Wildlife To Get Escape Hatch

I watched the Springwatch Special last night (you can see it on the iPlayer here) which looked at the impacts of climate change on our wildlife. Part of the programme dealt with the issue of Britain's tendency to isolate nature reserves.

It was brought home by the story of a butterfly which conservationists tried to reintroduce to England back in the 1970s. They decided that a particular nature reserve was the ideal place for it, but they failed miserably. An aerial shot of the reserve showed why - it was only a couple of acres surrounded by farmland. An oasis in the desert which suffered every time the surrounding farmers drained their land.

Wildlife corridors would help - escape routes that our flora and fauna could escape through in times of crisis. And that's exactly what has been proposed for Scotland today. The Forestry Commission and Scottish Natural Heritage want to turn the whole of Central Scotland into one big wildlife corridor. The scheme would see everyone living in the area within 1000 feet of some greenery.

The plan is still at an embryonic stage, but it doesn't quite square with Edinburgh Council's plans to expand ever-westward, swallowing up the green belt as it goes. Perhaps someone should tell them to finish off building on the city's brownfield sites first?