Conservation? Mainstream?

I have been thinking about how to write this blog post for a long, long time. In my head I know what I want to write, I just have been unable to communicate it properly as soon as the typing starts. This one is especially important as it is all to do about how we as naturalists/filmmakers and conservationists communicate to the general public. This is what I really care about.

It has honestly being going around my head for weeks now, ideas, thoughts, quotes, you name it. First of all, what I am going to be is blunt and honest and say that as a profession we are pretty poor at communicating to everyone else, and the planet is not getting any healthier. The problem is that wildlife conservation is seen as a niche, a fashion statement so to speak, a topic and subject that is trending now and again, but is not really taken seriously and is not connected to the real issues of our economies, health system's, education systems and communities, because if it was then our politicians would not be kicking us into the bin, which is what they are basically doing. To put it simply, wildlife conservation is not seen important enough to do anything for, which makes me so, so sad and becomes even more ridiculous every time you read that, over and over again.

To sum it all up, our Prime Minister, David Cameron has recently said that he wants to do away 'with all the green crap', when it comes to our energy bills. Speechless...

If things are to really change, we need a bigger movement, a shift in our communities and to do this we need to stop preaching to the 'converted' (I hate saying that as we are not a religion) and to take a different direction. I know what this direction is, but I am going to stew on the idea until I really get it right. This then leads me to the alternatives to our government, if we really care about our environment, who do we vote for? (Unless you are Russell Brand and you do not vote, and I totally understand his views on politics).
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the Green Party, surely? I am an environmentalist and love the outdoors, so surely I would vote for them? And yet, I am not sure, there is just something about the party that makes me back off and think about this, which I hate saying (apologies to The Green Party).
But why? Why am I so apprehensive about the Green Party? Considering how much I love wildlife. I think, like many organisations they are stuck a bit in the 1980's or 1990's, a bit this, a bit that and not really with it, so to speak. It is really hard to explain, but I just do not think they are 'real-life' enough, which goes back to the start of this post. They suffer from the same problem as we all do, they are just not seen as relevant. A bit of a fashion statement.

I could talk about this for hours, so to cut things short, if I were to lead the green party I would be more direct, more aggressive, more clear on my policies, I would create a link between the environment and how it can help the economy, our families, our energy worries and tackle issues that effect the lives of everyday people. (They may actually be doing this, I am just not aware of it). Basically, there are decades of scientific research to show how the environment can make us happier, healthier and help grow our economy, we need to embrace it and to tackle things head on. Stop being a movement/party on the side and to actually start wrestling with everyone else. At the moment, they are too quiet, I would also consider a name change as well as Green party just makes me think of activism, rather than a body capable of running the country.

The ethos would be community and social engagement, to create a different identity for the MP's of the Green Party compared to everyone else, I want real-life MP's that people can engage with (tough, I know). We also need to do this for the environmental movement as well, or nothing will change quick enough.

Here is one final thought. Imagine how amazing it would be, imagine the social change if Cheryl Cole, Andy Murray and other high-profile 'celebrities' (do not like that word at all) started speaking out about conservation issues as well as working as patrons for wildlife charities. It would change everything. There is your different route...

slq

It really is time to talk...

Hi all,

Sometimes I am not a great fan of sitting myself down in a quiet place to write what is on my mind, or what I feel needs to be talked about. I would much prefer to be outside, swinging in the trees, planting trees and putting up bird boxes, in other words each blog post needs to be mean something to me for me to actually write on here (which I am sure you can tell if you have read any of my previous posts).

Originally I had planned to write a bit about what I am planning to do next, but then this news story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24818048) has shot into the media today and it has put many thoughts and ideas into my head.
If you have not read the article, a new report and review of medical records has shown that depression is now the second biggest cause disability in the world, pretty crazy ay? (No pun intended).

One thing is for sure and that is mental illness cannot  be under-estimated or ignored anymore, it is a debilitating disease that will effect 1 in 4 of us for some parts of our lives.
But, what I am always asking myself is why? Why is depression on the increase? Why are people becoming more unhappy? This is the key question, one that we all must ask ourselves…why is mental health becoming more common? Then a whole range of issues come into view, solvable ones.

Personally, I feel it is the way we live our lives, our hectic, non-stop, stressful lives that are topped by the pressures brought to us by technology. I know from personal experience that I sometimes get swept up by social media and sitting in front of screen, letting my mind compare myself with everyone and everything, which does me no good whatsoever. How many times have we all compared our lives with our friends on Facebook? It does us no good at all and will only lead to negative opinions of ourselves.
I really feel that we need to put less focus on material wealth, money and what we have and more on inner wealth or depression will become biggest health issue across the globe, as our lives become more hectic, more stressful and more distant from what we really want.

I know that I have not been too happy as of late because I feel trapped, like life is passing me by and that I am not doing enough of what I love. Yes, my mind has distorted this to a certain extent, but I do think the core issue of not leading the lives we want is one of the core factors for depression.

The solution? 4 day working weeks, 1 day to volunteer with charities, less technology, more green open spaces and more family time.
A quick sentence to an awfully complicated subject but the research is there to help us, especially when we look at the benefits of the natural world. A variety of green, open, wild, spaces means a healthy vibrant community and that is backed up by ALOT of science.
We are all different, but I know I am at my most happiness when I am outdoors and there is nothing but piece and quiet and I finally have time to myself.

It really is time to talk about how we live our lives, how we can can things for the better and how the natural world can help us with this. I am not trying to preach the natural world, I just think we all deserve to be happy as life is too short not to be, but at the moment we seem to be going the other way.

SLQ  

Discovering Depression

Before you read this, this post was originally written a few months back, when I was in quite a dark place and I was struggling to see how to get out of it. This piece was originally written for Mind, the mental health charity, but the headlines in my local newspaper in Jersey have triggered me to post this. We need to talk about mental health, why is their a stigma for your brain, the most complex organ on the planet, going wrong. Why?

I hope this manages to help some people and to maybe blow this issue open a bit.

SLQ

Hi all,

I will fully admit now before I write this that I am not quite sure where this piece of writing will go. I have just completed my first session of karate for 2 months and my mind is unravelling and doing silly things so I am going to share this with you.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought as a kid that I would have depression and battle it for a number of years, it is pretty rubbish I can tell you that. Looking back I have probably had it for the last 10 years or so, but I had no idea what mental health was or how it could affect my life back then. I just thought the constant battles with my mind were normal and I was just weak and pretty much not good enough, so I battled on and on and on until I snapped. It literally took two mini breakdowns for me to realise that I needed to talk to someone. In the end when I look back it all stems from me being a victim of some heavy bullying at school as well as my parents divorce and the break up of what was a sturdy family unit.  Being told you were crap and rubbish (that is putting it mildly) and then beaten up for 5 years at school was not good. The problem was I had no idea I was cracking up, not a clue.

I am currently sitting here in my room with my karate gear still on, trying to think of a way to describe depression or tell you what it is. The thing is, I can’t, it is all in the mind and it is different for everyone. All I can really talk about is my experiences and myself.

You know I am struggling to hold everything in at the moment as I am a little fed up of the battle and the strength needed to battle this illness, it is so, so tiring to battle your negative thoughts every single day. With me, it just takes my identity away once it is triggered, Stephen the person is gone and what’s left is this anxious, mumbling, nervous, paranoid wreck who think he is not good enough for anyone or anything and who has no motivation for anything. I hate it, I really do, it has wrecked large parts of my life and a lot of the time it has only been my sheer stubbornness that has got me through.

I am pretty much in pieces at the moment, as I just know how much it wrecks me and takes away who I am. That is what it does! It takes away my identity! Imagine knowing who you are but not being that person because your mind will not let you, that is what it is for me…it affects me in so many ways, and even now, 2 years after I finally realised that I needed help, I am still discovering new ways about what depression is for me. I am still discovering about how it is triggered, how my view of the world is not quite correct and how my passion and desire for the natural world just disappears into a black hole with the words “you are not good enough to do this”.  That really upsets me, as the environment is my greatest passion and I am determined to change the world, the problem is that my mind at the moment is not playing ball.

The last couple of years have been one hell of a battle and I have needed my friends and family to help me, especially my youngest sister, even though I would never admit it.

I have had the CBT, the one on one counselling sessions and the drugs, it has been one hell of a long haul, but I refuse to give up because I know one day that I might actually be happy with me.  The hardest step is to admit things are wrong, after I admitted this I felt as if a huge weight came off my shoulders.

If you are reading this then I hope this has helped in some way, it has been quite a strong bit of writing, which is how I can be sometimes.

I am very open about my depression, which helps me as it makes me feel more normal, so if you are reading this and would like some advice or anything, then I am sure my contact details are on this page, I am always happy to help.

The main thing is depression is far from being rare, many, many people suffer in silence. You are definitely not alone.

Take care and I do hope to write here again sometime soon.

Stephen

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

Don't Call Me Crazy

Hi all,

If you are reading this I hope you are well and enjoying the outdoors.

Originally I planned this blog to be about my experiences as a naturalist and conservationist as I know it is a bit of a secret world, but once again I find myself writing about mental health, with a particular focus on myself. To be honest, I am not a great fan of writing of talking about myself because I dislike being the centre of attention. However I feel it is more important for people to get an insight as to what depression and mental health issues are and to also tell everyone that if you are suffering then you are not alone by a long, long shot.

What has really sparked off this piece of writing is a programme on BBC Three called 'Don't Call Me Crazy' and it is a documentary covering the stories of an NHS mental health institute for teenagers aged 13 to 17. I highly recommend it as it is quite an eye opener and you are able to watch it on the BBC iplayer.
I related to the patients and staff and they are quite brave to actually go on television and talk about their minds and how they suffer from OCD, Depression, panic attacks or have voices telling them what to do. In the end many of these problems have been created by family issues and a lack of stability whilst growing up. Anyway, it is a must watch from my point of view.

The link to the episodes is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01b86w5/episodes/guide

Over the last couple of months I have been steadily improving as I am now off my medication, which was bloody tough to do. As soon as I came off it my insecurities came back and the withdrawal symptoms messed me up a bit. I was dizzy, had bursts of light in my eyes (hard to explain) and suffering from nausea for a couple of weeks before it faded away. I did a bit of research and realised this was normal for the drug I was taking, even in low doses.

Ok, that is enough about me, all I really wanted to say is that the programme made me realise that I do not think you can really understand depression/anxiety unless you actually go through it. That may sound harsh but the problem with mental health is that you cannot really see it physically and everyone thinks it is made up or not very serious. HELLO! NOT THAT SERIOUS?! This is your brain effectively being ill, it is on full shutdown mode and is struggling to cope with the real world and when you stop and think about it, that is huge, really huge. Your brain is you, it is everything you are.
The best way I can explain is that it is like someone has sucked out your brain and who you are and left you with an empty space. You then need to try bit by bit to find your mind again, which is done piece by piece. To think this all goes on in such a tiny space, but then again the mind is the earth's most complicated product of evolution.

Some people can be quite shocked as to how open I am about all of this, but to be honest I am not ashamed, this is just who I am. It does help me to explain things in words as it makes it more real and straightforward, but I mainly write this to help other people as I am coming out of the other side. I am here to help people who are struggling and feel messed up because of the crazy, unhealthy lives that we lead.

If you find me on Twitter and Facebook then I am always here for advice and information and a little help. I am not a medical professional by a long way but I felt the loneliness, the sadness, the feelings of suicide, the OCD and the belief that I am not good enough for this world (holy shit that is big!).

Hopefully this may be my last mental health post for a while, we will see. I do actually love to chat, talk and get wrapped up in the natural world. That is the real me, but I need to find a healthy, stable place first.

Just remember that you are not alone...

Take care,

SLQ

(Twitter: @slequesne)

P.S. A great book to read is 'Sane New World' by Ruby Wax.

This is Who I am...

Hey all,

Are you ready for this one?...

I was not planning to write a piece on my blog for a while but I have been challenged by my life coach to write something about who I am, so this is it (that is my disclaimer!).

I suppose I have not been honest about everything I want to achieve as I did not want to come across as arrogant or someone that seeks the limelight for the wrong reasons.

So here you go Linzi, this is for you and for everyone else who knows me and believes in me...

So who am I? I am me, a naturalist/conservationist/scientist and someone who has a passion for the natural world, who believes in the natural world and who will protect it for the rest of my life.

This passion inside me I have ignored in the past just due to sheer embarrassment and insecurity of feeling different...but no more. I have this light and burning desire inside of me that from now on I am going to embrace, but I will need all of your help. 

Throughout my whole life all I have ever wanted to do is good, to do the right thing and be a hero, yes that sounds a bit silly but it is true. I want to stand up and be counted, to lead and create an example for everyone else to gain inspiration from.

This planet is amazing, it is special, unique, crazy, beautiful, ridiculous, inspiring and brutally honest and I want to be here to save it, to stand up and be a role model.

There has been quite a bit of talk lately about the successor of David Attenborough and to be honest there will never be one as he is unique. What we do need is more of is conservation heroes, people in the public eye who people trust and who do the right thing and that is who I want to be. 

I have a desire to be that hero, to chat on the radio, to go on the talk shows, to make wildlife programmes and to communicate all that I can about the natural world. I want to be a wildlife television presenter and be the best me I can be, not the best Attenborough I can be, but the best of what I could possibly be.

Not only this but in the future I want to also set my own charity. A charity that focuses on environmental communication that involved education, wildlife filming and photography in the community. Like Gerald Durrell had a vision for his world changing zoo, which I visit weekly, I know exactly what I want. A network of community based wildlife education centres (farms) that run programmes such as Forest School, a place for the community where people can meet, enjoy wildlife and become inspired by it. I want something different, something that will change not only the natural world but the lives of people as well. 

Bloody hell, that is pretty big ay? I told you I was going to be honest and that is all I ever try and be. The thing is, I cannot do this alone, none of us who work in the environmental area can, we need the public to care, to help and get involved.

I think I will leave it there for now as I need some sleep and I am pretty shattered. Hopefully I have made some sense and said something new and not come across as arrogant, even though that is probably just me being insecure and paranoid. 

At the end of the day I just want to do some good as integrity is so important to me. Yes I have my problems with my mental health but I am not afraid of them and fingers crossed that they are now being dealt with and I have come out of the other side. 

I actually feel quite embarrassed to have written this but it is out there now and most of the credit for that goes to Linzi. Thank you Linzi...

Lets hope you hear a lot more from me in the future, lets hope the next journey starts here...

SLQ 

The Heart Never Lies...

Hi all,

Just to let you know that this will again be quite a personal blog, but there are things that I really need to say and just explain.
The past few months have been pretty horrendous (especially January as some good friends have passed away) but as I write this at the start of February 2013 I seem to be finally winning the battle to get myself on that start line once again.

For people who have not read this before for the past 18 months I have been battling depression that I now know I have had for a substantial amount of years (at least 5 I think). It is something I never really realised that I had until I had a small breakdown during the first few months of a relationship.
Anyway, the past few months have been crap, I am not going to lie, I have really struggled to pick myself up this time and of all of the times that I have had to pick myself up and dust myself this has been the hardest by a country mile. One reason for this is that I a not a fan of Christmas and New Year as I get incredibly lonely and have many thoughts of being unwanted and useless over the holiday period. The second reason was the ending of a relationship which ended pretty badly and was so so tough, especially as I was the one ended it. I never thought I would have to end a relationship with someone who I loved that much, who I cared for that much, but now that I step back and analyse I know that I did it for the both of us.

I do actually hope she is reading this as I still think about her every day and for all of the times she was there for me, loved me and helped me through my illness, a part of me will always love her and I will never ever think badly of her. She is truly someone very special and all I want is for her to be happy and I hope she knows this. In the end we both needed to find ourselves again and stand on our own two feet.

As the dust settles and I walk away from one chapter, another one starts. One thing that has really turned things around for me is that I have been seeing a life coach. I must admit that at first I was a bit hesitant but the person who coaches me is a good, good friend and I can honestly say that she has helped me a lot. I feel like she has grabbed me, shaken me around, picked me up and put me back on track and bit by bit started putting me back together. I have always known that I have had the potential to do anything as I believe in my career with everything I have, but has just all become lost over the past couple of years as I have had to come to terms with realising how far my depression goes and how much it has been a part of me for so long.

Lately though things have been looking up and I feel a bit more...well...me...
Ever since I admitted to myself that what has happened in my life has led me to having problems with my mental health I knew that the most important thing was to battle it, fight it and deal with it, otherwise I would have it for the rest of my life. It has been the hardest thing to do and I do not think that people realise how hard it really is for anyone who goes through this. I have had to challenge who I am as a person and basically re-boot my mind and how it perceives everything and I mean everything. Bloody hell it is a hard thing to do and I am not surprised that mental health problems are on the increase as the way we live our lives is just not right. Too much stress, too much pressure, too fast and all the small things that are important just get lost.

I have many things to focus on but my main goal is to become a wildlife television presenter (there I said it!, happy Linzi :P). There has been a lot of focus lately on who will succeed Sir David Attenborough. To be honest there will never been anyone like him but there is someone writing this who wants to be that role model, that point of contact so if there are any industry people reading this I am throwing my hat in the presenter ring so to speak. I am here to tell stories and communicate.

I will leave you by saying that if you are reading this just trust who you are, believe in who you are and remember that your gut instinct and heart never lie, that is the lesson that I have learnt over the past few months and is one I will never forget.

SLQ

The Tragedy of Plemont

Hi all,

I do not know how I am going to write this post or what I am going to say but I will do my best as I am pretty emotional right now.

For anyone that does not know I work for the National Trust for Jersey as their wildlife education officer but during the past weeks i have pushed my education tasks to the side to help with the campaign to save a part of the island's north coast from development. This place is called Plemont and is situated in the north-west of the island and has already had a derelict holiday campy on it for as long as i can remember.
The issue for our government to decide was whether they were going to negotiate with the owner to buy the land back for the people of Jersey and then sell to the Trust so that we can open the land up and return it to coastland heathland. In the end the debate was lost by one vote so there will now be 28 luxury homes built on our coastline, basically a luxury housing estate. I cannot really describe how I feel and I know for a fact that the public have been persuaded by the developer pouring out facts that are just not correct, which really hurts.

I must admit that on my way home I had a bit of a cry, I am even a bit tearful now to be honest. I am so gutted and heartbroken, I feel like we have failed not just the wildlife but future generations. This was a massive opportunity to do something right that will last forever and to show that we do care about Jersey and we have the courage to stand up against developers. As soon as the decision was made we received some phone calls about people who live round the area who have young families, telling us that they are going to have to move home because of the increase in traffic, noise and pollution. I hope the politicians that voted against realise the consequences of their decision.

I hope people realise that the Trust is a very small team. We have no marketing or campaign people and most of our staff have ignored their normal jobs to work on this campaign. All of this effort has only really come from 2 people, one of which has had a life threatening illness. I myself have been working 12 hour days to help out. The Trust is not a rich or large organisation and we only have 3 full time members of staff in the office.

There are also a few facts that have been brought up by most people as to why they were against the purchasing of Plemont. They have been driven into our heads by the developer, but are in fact not true. I will now explain:

1. The developer will return 2/3 of the site to nature - A figure that has seduced the public into thinking we are getting a lot for nothing, this is not true. The actual figure is 30% as much of the landed promised to be returned IS ALREADY OWNED BY THE STATES or is in between the houses and will be a landscaped green. This land in the middle is basically dead space and so will have to be managed using taxpayers money.

2. The site is worth £14 million - This is the figure that the developer wants for the site, IT DOES NOT MEAN that it is worth this much. Independent valuations set the market price for the land at between £4-6 million. The £14 million includes the profit that the developer wants to make, something that is by law, not included when valuing a site. The Trust was committed to paying £3 million of this. (Just so you know the owner payed around £5 million for the site so is likely to make a profit of £10 million).

3. The buildings will not impose on the landscape - Again this is untrue. One of the clusters of houses is set right against the cliff and the development will be visible from Grosnez and Sorel Point. There is now also the potential of more development in the future. 

4. The money used will be better spent in other areas such as health and education - The is again is mis-leading as the money was coming from the emergency contingency fund. This money will never be allocated to anything else as the states have already agreed their financial plan for the next 3 years. They have actually increased spending on health and education. 

There are plenty more of these but one that needs to be said is that the developer has also bought the 3 green fields around the site. Coincidence? Not likely, as this means nobody from the surrounding area can now appeal the decision as they are too far away, plus they may even build on these in the future.
It makes me so sad that the general public seems to have believed everything the developer and architect have said. They have basically lied to the public and you will see this when the houses are built.

What worries me most though is the lack of basic knowledge that our politicians have regarding our natural environment. The eco-system of the headland is going to be ruined forever with severe complications that will in the end cost the taxpayer money forever.
The main underlying point is that to have a health and vibrant economy you need a healthy and vibrant natural environment, which has been proven by decades of scientific research. Our planet contributes billions to our economy and it cost us trillions to solve the problems that we have already caused.
There is also the fact that open spaces improve our physical and mental well-being as well as create a sense of belonging and reduce crime. In a small island such as ours we need open space to get away from it all, to relax and is of the upmost importance as the World Health Organisation predicts that mental health problems will be the 2nd largest health issue by 2020.

All in all I am pretty gutted at the moment and I am sure that when people see the housing development they will ask questions as to why it happened and that the developers plans look different to the actual reality. The legacy of these housing estate will now be with the 25 states members who voted for it and I know that in 10/20/30 years time they will regret their decisions. It is such a shame that the PR machine of the developers seems to have even won over our elected members of government.

If you are reading this I urge you to investigate what the National Trust for Jersey does because they are a great charity that will continue to fight for the protection of our coastline and open spaces. They will continue to question and battle against inappropriate development and protect Jersey's natural heritage. The Trust is an independent charity that does not receive any financial support from the government (unlike Jersey Heritage who receive around £2.5 million per year).

One thing I am going to do tomorrow is to go to Plemont to take some pictures before the bulldozers move in and change the landscape forever.

I am going to leave by saying that this is a decision that will last forever. It is one that my children and their children will now have to live with and I am so sorry for that. Jersey has just lost another part of it that makes it special.

SLQ

The legacy of depression

Hi all,

I am still amazed at how life can be so unpredictable and such a huge roller coaster. You have not heard from me in a while as I have had no idea how to start to even write what has been happening. My eyes are quickly filling with tears just as I write these first few sentences.

Firstly I was going to write about Wildscreen and how I managed to overcome so much of my anxiety problems and really gave that week all that I could. Secondly, this second blog post was going to be called 'How counselling saved me', if only this was the case.

Things have kinda fallen to pieces, especially in the past couple of weeks and I do not want to say too much but once again I am just me. There has been a realisation within me that I do not have the strength or commitment to give 100%, I just cannot do it at the moment, no matter how hard I try. I have tried so so hard but there is just a part of me that refuses to let go of the past, to let go of my anxieties, my issues, my problems. This illness is more than just a phase. I now realise that it is a part of who I am, which really hurts, right down to the core. It brings me to tears, but I must be strong and pick myself up.

I know that I have fought really hard with this and that I have made so much progress, but it is still a learning curve and I still do not know how deep this goes. I have caused so much pain, I feel awful. But, what could I do? continue to fool myself and drift along with all this anxiety and uncertainty? To say to someone that I am fine when in fact I am not 100% reliable? I just could not do that, that is not me and I have always said to myself that I will try and do the right thing in my life. This journey needs to be just me and perhaps I am the only one who understands this.

The realisation that I am not me begs the question of when did this start to happen? It is all so messed up.  I am sorry that this post is more of a ramble rather than anything else as I just do not know what to say or write or do.

It is such a travesty that mental illness has hidden in the shadows for so long because I really do now understand why people take their own lives and how it can make someones life a living hell. The way your mind can change completely so much that you question who you are and what your life is, is one of the worst things anyone can experience.
What I do know is that hiding within me, laying dormant is the love, passion and empathy for the natural world that is a part of me and if I were to fail with this battle with my mind then I would be failing all the animals and plants that I hold so close to me.

I promise that the next post will be a little bit more cheerful but I hope this blog is helping others who are in the same position. To admit that you suffer from anxiety/depression is so so hard but is the first step to recovery, the problem is that due to our hectic lives and the pressures on all of us it is becoming far too common

Until next time...

SLQ

Wildlife Film Academy - Part III

Welcome to the final part (I promise!) of my trip to Botswana to attend the Wildlife Film Academy.

At the end of the second part I left the story at the point where the action was about to start.
After our 9 days of lectures with many hours spent honing our camera skills we were off to the Khwai River Reserve that was interestingly run by a development trust rather than the government.

Before we left we were warned about how 'wild' the area was and that there were no fences and boy were they right. As we arrived at our camping area during the last few hours of the day it was love at first sight for me. We were in the middle of nowhere with nothing but our tents, vehicles and a bush fire to keep the lions and hyenas away, it was truly brilliant.

The wake up time for the next 5 days was 5.30am so that we were all up and ready to go for sunrise and ready I most certainly was.
Over the next few days we all worked together in the two safari vehicles to tick off the shots on our shot lists. I loved every minute of the filming but I must admit that my first morning of filming did not go to plan as I had a nature overload, meaning all of my shots were too short, shakey and just all over the place. I was not happy at the end of my first day, pretty gutted actually, but I became more focused and it remined myself that I was there to learn. It was a pivitol moment for me as it made me understand what needs to be done to film wildlife and to get those shots that portray nature as we all see it.
The film that I was making was all about the people that work with wildlife and the reason why they have chosen this career. I wanted to give an insight into people that do not seek the limelight but who work tirelessly to protect what they love, which in the end effects us all. This meant gave me the first experience of directing interviews and also getting myself infront of the camera! Which I actually really enjoyed, I love talking and communicating to other people about the natural world.
With the subject of my film I was especially looking for shots that portrayed emotion and honesty, those close up shots that would get a reaction from the viewer but in the end it all came down to the wildlife, my film was really in their hands.
The wildlife did not disappoint with hippos cruising in the water, lions stalking at dusk, vultures stripping carcasses, african wild dog resting in the shade and the most amazing experience of following a Leopard at night whilst she hunted. We really did see everything.
My most memorable experience was the first one that made me and the rest of the group speechless as the 4 of us watched and filmed 6 male elephants cross the river and straight past our vehicle, each one stopping and looking at us as the strolled by. It was an experience of power, strength and real beauty.

At the end of the 5 days I was sad to be saying goodbye to Kwai but promised myself that I would return.We now headed back to Maun to start the final stage, editing.
For the next 9 days we were situated at Colin's farm (our safari guide) to edit our 5 minute films. All of the group worked tirelessly during this time to get our films ready and I was determined to learn as much as I could from our lovely editing teaching Caroline. I had never edited anything before but I took to it like a duck to water and became quite ruthless in ditching shots and editing others, I loved putting all my shots together and contributed to the feeling that this was the career path for me (editing tent is below).

Each editing day consisted of breakfast at 8am, lunch at 1pm and dinner at 7pm with all of our other time taken up on Final Cut Pro in the tent above. I also managed a few Euro 2012 matches at Jurgens house, which I was very grateful for and meant more valuable time for me to absorb extra bits of advice.
All good things must come to an end though and on the final day we all put the final pieces together for our films, which also involved me narrating another film, and then put them to DVD, ready for the screening evening.
That evening one by one all of the films were shown with the general consensus being that these were the best films ever produced by the Film Acdemy. Everyone in the group made the film that they wanted to, each as different as the person who made them, each special in their own right.

I am very proud of the film that I made and I am determined that it will not be the last that I make. I have posted my film on Vimeo, which can be found here:

http://vimeo.com/naturafilms

The Wildlife Film Academy exceeded all my expectations and has shown me that I have the eye and creativity for the film-making industry. The next step for me is to get my ideas together, practice my skills and work towards the one opportunity that I need to get into the industry. I feel like all I need is for someone to give me a chance, a single chance to show what I can do, and then I will be away and nothing will stop me creating a career for myself.
I love the camera work, the editing, the film ideas but my heart is set on presenting/narrating and creating my own wildlife films. Watch this space...


Stephen

The Wildlife Film Academy - Part II

So... the time has now come to write the second and final part of my film academy trip blog. Once again life has caught up with me with 4 weeks passing since my last entry with work and the farm keeping me busy.

Here we go...

...The first night in my tent was an absolute dream and I could not have slept better and as I awoke bright eyed at dawn i still smiled at the sheer size of my tent and the fact that I was sleeping on something that resembled a matress.
It was around 6.30am and had received a lovely wake up call from a lovely local woman who worked for the safari company that was part of the experience. For the next 3 weeks she acted as our housekeeper, something I did not expect. She was an amazing lady, kind, caring and with a large bright smile that was always there.
As I stepped out of my tent I quickly adjusted to my surroundings and had a look around, the main hub of the camp I could just see through the trees where a fire was burning away and breakfast was being prepared buy our lovely hopes. I was a happy man and keen to learn everything I could and get underneath the skin of Africa once again.

The next 9 days followed the same schedule with an early wake up call followed by breakfast around the fire, lectures in the morning, lunch, and then lectures in the afternoon. Once this was finished we had a couple of hours to spare before dinner and then time spent around the fire, which was known as the african television (every night it is a different channel!).


During these 9 days me and the other course participants were put through our paces in areas such as scriptwriting, shot selection, story development, pre-production and how to use a camera and to most importantly treat it like it was your girlfriend (Jurgen's term, not mine!). We were told to sleep with our cameras and to get to know them inside out, but to not get emotional with them. We were here to get the shots and make the best films we could. The pictures to the right and below give you an insight as to what the camp was like.


Some of the highlights of the first camp included analysing previous films, learning about how to get ideas commissioned (a massive plus for me) and having the constant battle with the local troop of monkeys so that we kept our lunch. The two that really stand out however were going for a canoe trip along the hippo channels in the delta and getting to know our teacher Jurgen who was honest, straightforward and pasisonate through and through. If I ever make it on television then it will be partly due to the man whose picture is below (who also looks a bit like Gerald Durrell).

Now i was going to explain the 5 days of filming and 9 days of editing but due to the fact that we basically filmed everything we could have dreamed of (Leopard, Wild Dog, Elephant, Lion, Lioness hunting), plus I almost got charged by an elephant whilst filming. So I am going to extend this part of my blog to a 3rd and final part. Apologies, but I feel like I need to do the filming and editing part justice, especially as my learning curve went through the roof.

The Wildlife Film Academy - Part 1

Hi all,
I am currently sitting in my room, the sun is breaking through the clouds outside and the wind is slight and calm. It has been a week since my return from Botswana and the Wildlife Film Academy and now that the dust has cleared and i am more organised it is time to write something about it.

The Wildife Film Academy (WFA) is run by NHU Africa (www.nhuafrica.com) and is a one month intense course designed to give all participants a firm foundation in wildlife film-making and the industry. It is a course i had been wanting to do for over a year but mainly due to work commitments and financial constraints i had to patiently wait until last month to set off.
Ever since i came back from the Meerkat Project my sights have been set on the filmmaking industry, i know that i am clear in my mind as to how i think documentaries should be made, how presenters should present and the stories that need to be told. The main thing though is that i want to know the industry inside out, i am eager to learn. My goals are to present, narrate and make my own films.

For this course the WFA was being run from Maun in Botswana which is the gateway to the Okavango Delta, this meant an 11 hour flight to Johannesburg and then a 3 hour flight to Maun. To be honest i did not mind the flying as i love the independence of it all and i was setting off to do something that i knew i was going to love.
The first point of call was to meet with everyone at Maun at 3pm, the only problem was my flight came in a 12, which meant 3 hours of waiting in an airport i had no clue about, i mean for all i knew it just could have been a shed, but luckily for me it was not. Once we landed the warmth and charm of Africa rushed back to me and i felt like i had returned to my 2nd home. Once in the airpoirt i passed through customs which consisted of two very jolly officials in the smallest wooden compartments i had ever seen that had probably made before i was born. Then the bags were dropped off (i love the simplicty) and i was free to go.
The next step was for me to find a chair, prop up my bags and wait for the cavalry. Being alone in an unknown airport in the middle of nowhere with the African sun outside was a great thrill to me and i enjoyed just looking around and watching the people go about their business. The people of Botswana seemed very laid back and keen to talk to one another. Some chatted in groups while others walked around and calmly got on with their jobs. It was such a change from London and the UK method of doing things.
My wait for companionship though was not long as through a bit of eye contact and a couple of questions i meet one of the other course participants Marli in arrivals and not long after that Khanyo the WFA chief worked calmly through the door. I had a very, very good feeling about him.

From here on in it was all systems go, me and Marli were introduced to the other course participants taking us up to the grand figure of 6 and we then said hello to Jurgen and Tarina our teachers and filmmakers. I cannot really describe easily this amazing couple from Germany, Jurgen has been making films for decades with Tarina and they know the business inside out. What i did not know is that they were the ones who were going to push our films into some of the best ever the academy had produced.

Maun as a town was very much like i expected, a few shopping centres, one main tarmac road, dust everywhere, cars, small metal shacks on the side of the road and people rushing around. Everyone though was polite and friendly and not once did i feel threatened. I flipping loved it.
Our first stop was Camp Tsutsubega Farm, where for 9 days we were going to be taught everything we need to know about the wildlife film-making industry. We were also their to get our films together, learn how to film and handle the camera and to also create our shot lists for filming.
As we drove to the camp we had out first sight of the Delta, which looked magnificent, it had only recently pushed through the town and it was amazing to know that this water had started as storms in Angola and had travelled thousands of miles to where we were.
It took us around 2 hours to go to the first camp and as the sun started to drop i put on my wind breaker jacket and sucked in the clean African air. The drive took us out of Maun and as we drove i made sure i waved to the local people to say hello, who then kindly waved back. Despite the poverty that i witnessed along the way their was always a warm welcome from everyone.

We arrived at camp just as the light faded away. We quickly all grabbed our torches and then went off for a very nice dinner. Once dinner was wolfed down we grabbed our bags and everyone was shown the toilet facilities (long drop!, see picture below), the showers (with Marli, see below) and our tents. I was expecting tent accomodation but what i found was a tent much bigger then expected (see above) with room for all my kit as well as a small washbowl outside so i could brush my teeth. For me this was luxury and i was in my element. I went to bed a very happy man with the reed frogs of the Delta belting out their mating calls and the screeches of monkeys in the trees above. It was great to be back in Africa and i was raring to go...

To be continued...

Depression: A real illness.

I never envisiged this blog becoming an insight into my mind and problems, i wanted it to document my career, to give advice and to share my experience as i know i am so so lucky to do what i love.

I think the title says it all really, depression is a real illness and i am starting to realise that now. Every day i learn more and more about myself and now i realise that this illness has a huge grip on me and it is simply inexcusable the stigma that it is. The human brain is the most complex and amazing organ that we know of and it makes complete biological sense that it can become ill and distorted. It is something we must take notice of, especially due to how stressful and hectic our lives are becoming.

The realisation that hit me today is that this illness is destroying me bit by bit, taking who i am piece by piece and covering everything in uncertainity, negativity and just general rubbishness (i know that is not a real word). It seems to be taking my life away and everything good within it, which has already included the girl that i love, which breaks my heart.
So the line is drawn here, i need to draw the line here, as i scared what might happen otherwise. It is time to go on anti-depressants and to completely stand up to this battle. It feels as if my life is kind of on hold for this, which sucks. Another thing i am going to do is everyday on twitter is to start the day by saying something positive about the day ahead.

I have a huge passion and desire to become a successful wildlife film-maker and educator, to work for the BBC NHU one day and take over from the great naturalists generals that are Packham and Attenborough (amongst others). That is what i want to do, but at the moment it cannot be my priority as i need to be my priority.

This evening i went for run and promised myself that i would get through this, i also promised every mammal, fish, bird, bug, creepy-crawly and living creature out there who i want to fight for that i will do it for them as well, which gave me strength.

I also hope that this blog is helping other people out there who are going through the same battle as me. It is helping me.

SLQ

Trying to unravel depression

Hi all,

This is a blog post that i have been trying to write for a while now but i can never quite come up with the words or the courage to type something out. I really want to describe what i go through when i experience depression/anxiety but the process is harder than i thought it would be.
Today though seems very fitting as i had a counselling session that starts another step in my therapy and i know talking about this will help me and hopefully help others as well.

I do not really how to start, so this might be a bit all over the place!
Ok, so first of all i must say that depression is different for everyone and comes in many different shapes and forms. Scientifically it is all to do with a change in chemicals in the brain and a dominance of negative thoughts, it really is an illness. It changes how you think and perceive everything, from how the world works to what people think of you and makes the very easiest of tasks so much more difficult. As i am going through this journey i can completely understand why people decide to take their own lives,.This might be a huge shock to some people but i have thought about it in the past, not so much now but in my younger years i did wonder about it, although i never went through with it.

When it comes to me i have alot of emotions and feelings from my past that i have never dealt with or confronted, most of which i have explained in a previous post (they include family loss, school bullying, heartbreak) and over the years all of these negative thoughts have twisted how i think and perceive the world. By nature, i am not a depressive person but what seems to happen is that gradually negative thoughts will creep in bit by bit and i do not really deal with them but carry them with me, there then comes a tipping point when something in my brain switches and i break and just cannot deal with it anymore. This happened the other weekend at a friends house, granted i had a bit of alcohol but this just made me more honest and by the end of the night i was crying uncontrollably on the steps, something which i have felt like doing for years but never had the courage to do so. I have lost count the number of times i have wanted to cry and let out my emotions but just kept it inside of me instead. (Feelings though never go away and i think this is the case for everyone).
I just could not handle the thoughts and feelings anymore, all the hate, anger, fear, sorrow, sadness, anxiety and pain all became too much, even writing about it now puts a tear in my eye. This so so bloody hard.

To be honest, i should of just let it all out sooner, many years ago, but i have never taken mental health seriously until now and i just thought that i was weak and that my feelings were normal. I now know this is the exact opposite.
If i were to give any advice it would be to talk, talk, talk, talk and talk some more, to your friends, family, family GP, or just to your pet dog (i used to did this alot and it really helped to organise my thoughts).
The next step for me is a programme of one on one counselling to try and really unwind the feelings that i have and to accept them, which started today. I always thought that the greatest battle i would ever face would be to protect the natural world but i must admit this might just supercede it.

Until next time...

Stephen
 

2012: The story will continue (and end apparently!)

Happy new year everyone,

I must start this post with a deep heart felt thank you to everyone who tweeted, emailed and facebooked me in response to my last blog post regarding my current battle with my inner demons. I will put my hand on my heart and say i was not expecting such a huge response from such a fantastic, kind array of people, so thank you.

The December blog post was not just written for me, but i also wanted to help out anyone that is currently going through the same thing. Hopefully i have helped as i tried to be as honest as i could. If any of my friends are struggling then i do hope they know where i am because i am always here to help.
Following on from this as well i have decided that whenever i have a 'down' phase or an 'up' phase then i will try my best to post it on here and describe the feelings and phases, which i will hope will lead to more of an increased level of understanding. This is all still a huge learning curve for me as well as i have only just accepted the battle inside of me that has been happening all these years.

But as the title of the blog suggests i am also here to write about my job, my life and my passion that is all things wildlife and as it is the start of 2012, which according to the Mayans will be our last year (i think the worlds last day is my birthday!) i am going to write down a few thoughts, ramblings and ideas about the year ahead.

Last year i had the goals of kicking on in my job as a wildlife education officer, becoming a forest school leader, passing my karate black belt grading, trekking iceland for charity and becoming a more experienced bird ringer amongst other things. Looking back i am happy to say all were achieved with various levels of success.
This year it is all about wildlife film making and photography, it is what i really want to do and push on towards, something i know inside that i would be great at. I am very determined to give it my best shot and i know i have the key ingredients as i love wildlife, i love music and i have the inner workings to connect the two together. I want to communicate and tell stories and i know the stories that i want to tell.
That means for 2012 this blog will hopefully contain a MASSIVE section on the Wildlife Film Academy based in South Africa, my own wildlife photography assignments, quirky stories about my job educating the general public on all things wildlife and updates on an old family farm in Jersey that i am making wildlife friendly, you could say my own wildlife reserve. although that does sounds like i have money, which is very far from the truth.

Whatever happens this year, it is going to be another busy one, i am just crossing my fingers and toes to make sure the world does not end on my birthday! (21st December 2012).

I do hope that you, the reader, will keep on reading and visiting this blog in the months ahead.

SLQ

My unknown battle with Depression

This is going to be quite a difficult post to write as you may have guessed from the title, but it is a story that i feel i need to tell for myself and for others who have felt the same or do feel the same right now.
What i am going to try and do is explain my battle with anxiety and depression by going through what has happened to me over the years, how i have felt, how i have dealt with things and how i have only just realised what i have been through.

There have been a few sparks in my life that have slowly made me turn the corner as of late, one of these being my lovely caring girlfriend, someone i did not expect i would ever meet. The other was passing my black belt karate grading yesterday, something i have been working towards for the past 15 years and fills me with alot of pride and confidence as well as a huge sense of achievement. And this is where the story starts...

I started karate when i was 12 years old as i was having a terrible time at school with bullies. I was bullied on a daily basis for reasons that i still to this day are unsure of, and even when typing about it now i can feel all of the emotions returning. The bullying would come in a variety of forms from verbal abuse, to being spat on, to being beaten up, the problem was that it was always a gang of people, it was never one and one, which meant that i never had the chance to defend myself making me feel really helpless.
I am only realising now how the many evenings of me crying as i walked home from another awful day has influenced how i have perceive people as an adult. I would never wish what i went through upon anyone, although in a way i am proud to be the man it has made me.
As i started my A Levels this upheavel was replaced by another which was my parents divorce and to cut a long story short it was horrible, basically 5 years of court cases, crying, emotions and me doing my best to keep the family afloat (thank god for the football team at uni, those guys saved me). During this i had also had to deal with the loss of my grandparents who helped me through the divorce as well as a massive family fall out due to some inheritance, which will never be the same again (my friends are my family now). All in all it has been one hell of a rollercoaster but a rollercoaster that i felt was normal meaning i kept everything inside.

I am not writing all of this to get sympathy (i do not like sympathy as there are alot more people worse off than me), what i am trying to say is that in the past i never really understood how all of these pressures and upheavels affected who i was as a person and how the negative thoughts i felt and created would eventually set in to make me anxious and depressed and eventually persuade me to seek help.
One of the main problems i had was that i did not know i was depressed, i just thought i was a normal person with normal problems and that i was just weak for not coping like everyone else, which i realise now was actually the depression kicking in. I was certain that i was burdening people with my problems if i spoke about them which meant on a daily basis for a good two years (especially when i was in Africa) i was battling myself inside, battling my thoughts, anxieties and confidence issues and crumbling emotionally bit by bit whilst doing it.
You see on the outside i masked everything, i was in a profession i loved and worked hard to travel and study, yet on the inside i was falling to pieces and fast. The main issue was the paranoia and how i was so concerned about what people thought of me and whether they liked me or not. I just wanted to feel accepted. 
What i must also say is that there was as added ingredient into this which was my passion for wildlife. You may think that having a passion and doing what you love should help, but not when all you look at are the negatives and with the planet there are alot of negatives right now and because i care so so much about wildlife it dragged me down even more with feelings of helplessness and sorrow.

I say this was my unknown battle as i just did not realise i was not supposed to be feeling like this, i just thought it was my fault and everyone was perfect apart from me. The hardest part has been to stop, look at myself and realise that yes i am not happy i need to seek help, even now after 7 sessions of therapy i am only just accepting this. It really has been hard to say that i suffer from depression, but it really is nothing to be ashamed of.
I am pretty sure it has been this tough to admit i am not happy is because as a society we still do not consider mental health issues as important and are simply portrayed as a temporary state. Believe me, they are an illness and stay with you until you deal with them like any other health concern.

I will end this post by saying there is light at the end of the tunnel for me and there always is for anyone who is going through the same thing. I have accepted my issues and with professional help i have to come understand how my problems have formed and how to deal with them. In the past i have been terribly naive with the connection between how i think and how i feel and now that i know more i feel like i am finally after all of these years coming to a point where i am happy. Even just writing this post has made me realise how bad i have felt in the past and how strong i have truel been not to have given up and to keep going. At times i have felt like giving up...

With the hectic, stressful lives that we all live in our modern society it is no surprise that more and more people are suffering from anxiety and depression no matter their profession or background and if you are one of these people then please, please, please remember that you are not strange or different, that you are not and never will be alone and that these problems can be overcome by seeking help. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. Only with true inner strength can you confront your problems.

Until next time...

An update...it really has been a while.

By the name of the title you can more than likely work out that it has indeed been a while since i wrote anything on this blog and once again i find myself wandering where the time has gone.
I could write a blog post explaining the reasons for the lack of any posts since June, some of them are career related (Trek Iceland!) and some are to do with my realisation that i have had problems with anxiety and depression (very hard to admit) and i am getting help for these,  but this is not the time or the place.

In terms of updates the most significant one is that i have decided to move more into the area of wildlife film-making and photography (photos can be found here! http://500px.com/Slequesne). It is early days but i honestly feel that this is where my passion can really be fully explored as when it comes to science and research i have to admit that sometimes i am little too passionate and opinionated for my own good, even though i do still find science fascinating. This means that alot of time has been taken up taking photo after photo after photo, learning and discovering my style. As far as i am concerned wildlife photography/film-making and conservation are one and the same and it is my job to portray the beauty, honesty and sheer brilliance of nature to a wider audience.

Currently i am working part-time as an Education Officer and even though it has taken me a while to find my feet it is really going well at the moment. The best part of the job is definately being a role model or as one child called me 'the bug and worm man' for kids and it is always nice to see familiar faces. In the end that is what it is all about, to be a good example for people to see. I do not think that the conservation world does enough to create 'that' personal relationship with their supporters and to the public in general. Also, one big project of mine is to set up some sort of nature club for the organisation i work for, to really leave a solid foundation and to create something that caters for the future naturalists of tomorrow, the special personalities and mainds that the planets future will ultimately depend on.

I would love to go onto greater things, my ultimate dream is to be a world-renowned conservationist who people can trust and who politicians will listen to, because we honestly need more people like this, urgently. But for now i am happy that i am bringing joy and laughter and intrigue into the minds of tomorrow.

I hope everyone is well, i would love to know who actually reads this, so put a comment below :)

Stephen

Connectivity - From petrol, food habits to rainforests

Good evening!
It is fair to say that i have many ideas in this chaotic head of mine, and i am the first to admit that some are more far more realistic than others, in other words it it safe to say that i am a dreamer, i create and plan out dreams and ideas that will hopefully one day come into fruition.
I am saying this because i have a great respect and admiration at the moment for one particular 'dreamer' that i feel is a damn good person, and that person is Jamie Olive. No! i hear you cry (wait a minute!).
This is because he follows his heart and is generally passionate about healthy food. I have just finished catching up on his USA Food Revolution and it is safe to say that he facing an uphill struggle to change the food in americans schools. I mean all he wants to do is make children healthier by giving them better food yet somehow he is portrayed as some kind of anti-christ, i mean if you take all the b******t away from the media all he is just trying to do is the right thing. That is all.
Healthy food = health children.

I am talking about Mr. Oliver because what he is doing matters to all of us, it matters as he is tackling a huge problem in society and one that eventually involves the planet, meaning we are all in this battle together.
The food revolution is not just about healthy food it is about the food industry and where all of our food comes from. Our understanding on where our food comes from (i am no expert but i am getting there) directly dictates how our food is produced and how land is then used to produce food, which in turn effects deforestation rates and the state of our seas. In other words as a consumer you have the power to shape the state of the planet for future generations.

Another great example of this connectivity are petrol prices. It is no secret that petrol prices are going up, up and up, as is the cost of living, but as with everything there is a reason.
In my eyes the very simple reason that petrol is going up is that demand for oil is increasing due to our consumer lifestyles and increasing human population. We are quickly approaching the maximum rate limit as to which we can produce oil (also known as Peak Oil)

In other words: reduced oil availability/production + greater demand = increased prices.
Oil though has far reaches and influences transport, energy prices, food production, everything! In other words we need to get off our oil addiction if our lives are going to become cheaper and easier to live, plus there is the already huge environmental cost of drilling oil. The next site for potential drilling is the artic (including nature reserves) mainly due to the rate of melting which is opening up brand new areas.
But as with the previous example people power is where it matters because if we as a population decided we do not want to so dependent on oil then it can happen.

Hopefully i am making the point that our lives directly influence the state of the planet and the lives of everyone else on the planet, which then goes round full circle and influences everyone again!

If we are to truly change the way we live to have a healthy planet for our children and grand-children, a planet that still provides clean air, water and habitable land then we need joined up thinking.
We need to realise that we are not isolated and ultimately everyones decisions effect everyone else. As a species we are pretty much at a crossroads and we need to decide how we want our lives to be. It can either be short-term consumerism whereby the earth will only support us for so long (we have all heard the warnings again and again) or long-term sustainability where money and goods are put down the importance list and families and communities are put first.

To put it simply we are part of the natural world and are connected to everything living organism on the planet, but due to this connectivity we have people power.
People power has the greatest potential and power to influence governments, businesses and organisations to change how we live our lives and how we protect the earth, which i see is the only way real change can happen.

You are connected, so you have the power...