COLUMNISTS COMMENT
The countryside. For me – in the rain-soaked, semi-industrial corner of the north of England that I call home – this term brings to mind rolling green hills peppered with sheep, and divided up by hedgerows and a delightfully chaotic maze of drystone walls.
It's an idealised scene, but one rocked by an uncomfortable truth: despite appearances, the UK countryside is an ecosystem in trouble. Serious trouble. Natural spaces, and the wildlife that dependsmanaged for wildlife. The government has signed up to a global target of improving that figure, setting a goal of protecting 30 per cent of land for nature by 2030; the so-called ‘30x30’ initiative. But sadly, nature doesn't respond to targets alone.
