On Saturday 6th June we attended the Essex Wildlife Trust AGM at Abbotts Hall Farm in Great Wigborough.
The event started with the formal procedures of the AGM followed by some very interesting talks. This year, EWT is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and Director John Hall spoke about the beginnings of the EWT. Fifty years ago, it had 110 members and the inaugural meeting spoke about 3 threads to the new trust:
- To form nature reserves.
- To stimulate interest in Essex people.
- To record nature and give advice.
It has certainly achieved those goals – and Healthy Life is delighted to have played a role too in stimulating an interest in nature in Essex people!
Germaine Greer, well-known activist and vice-president of the charity Bugs Life was both entertaining and controversial. Half the audience cheered when she spoke about the damage domestic pets caused to wildlife and urged everyone to “get rid of them!” The other half were quite shocked!
Jules Pretty spoke about the Natural Capital our wonderful planet provided and the toxic debt we were leaving behind. Professor Pretty has spent many years at the University of Essex researching the effects of  ‘Green Exercise.’ He was asked to become the trust’s joint vice-president.
Chris Baines, author of “How to make a wildlife garden” and many other publications, is president of the EWT. He spoke with optimism and enthusiasm about the way forward and our ability to be able to reverse current trends.
A question and answer question provided some interesting comments from the speakers, such as Germaine Greer’s suggestion that we needed “free-range children.” i.e. children that got out into the countryside, climbed trees, explored, got wet and dirty, enjoyed the nature around them and had fun.
After a pleasant lunch, we joined a walk around the wetlands of Abbotts Hall Farm. After a wet start to the day, the sun broke through and it was an extremely enjoyable and educational session.
At the end of the day we chatted with John Hall about our mutual goals for “managing our green spaces so that people live happier, healthier lives.”