Is it not foolish and unwise to put more of our earth under concrete? To remove the living topsoil of fundamental life and replace with inertia? I experience how kids do not respect the environment, the very biosphere that sustains life. By nudging out more and more species (a lot of biologists agree a mass extinction of plans and animals is underway) and paving over green areas we are telling the next generation that it is fine to treat nature in this way. Its normal. We have dominion over nature. This attitude or world view is certainly a painful mistake doomed only to create destruction.

An Industrious Nature - A Poem

I see industrious mountains
and the expanding wooded sprawl
Shrubby conurbations begin the process
and later wild flower population booms occur
Amidst this prolific progress and growth
Energy resource discoveries are utilised to their maximum efficiencies
The squirrels and Jays intelligently bank their natural capital for a rainy day
and in the valley bottom, ceaseless liquid capital carves the way
transferring and trading nutrients to other centers of investment
Commuting birds over-head, searching out a meal on their lunch breaks
All the while the invisible hand of the ecology guides, drives and steers this Living, Breathing, Planet.

1/2/2013
10 Foster St, Penrith

I feel this quote fits in well too:

"I remember my earliest view of Manchester. I saw the forest of chimneys pouring forth volumes of steam and smoke, forming an inky canopy which seemed to embrace and involve the whole place."
—W. Cooke Taylor , (1842)

Radical Chadderton

This could be overly radical for some and even illegal just writing it; in-sighting criminal damage? Or some other nonsense. However, in very many circumstances, laws do not have a sound moral footing to their orders. Non-the-less I cannot help myself and I shall proceed to speak my mind. It is of a story. A story that begins with democratic, peaceful and truly sustainable direct action. It is a story of a community, young and old, trudging with fruit trees and spades in hand over the rolley pastures to the land owned by the council (i.e. owned by the people) and proceeding to plant Chadderton's first community orchard. Carefully documented; children wellied up and grins a plenty, sticking in the future fruity abundance of the locality. Re-establishing vital socio-ecological connections through the action of truly sustainable development. However the grievous day would  arrive when a two-stroke wind would waft across the commons and the developer's or the council's chain-saw shaped fist will come down upon their own community, raising the orchard to the ground. Developers from over the hills destroying trees lovingly planted by local children and families who care about their world and their living landscape. I can see the headlines now. Is this North Korea? some will worryingly query. With the bad press the developers showed cracks of alarm. Alarm as I currently feel at their plans.

Foxdenton Plans – An alternative Dialogue.

There is much credible objection to the proposed development at Foxdenton. However I have not seen any proposals published for any sustainable alternatives. Landscapes are dynamic and can change due to a myriad of things: culture, climate, population needs, political and economical ideology of the times etc. I believe landscapes should now change with true participatory democracy at the forefront. As a land manager, I believe the bond between people and landscape should form all land-management policy. The proposed development is a type of land-management, the industrious type, but potentially not completely deleterious. However I'd still like to suggest several alternatives, potential hybrids and recommendations, as is my right, as I have a strong active cultural connection to this land, which cannot be 'off-set' elsewhere.

My first model is a millennium trodden one: Agriculture. There is rising awareness about the need for farming to invest in ecological intensification with such techniques and skills that both protect the land and its wild inhabitants, as well as providing food. This has been dubbed 'close-to-nature farming', 'enlightened agriculture', 'ecological farming', 'regenerative agriculture', which all focus on the science of agro-ecologicy and it's associated principles. I believe this model of farming, which can be predominately organic and local, has a key role to creating resilient sustainable food systems of the future. What's more, such systems cut down on food miles, create a local healthy population and invest in the health of our land. Food security is a hotly debated topic, one which we all have a vital stake in.

The landscape itself sits between two secondary schools. All going well, these institutions are teaching young adults how to flourish on this living planet of ours. It's starkly apparent to me now that it is a priority to teach our youth about caring for the environment we live within. Intrinsically linked to this is agricultural understanding, as it is agriculture that is the most damaging practice globally on natural ecosystems. So to teach where our food comes from and how it is cultivated, is now crucial. What better place to have this education than adjacent to your school? So I propose this landscape to be devoted to environmental and agricultural education as well as producing locally healthy produce that protects the health and integrity of the local earth.

Agriculture is a development model that has the potential to tick many boxes: social, economic, environmental, political, ethical, educational, skilled-workforce, landscape etc. For example the Landscape Character Assessment for the current development plan states the for effects in year one will be medium adverse, i.e. rather bad, and year fifteen as minor adverse, i.e. not good. These results are likely to mean the development, as it stands is in contravention of the EU Landscape Convention, signed by the Government in 2006 and the Landscape Character Assessment recommendations conducted for the area in 2008, as well, it seems, in contravention of local opinion. Sound agricultural practices would most certainly incur a year fifteen Landscape Character Assessment of Very Good. It would also create a net gain in biodiversity. The ecological report within current plans state there will not be a net loss in biodiversity. I believe as a depleted Isle of biodiversity due to centuries of damaging actions we have a moral obligation with our developments to aim for a net increase in biodiversity what ever the direction of development. My second model is a hybrid: agriculture as I've just talked about but with residential. Residential 'nestled' into an agricultural landscape. A sustainably proven model also.

My third model takes the current proposed development and shakes it up. I call it, based on other projects of the sort, an Edible Landscape. One that reconnects people with their immediate living environment. It is also a model that is likely to score higher in landscape character and biodiversity than the current proposals. I would like to see no generic landscaping plants and bushes of the prickly kind. Aesthetics is not enough anymore. Beauty pageants aren't cool. The development plan states native planting is to encouraged wherever possible, I'd like to see them stick to this. I'd love to see people connect with their landscape through sight, touch, taste which creates much needed understanding and respect. I want to see community orchards and gardens, appropriate allotment areas and composting schemes . This model would have positive social, environment and economical consequences into the future as people re-establish their connection with their immediate living landscape. Within the current development proposals it is stated that there is no guarantee of garden quality. I want to see it guaranteed and have a focus on food and wildlife (which can most certainly be aesthetically pleasing). I'd like to see planners to go beyond policy and regulatory obligations and get creative. How people interact with their landscape is crucial.

I believe this landscape to be important, like all landscapes, however picture-esqe or perceivably ordinary. In reality, it is a landscape of many possibilities and viable options. So I personally applaud the growing resistance in sway to further local industrialisation and surburbanisation (come on guys we’ve been at it for 200+ years) and whole heartedly encourage the growth of local ecological reverence.

John Hulme

jhulmeuk@gmail.com