Hi David,
I have to agree with your email. Perhaps
this is really a lack of education issue. As a youngster, I lived in a remote
village in the north of England,
our headmaster used to take us for ‘Nature Walks’ on a regular
basis. We soon learned to love the countryside, the names of the birds and
plants etc.
In that environment, everyone knew and
understood nature (even if we did have collections of birds eggs and pressed
flowers – things were different then!), Most of the adults depended
on fishing and farming to make a living, so the countryside and it’s
inhabitants were everything to them. Now living in suburbia things are
completely different, there is no need for anyone to know about birdlife.
except for them being a nuisance, making a noise and messing on the washing.
It is a pity we could not get some birding
programs on TV which reflected the local birds. Bill Oddie’s birding
programs in the UK have been a big hit there.
