One of the organisations to which I belong is the Woodland Trust, a charity devoted to the protection of  Britain’s ancient woodlands and the creation of new woodland.  The latest issue of their newsletter Broadleaf has an article on the importance of biodiversity especially as related to woodland.  It contains quotes from zoologist and wildlife presenter Chris Packham, who will be familiar to many in the UK from his TV appearances.  Here are some very edited snippets:

In December 2008, Natural England, the Government’s conservation agency, issued a stark warning […] “Large parts of England remain in biodiversity freefall and we are still witnessing alarming declines in species and habitats” […]

[This is not] news to […] Chris Packham […] “It doesn’t just mean rare species, like giant pandas, red squirrels or dormice; areas of high species diversity, such as rainforests or ancient woods; iconic creatures like lions and badgers; or economically important species, like cod. Biodiversity encompasses the diversity of all living things, from human beings to micro-organisms, the diversity of all the habitats in which they live and the genetic diversity of individuals within a species”.

Packham, who is excited by everything that slithers, slimes, scratches and stings, and thus counts hornets among his favourite animals, has a particular axe to grind about what some people call ‘pest species’. “If they exist in your community they do so because there’s a role for them to play […] And if you consider yourself someone who wants to promote biodiversity that has to include everything: pigeons, wasps, rats, the lot”.

He has no time either for those who complain loudly about sparrowhawks preying on garden songbirds. “Having sparrowhawks snatching blue tits from your feeder is a good thing […] sparrowhawks are at the top of the food chain and don’t exist unless there’s enough food around” […]

Biodiversity is a fundamental part of the Earth’s life-support system. It provides many basic natural services for humans, such as fresh water, fertile soil and clean air. It helps pollinate our flowers and crops, clean up our waste and put food [and drugs] on the table […]

“We need to think more broadly about biodiversity, and the simplest way is via healthy habitats […] Ancient woodland […] has more diversity than any other terrestrial habitat, and we should never forget that a third of all species that live on our native trees live on them when the trees are dead or dying”.

This largely reflects my own thoughts and beliefs.

I especially like the comment about sparrowhawks catching songbirds. As Noreen observes: “What are they supposed to do?  It’s not as if they can go to Sainsbury’s to buy a cheese sandwich for their lunch!”

I love too the comment on hornets. I meet this horror of buzzy, stingy things all too often: “We’ve got a lot of wasps. How do we get rid of them?” Unless you are life-threateningly allergic to wasp stings (as I know some, like my late mother-in-law, are) the answer is: “You don’t. Leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone. They are wonderful predators and without them we would be knee deep in caterpillars etc.”  I’ve actually seen a wasp catch a bumblebee on the wing; bring it down; snip off it’s wings, legs and head; and carry away the body as food for its larvae. That was worth seeing just for the sheer skill and frightening ruthlessness.  Wasps (and all this applies equally to hornets) are also brilliant at destroying dead wood: we have some 12 inch-ish diameter cedar logs by our pond; in a couple of years the local wasps have totally destroyed a couple of them; they use the chewed up wood as paper for nest-building.  It’s wonderful engineering and recycling!

Nature is red in tooth and claw, and we should cherish and celebrate that.  It’s what keeps us alive!