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| More people my age need to know about how to look after the planet. |
Hey everyone, today's Post 392 and even though it's not a special post number, it was a special Day yesterday, it was the 29th February, a day that I really respect as it really doesn't happen often. So I thought I would do something special and write a reply to my MP.
On Day 200 I did a post on writing to him about the fox hunting vote (which got called off :-) and nature in education. He wrote me a really nice reply and invited me to write back letting him know what the Education Secretary had to say about nature in the curriculum.
I got a reply from the Minster for Schools (
see Day 250) which showed there isn't much in the curriculum about caring for nature and looking after the planet. Mya Bambrick got an almost identical letter too. I don't think this enough. We need every child to know about the environment, how wildlife and habitats are under threat and how to look after the planet in future.
So I used my Leap Day to write a new letter, you can see it below. I'll let you know what my MP says. It would be great if more people could do the same so that we can try to get more added to the curriculum.
I also thought I'd mention the Wildlife Crime Unit is important and hope he will try to help save that too.
Hope you enjoyed,
Z.
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Dear Rishi,
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| Nature needs us! |
When I got your
latest newsletter at home the other day it reminded me that I haven't written
back to you after your very kind response to my letter last May. I understand
that people have different views on hunting. I understand population control of
some species, like deer, is sometimes required for conservation and sometimes
for the protection of farm animals, but I also think it's a very tricky subject
as people can get quite upset about it - I don't like cruelty to animals and I
don't understand why some people enjoy 'sports' that are cruel.
What I really wanted
to contact you about today though is the environment. As the area that you
cover is very rural I was surprised your newsletter didn't have something in it
about nature and protecting the environment. I read the article on dairy farming
and was pleased that it didn't mention Badger culling which is upsetting too
when it seems it doesn't work but vaccination does.
I wanted to follow
up on what I think was the most important part of my letter, the bit about
education in nature. You said to write back when I had a response from Nicky
Morgan. She didn’t reply but asked the Minister for Schools to reply. The
response that I and a nature loving friend, Mya Bambrick who also wrote to the
Minster for Schools, received were pretty similar and emphasised that there are
only little bits about nature in the curriculum. You can see the response in my
post on Day 250 of my blog,
www.yearofnature.blogspot.com.
We don't think that there is enough! The Minister didn't mention anything in
the curriculum about the threats to our environment and wildlife nor anything
to encourage young people to protect nature and our planet. Surely we need this
to be part of every child's education if my generation and future ones are
going to be the ones looking after it? Will my children and yours have an
environment that is capable of being saved,
or even know or ever see some of the species that are in critical
decline or facing extinction? Can our planet handle the damage man is doing?
Maybe if people know more about these things, especially young people, we will
have a chance to reduce the harm humans have done to the world. Some things
just need a helping hand to get it into people`s minds, such as Reduce Reuse
Recycle - and it is normal now for people to recycle. Maybe other initiatives
could be started in a similar way. I hope you can support and promote more
education on caring for the environment, as well as local conservation groups
like the one at Foxglove Covert.
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| All sorts of creatures need our help. |
There is something
else you might be able to help with. I've signed a petition recently on
something which is quite strange. There is a lot in the news about raptors
still being under threat and many being found dead in strange circumstances. I
find it odd that the Government wants to remove the Wildlife Crime Unit when
there are lots of problems still with hunting, hare coursing etc., and of
course with raptors like the rare Hen Harrier still needing help. Is this
something you support? Would you try to help tell the Government we still need
the Wildlife Crime Unit? I'd be grateful if you could.
One more thing I saw
in the paper is that you don’t support staying in the EU. I know this is a
complicated subject but at least some of the EU rules gives nature a bit more
protection and a lot of people I know were very happy when the EU rules were
kept recently. If you support nature and, as you mentioned in your letter to me
last year, are keen to get more children interested in nature will you be
getting involved in more activity to encourage this? Would you be able to help
promote nature and local conservation projects?
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My MP liked my Elephant Hawkmoth post -
it reminded him of costumes on Eurovision! |
I'm glad you enjoyed
my blog and the colourful creatures I covered. This year I've set myself the
challenge of visiting as many Yorkshire Wildlife Reserves as I can and I'm off
to a good start so far. I do want to go back to some again, like Foxglove Covert.
They were beautiful in winter and can't wait to see how alive they are in the
Summer.
I hope you are
getting ready for the Eurovision song contest again, I especially enjoyed the
Swedish entry last year and it will be interesting to see how they do in
hosting it this year.
Kind regards,
Zach
