Living with Change

The Parliamentary year of 2009 will go down in the memory of professional politicians as not their finest period. Sub-let flats, houses for ducks and the odd moat clearance have created in public mind the appearance of a culture based on the self interest of members, rather than the discharge of democratic and party duties.

I am not a political animal, (although my wife says I should be one when I start up on one of my heartfelt rants about environmental issues). I do, however, value the hard work and commitment that MPs apply to their constituency duties. I have worked alongside many Gloucestershire parliamentarians and I have found them all to be dutiful and cooperative. Our very biased family favourite would be the late Charles Irvine MP who not only hosted a Wildlife Appeal event at his home in Cheltenham, but also reduced my daughters to beaming happiness with large tins of House of Commons butterscotch (he chaired the House catering committee)!

The Trust’s cruise along the Gloucester-Sharpness canal featured a large group of distinguished and most welcome guests. David Drew, MP for Stroud, and his wife were particularly welcome and I was very pleased that they had been able to make space in their diaries for our four hour excursion. Indeed, David was typical of the majority of our guests as he had not before been able to justify the trip. Like me he was struck by the totally different view of the Severn Vale that is given from the perspective of this functional canal.

I emailed David on a business matter following our trip and last Thursday I spent a full hour talking about a wide range of matters with him. The theme of our discussion, although not the issue that I had raised originally, became that of the general failure of Gloucestershire folk to show off the wonders of their county. Indeed, I have never quite understood how one of England’s most diverse historic, cultural and ecological landscapes is so poorly promoted. Even worse is a general belief that the countryside is to be taken for granted, that the people who live there are overly fortunate and have no social problems, and that there no real jobs or prosperity in rural industries.

The environmental and land-based industries generate almost 6% of Gross National Product. Across the UK almost 1 million people are paid workers in these industries and another 0.5M give their time voluntarily. The upshot of this is the quality of life that Gloucestershire people (and the South West RDA) take for granted. Gloucester City and Cheltenham Town both benefit from their settings within the Severn Vale, framed by the hills of the Forest of Dean and the Cotswolds. Neither location would be nearly so fine without these backdrops or the wonderful green spaces and street trees that set off their buildings and urban features.

The Trust’s Living Landscape programmes exist to show the importance of the environment as the key component within a healthy society that has an economy growing within environmental limits. The Severn Vale project that David Drew saw is the stage one of the first of these. In October, the Trust will be announcing its next visionary programme. Over the next decades of climate-driven change, without fully joined-up policies, programmes and investment decisions, our county will not continue to be the Living Gloucestershire that we all currently take for granted. The Trust intends to set the pace to support Gloucestershire living with change.

Licensed to Practise

My work with the Trust and Lantra give me the enjoyable combination of practical outcomes at county level and influencing strategy and policy at UK level. This work also gives me insight into the advantages and drawbacks of trying to work with Government.

The Wildlife Trust is a registered charity that is not at all restricted in its activities, other than to fulfil its members’ wishes whilst observing legal and regulatory obligations. That means that it is free to focus on its Vision of a Living Gloucestershire, rich in wildlife, valued by everyone. The Trust spends the monies that it raises through membership subscriptions and other fundraising on the county’s wildlife as it pleases, unrestricted by Government policy.

Lantra is also a charity that must observe rules and regulations at UK and Scottish level. But its special status is that, being licensed by all four Governments as a Sector Skills Council (SSC); it receives special funding to carry out specific qualifications and business development work. The downside to being the only body that represents all 17 of the industries that make up the environmental and land based sector, is the very thing that gives Lantra is status – its license to practise.

In 2006 Lord Leitch published a report commissioned on the future skills needs of the UK. In implementing most of the Leitch recommendations a decision was made by the UK Government both to set up a new regulatory body, the UKCES, and to carry out a review of all 25 SSCs.

Relicensing is now almost complete with the last group of five SSCs reaching the assessment stage. The principal source of evidence for the UKCES on Lantra’s performance is a detailed report drawn up by the National Audit Office. With Peter Martin, Lantra’s CEO, I will be interviewed by commissioners Sir Charlie Mayfield (Chairman of John Lewis Partnership) and Grahame Smith (General Secretary of the STUC) on Wednesday. I am confident that Lantra’s licence will be approved, but working with government means that this is not the end of the story.

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Industry and Skills, is currently contemplating restructuring the skills framework for England. My worry is that one of the options under consideration could end the SSC network in favour of regional skills strategies drafted and overseen by the Regional Development Agencies. Whilst this might seem sensible, the damage for the 17 industries currently covered by Lantra would be that they do not rank highly alongside the usual suspects when measured in terms of GDP, employment footprint and urban relevance. In regional skills strategies environmental conservation, like forestry, horticulture and agriculture are very likely to be invisible, ignored and unsupported.

The excellent work that Lantra has carried out over the years would be wasted within a regional structure and organisations in the sector would not have a skills champion with vision, expert knowledge and a holistic industry view. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has benefited from several of Lantra’s skills initiatives. The environmental and land based industries would be damaged by the loss of the SSC network. The next few months will be critical in resolving the future of the skills framework for England.

Trust in Charity

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has been very successful over the years because of a not so secret ingredient. The success of a charity depends on the quality of its people, staff and volunteers. The most important group of unpaid workers are the Trustees, who carry a heavy burden of legal and regulatory responsibilities for no reward other than a sense of achievement.

Trustees are literally the heart and head of the Trust. They protect the values and vision of the organisation; ensure that the charity’s money is spent properly and within budget and look ahead to where the Trust might be headed. These are the same tests as commercial company directors but without any financial rewards.

I have had the pleasure of spending time with some of my Trustees over the past few days. Three sharp minds, experienced in a wide range of fields, have given critical insight into their views of the Trust’s challenges. Anthony Hird, Mike Martin and Gill Richards each share a passion for nature and believe that the Wildlife Trust is making a difference. They continue to give their time and energy in the knowledge that the next few decades will see the county’s climate changing more rapidly than at any time in recent history. This will add serious new pressures to plant and animal communities that are already restricted in range and abundance through human activity.

The Trust is reviewing its future strategy over the next few months and this is the most important contribution that trustees can make to a charity’s future. One of my favourite management sayings is that for every problem there is an obvious solution – that is almost certainly the wrong one. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s board will be questioning its future direction and the major problems that it will be facing.

A Trustee's job is to ask all those simple but infuriatingly hard questions that start with the letter W. What are we going to do, why will we be doing it and what will be the benefit? In heading up the staff team, my W words are to suggest the Way forward and how we will find the Wherewithal to pay for it! Wildlife will be the beneficiary if we get the mixture right!

We always welcome new applications to become a Trustee or a member of one of our advisory committees. See our AGM notice for more information.

Photography by Philip Precey

CARRY ON CRUISING

I don’t work in a profession where corporate entertainments are the norm but most years, one or two pleasant opportunities arise. I have had several invitations for trips from Gloucester to go south along the canal towards Sharpness but have been unable to accept previous invitations because of work or other commitments. How pleasant then to have finally taken the trip on a sunny afternoon yesterday.

I did not even have to wrestle with my conscience this time as the boat was paid for by one of the Trust’s own projects. It was in fact my job to host the party of over 40 partners and supporters for the afternoon. The aim of the expedition was to explain the workings of the Trust’s Severn Vale Living Landscape Project and to show off some of the achievements of the past 12 months.

We were extremely fortunate that so many of our invitees found time to come along for the short cruise. Indeed, many of those on board had worked together for years and a great deal of intense Gloucestershire networking was taking place, some of it actually relating to the wildlife of the Severn and its adjoining countryside.

The canal itself is the forerunner of the M5 motorway. Opened in 1827, it acted as an enormously important waterway between the estuary at Sharpness and inland river access to the Midlands. I can well remember in the 1980s when significant vessels still carried timber and oil up to the Gloucester. Now it is just a pleasure routeway enjoyed by resident canal folk and holiday makers. Apart from the historic tall ships that berth in the city, there is no significant trade activity.

The Trust’s Severn Vale project is working with the farmers and landowners of the vale to assist them with integrating wildlife into farm management plans. The biggest success in the first year has been the enthusiastic involvement of the Clifford family who have entered their entire estate into a high level management scheme.

The Cliffords have lived in Frampton for almost 1000 years. It seems entirely natural that a modern approach to wildlife conservation should be so thoroughly understood by land managers who are such an integral part of this historic county.

Photographs by Margaret McGlone and Emma Bradshaw

BACK TO THE BLOG

It’s good to be back in action after a rather disrupted June and July. John Lennon is quoted as saying: “Life is what messes up your plans”. Indeed, I had not planned for the event that occurred and disrupted a recent trip to Antrim, and had certainly not planned for four weeks signed off as medically unfit to drive a car!

Television advertisements do not generally hold my attention but I am very glad that Margaret and I both remembered FAST. The early signs of a stroke can usually be detected by looking for Facial changes, Arms that don’t move freely, Speech that is slurred – Telephone for help! I awoke in our hotel, immobile and unable to coordinate my arm movements. Mags called for an ambulance and Antrim Area Hospital was extremely caring, but it wasn’t quite like the trip to the Giant’s Causeway that we had planned for that weekend.

I am now fully recovered from what was technically a mini-stroke or Transient Ischaemic Attack; a temporary loss of blood flow to the brain, resulting in symptoms that clear within 24 hours. The cause of this impediment has not yet been found but as a result of very high-tech medical scanning, I now have documentary proof that I am the owner of both a heart and brain. Clearly, on the day of the TIA, they were not getting on together as well as I had become accustomed!

My knowledge of strokes before my TIA was minimal, but I had remembered that TV Gardener Monty Don had vanished from our screens following a similar experience. I found his description of events reassuring from the perspective of having been a similarly busy person who suddenly found that life was unexpectedly different.

However, like Monty, I am extremely fortunate in having made a full recovery with no side effects. The main challenge now is not to recreate the level of work and commitment that I had become used too. Not because this had been part of the cause, merely that life is surprisingly short and deserves full appreciation. Clement Freud’s funniest comment is literally entombed with him, I just want any ‘best before date’ on my headstone to be some way in the future yet!

This leads on to the announcement that Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust will be proudly sponsoring Monty Don's talk on wildlife gardening at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Saturday 17th October 2009. Tickets are £9 and available from the box office on 08445 767979. See the Trust website for more information.