THE INVISIBLE EXTINCTION
For most people, York’s historical past conjures up images of lofty cathedral spires, the cobblestones of the Shambles and ghosts lurking in the corners of low-ceilinged pubs. Yet speak to local naturalists, and they’ll tell you the city’s most impressive ancient history in fact lies sandwiched between the A64 to Leeds and the lurid green plains of Pike Hills golf club.
It’s here, on the 110-acre Askham Bog, that 15,000 years of history lies suspended in peat, a life source that has made the reserve astonishingly rich in biodiversity: more than five per cent of all Britain’s species types – animal, plant and fungi – can be found living in the area. Reserves like this exist across all four nations of the UK, but their numbers are small, and their ecological diversity the exception, not the rule. Britain has lost half of its biodiversity since the industrial revolution, making Askham Bog an oasis in a desert.
On an overcast March morning, with hues of brown, grey and murky yellow dominating the landscape, the reserve’s ecological treasures are hard for an untrained eye to spot. But seasoned naturalist Alastair Fitter, 50-year member of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT), does not have an untrained eye.
Fitter, an ecologist with a special interest in moths and plants, arrives on his bike and opens with an apology. “I’m really sorry, I forgot to bring my moths,” he says.
Despite the missing moths, Fitter is not short of things to talk about on the reserve. Traversing boardwalks and wading through mud, he brings the bog to life with stories of sweet-smelling
