of these thoughts have passed through my very active mind during the past weeks and this is what I have come up with. First of all though, a quick update.

Birdfair
I had the amazing privilege to attend Birdfair 2013 in Rutland a few weeks back and the original idea was to dedicate a blog post to it, but there have been many blog posts about this amazing wildlife festival (one can be found here: http://wildeaboutbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/rutland-bird-fair-2013-people-not-bird.html). This is a post by the awesome Finlay Wilde, a young chap who gives me hope for the future. To sum up Birdfair, it was all about meeting amazing people, exchanging ideas, creating friendships and doing as much bird-watching as humanly possible. I could not have asked for more, so thank you to everyone that I met.

Me
Well, to say that my life is a roller-coaster would pretty much sum things up over the past few weeks. Many things have happened, but most are quite personal and I cannot really say. One thing is that I am single once again, my depression is still with me, but under more and more control and I am definitely heading in the right direction. I am now also taking swimming lessons (for a reason to be revealed at a later date), am playing football again AND my families of Swallows have decided to nest again, which has put a big smile on my face. It will be a sad day when they leave for the warmth of Africa.

The Post
Anyhow, the reason why I feel the need to do a piece of writing is that after a session with my amazing Life Coach/Counsellor (http://www.helloglowcoaching.com) the issue of how conservationists and naturalists are perceived came into the conversation, and it has made me think a considerable amount as to how we are all perceived by the media and general public.
Communicating about the natural world is one of my great passions, I want to be on the radio, television and leading guided walks to tell people how lucky we are and how important the natural world is to all of our lives.
The problem with being green is that we all come across a little too negative, a movement that is in the back, fighting for what is right for us and wildlife, but not for the economy or for the normal person, a movement that is quite selfish, old and just moans all of the time. Harsh, but true, and in my current job the media just treat all wildlife stories as a side project, a bit of quirky fun that fills the last few seconds of a news programme.
But why?...why? why? why? It is something that I do not really have an answer for to be honest, but it is something I am determined to change. This is the planet we live on we are talking about, not some fashion product. This is where we live.

The truth is, the environmental movement does not just fight for wildlife, but for people, for the economy and to try and create another way of life that will be happier, cheaper and less harmful to all of us. Greening cities, more open spaces, community programs to bring people together and bring smiles to peoples faces. One question to ask yourself...When the weather is sunny, warm and pleasant, where do we all go? Inside?...
There is no doubting that we are destroying this planet, big time, and if it crumbles into dust, then who do you think will suffer? Us. Food prices will go up, the economy will crash... etc etc etc, blah, blah, blah...I do not want to preach and tell you what will happen (I will leave that to Greenpeace etc).

The thing is, we cannot go on like we are. On the flip side we have this incredible, amazing, once in a lifetime, once in human history opportunity to change the way we live. Something that can be so positive and solve many of the problems we face. The research is there, the technology is there, but the communication and public image is not and that is something that needs to change. It is something I am determined to change, for my family, for wildlife and for everyone else.

Here is one brilliant story I will leave you with:
http://www.livescience.com/6399-5-minutes-nature-boost-mental-health.html


SLQ