Author Dave Goulson was already known to me as the "bumblebee man" through two of his previous books (A Sting In The Tail, A Buzz in the Meadow) but I wondered how he would cope with such an extensive remit as "Gardening to save the planet".
First thing to point out this is about global ecology and how our gardening practices fit into the bigger picture. It is not a gardening manual .
In recent times I have looked out books on composting, invasive species, worms, plant hunters, soil fertility and insects. So you can imagine a book with a chapter devoted to each of these by an enthusiastic guy who has devoted his life to the science behind some of the less glamorous of our fellow inhabitants of Earth would be a surefire winner. I am happy to say it is.
Given the gravity of the situation on several fronts it is his saving grace that he has not lost his sense of humour. He certainly shares more of his personal experiences and that of his family than you would expect. For the most part this is a joy but I draw the line at car rides for deer, be they dead or injured.
One surprise towards the end of the book was the bigging up of allotments and the practices of allotmenteers. I hadn't anticipated such high regard for a group commonly viewed as second class citizens with dubious hygiene standards. Now we have an advocate for expansion of allotments as a contribution to solving the World's problems.
He doesn't hold back when he disapproves of something. Garden centre chains, the RHS, chemical manufacturers, the US authorities that use aerial bombardment to blanket spray suburban areas with insecticide, are all called out. One anchor remains: the reliance on science to test what would otherwise be mere opinion. There are plenty of facts woven into the narrative and sources are stated.
In summary, if you suspect we are screwing up planet Earth, but can't quite bring yourself to face the painful facts for fear of nosediving into depression, here is a factual but reasonably light hearted opportunity to consider what is really going on and what could be done to improve the current prognosis.
5 stars from me.
Dear Mal, this post really ticked some boxes for me. I taught or tried to teach science to seventh and eight graders (those around 12 years old). It was futile. They loved their English classes where anything goes, you can say what you want because English teachers didn't (or weren't allowed at that time) correct (or red ink) anything because it hurt their little psyches. Parents didn't care about science classes because it wasn't tested by the state (didn't count for anything). Students didn't like it because they had to think, not fantasize. So it's no wonder, people don't believe.
ReplyDeleteOn a more personal note I have experienced this: "US authorities that use aerial bombardment to blanket spray suburban areas with insecticide."
Haven't read the book, so don't know what he says, but here in LA around about 1988, Vector Control sprayed the skies nightly with a sticky insecticide called malathion. Of course, it killed other things not just the Mediterranean fruit fly. The citrus trees all developed a black scaly thing that killed many of them or left them in bad shape so that many never recovered, for example, a Valencia orange I have remains dwarfed while the Eureka lemon is very productive once again.
Today is the first day of meteorological fall. Last night was very nice for us in the high 50s. But Saturday and Sunday are forecast to be 107 F. Nights in the 80s!!!
It is Acelepryn in Sacramento and Naled in Miami & New Orleans. I am so pleased to hear from you given the fires in your state and was worried you had been silenced by the disruption. I hope you are safe and comfortable despite the heat.
ReplyDeleteMust admit when, `Martyn first suggested that we took on an allotment, I was dubious.
ReplyDeleteAnd the rest is, as they say, history!
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