Living In/Through These Times…… From ‘Wild Justice’…..
by Bernie Bell - 09:07 on 31 December 2024
Living In/Through These Times….
Saturday morning Mike & I were talking about how the world is – possibility of another pandemic etc. If it’s not Bird Flu, it’ll be something else. We, us, humanity, have to get on with our lives and live as best we can in these times – not sweating the stuff we can do bugger all about.
End of lecture – but here’s an analogy I presented to Mike…
I’ve had asthma all my life – otherwise, I was reasonably healthy - doctors had even commented on how strong my immune system was.
I had a problem, a purely physical problem, with my right eye in 2012.
I was given too much medication for too long which, basically, thoroughly messed up my system, leading to a lot of physical and emotional illness and in-balance.
Change of Surgery, change fo Doctor, change of treatment to less emphasis on medication, and I recovered, tho’ am left with various health difficulties – which I work with, and have various strategies for dealing with my limitations.
The comparison I made is with the Earth – what’s on the surface of the Earth. This planet, Nature whatever word you prefer to use, had its own systems which worked fine, and for millennia we humans, as part of that, worked in reasonable harmony with the Earth.
In the last few hundred years we humans have messed up the balance of the Earth – wrecked the systems. The Earth still has its systems, and is using them when and how it can.
The balance has gone in many ways - climate change, pandemics etc. The earth is working and will work on re-balancing, and needs our help to do so. Some are helping, some are still hindering. Meanwhile, the balance has gone askew.
What I’m saying is – we can do what we can, live as best we can – worrying and getting distressed about things which are out of our control won’t help anyone or anything.
The earth will restore, or not – pandemics will happen, or not.
Here’s something I tell myself often…
What we happen, will happen, what won’t, won’t. We’re all living our lives – ups and downs. Meanwhile I – take each day as it comes, have a positive attitude, and live my life as best I can.
***************************************************************************
From ‘Wild Justice’…..“Good morning!
We believe in recycling and this newsletter is a recycled (slightly tweaked) version of one from this time last year. You definitely liked it last year and there are lots of new subscribers to this newsletter who didn't see it then. We've read through it and it seems as true now as it did then.
Wild Justice was incorporated in October 2018 and first came to the notice of the public in February 2019 when we launched a legal challenge against Natural England's general licences.
We are about six years' old - just a kid. We have established ourselves in the plethora of non-government bodies involved with the environment and wildlife conservation. New kids on the block, still, but definitely part of the crowd.
What makes us different? Here is our take on that question:
What we do: we are best known for taking legal challenges, seeking judicial reviews, against public bodies whom we believe are acting unlawfully. We take those legal challenges on behalf of wildlife - how else can threatened wildlife get justice in an unjust world? Others sometimes take such challenges, but they also often shy away from them. We don't back down readily. A public body which gets a legal letter from us knows that we, and the legal team with whom we work, are serious. We don't muck about.
Others have seen our successes and failures and realised that, win or lose, such legal challenges change the way that public bodies behave. When we win, we win, but even when we lose, we win a bit, sometimes a lot.
We have been described as the Pine Martens of conservation organisations. Eh?
Pine Martens are wonderful creatures and are feared by Grey Squirrels who are taken by Pine Martens to such an extent that the spread of Pine Martens helps reduce Grey Squirrel numbers and allows Red Squirrels to recolonise. Pine Martens create 'a landscape of fear' for Grey Squirrels - the Grey Squirrels are always looking over their shoulders and over their bushy tails when Pine Martens are in the area. We have the same effect on statutory agencies - they are far more likely to do the right thing if they know that doing the wrong thing may have legal consequences. We are happy to be compared with Pine Martens. We are quite cuddly but we have sharp teeth.
We do other things too: we link legal challenges to other forms of campaigning - making a fuss, starting and promoting petitions, highlighting public consultations and criticising the action and inaction of others.
We communicate what we are doing: each of these newsletters is read by over 40,000 people and those include people who don't like us as well as people who do like us, and journalists, politicians and conservation professionals. The newsletters cost us money to host and time to write but they are our main way of telling the world what we are doing and they are free for subscribers. We tell you (and anyone else paying attention) of our successes and failures, and of decisions we make, in real time. This newsletter isn't a monthly chore it's a frequent and welcome opportunity to keep you up to date. You can't get more open than that.
And we don't talk to you or anyone else in corporate speak. We are blunt and clear but, we like to think, mischievous too. If you are a failing public body then we'll take you to court and, on the way, we'll make fun of you too!
We raise money in the cleanest way possible: there is no Wild Justice membership, no monthly direct debits, no sales catalogue. We ask you for donations now and again, in these newsletters, and we will in this very newsletter, and if the donations dry up then so will we. You empower us - thank you!
And we empower you: well, we like to think that we do! You are partners in the legal challenges we take because you have funded them, and because we tell you as much as we can about them (including sharing some long legal documents). Few of our supporters would, as individuals, consider taking legal action against a government department but we enable you to be part of such a process. We also point you towards petitions and consultations through which you can make your views heard. And some of you have played parts in our investigations of glyphosate use, lead shot in game meat etc.
We help others too: we help fund the legal challenges of others and promote them to you, and we promote petitions that we think are worthwhile. How often do you see the very large conservation organisations doing that? We are active members of Wildlife and Countryside Link and we work with others behind the scenes more than you might guess.
We are tiny: we have no full-time staff but we have two people who are on our payroll, part-time, and others, free-lancers who work for us on particular projects that fit their expertise and bolster our own. The three founders and directors of Wild Justice, Ruth, Chris and Mark are unpaid, volunteers if you like, and can claim expenses for travel, accommodation and other payments made on behalf of Wild Justice. Chris has never claimed any expenses from Wild Justice despite being nagged to do so. Mark's expenses have been the highest because when we set up Wild Justice a lot of things got put on his credit card and we have only shifted those payments to a Wild Justice credit card this year (and we asked your advice about which card to use).
Our plans for growth: we don't have any plans for significant growth. We don't have ambitions to have 20 staff in a few years' time, but then, nor do we plan to disappear. We are thinking more and more about succession planning and making sure that some of the quirkiness in the internal arrangements in Wild Justice are made less quirky, but can imagine doing much more conservation work with just a little more money over the next few years. Part of our strength, we think, is that although we are small we are determined and decisive - and that comes from the personalities of the three of us and the fact that we can make decisions by a quick round of emails.
But, what do you think?: let us know whether this look in the mirror resonates with you? Do you see us differently? What would you like us to change? Reply to this newsletter and we'll read every comment.
But let's imagine you like what we do, how far we've come and the way that we do things. If you have donated before, then thank you! You've been important to us getting this far. If you've not yet got around to donating then please consider a small donation, maybe £5, right now.
You can donate through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - see details here. You are our source of funding but a donation today would also feel like a vote of confidence in what we are doing.
Thank you, that's it for now but we'll be back with a rapid review of 2024 on 31 December.
Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).”
|
|
Add your comment
