Walk and Pray for the Environment / Climate: 1 August 2021

The next meeting will be - Meet at 5pm at Settle Swimming Pool Car Park 

Churches Together in Settle run a "Walk and Pray for the Climate" on the First Day of the Month. We use material prepared by the website "Pray and Fast for the climate". 

Today on 1 August we join Horton in Ribblesdale Church who go on a walk on a Sunday near 5 August each year as part of the Feast of St Oswald. It is 3 miles Long:  - up on the hillside on the east side of the village, across the River Ribble then back by the flat of the Ribble on the west side of the village.

1.1 km Above Brants Gill

Tormentil

First Reading of Prayers
 - on the Pennine Way Footpath
and the Ribble Way
1.4kmh 

 

Second reading - down at Horton near the Crown Hotel (2km, 1.2mi)

2.3km beside the river -this spot is good botanically with

Betony

and Harebell

We follow the river down

.. to the bridge 3.7km 
Scenic view with Penyghent in the distance.
Note the Ash tree on the right is suffering from Ash Die-back

Ah - this yellow lichen on the wall as we approach the village
 and church is not the usual
Xanthoria parietina - It is Xanthoria calcilola

Xanthoria calcicola  This has lots of little lumps all over it and very few/no apothecia

We have been collecting litter en route

And put it in the bin ready
 for the dustbin men

4.8km 3 miles - Final reading - A happier paragraph on Butterflies - though at 4pm 
we do not see any live ones
where we are eating our
well deserved refreshments. 
 The Big Butterfly count lasts from 16th July to the 8th August.

The next Walk and Pray for the Environment walk is Wed 1 Sept

10  Environment Reflections:

1. AWARENESS 

It is 92 days till the COP26 talks start.

BUT IT IS NOW that preparations are being made - We must all encourage our politicians to act NOW

2. RESPONSIBILITY

I wonder if "Going on a jolly environment walk" will seem a bit trite when reading this blog in five or ten years time when climate change is impinging on the world at a colossally increased rate.
Should we ALL be spending more time campaigning now?

3. THANKS

We noticed the helicopter flying on the side of Penyghent. - Not rescuing someone, but delivering materials - they are improving the path up Penyghent - Thank to our National Park provision is made for walkers and people to enjoy the countryside - just as today we walked along the Ribble way and over the footbridge repaired after ??? climate change induced floods washed it away a few years ago

4. RECOLLECTIONS

One lady on the walk told me when she had grown up on a farm, and attended school in Chapel le Dale  (?70 years ago?) they had made pressed flower collections at school - and there were lots of flowers in the fields then. But intense application of fertiliser and manure meant that most of the wildflowers stopped growing in the fields.

5. DOG POO BAGS

We only collected three dog poo bags with dog poo in the litter collected on the way round - but it is so sad that there any any left.

6. TREES v Grassland  (Natural vegetation and carbon storage discussion)

We looked across to South House Moor on the side of Ingleborough. This is an area or moorland under an experiment that has been left ungrazed for over 17 years.

The natural vegetation of Ribblesdale (except  on the wettest peat bogs)  without humans and their sheep and rabbits -is trees, but there are only a small amount of trees here now. - yet the beauty of this area is contributed to by being able to see the shape of the ground and landscape. The grassland in places still has rare plants and special flora

CERTAIN TYPES of soil can store more an more carbon each year. But only certain types.

ACID grassland soils can store carbon (The extreme example being peat). 

Sometimes trees are planted under the assumption that carbon will be stored in the trees and removed from the air. Breaking up the soil and making drainage ditches to plant trees results in carbon in humus in the soil being broken down by bacteria - so that less carbon is stored in the system. It is a complex system.

7. Hard life for farmers

with the present grant system changing.

I did notice two new Pods and Glamping sites on the way round.

8. SHARING KNOWLEDGE

I am glad for the opportunity for us to share our knowledge of the countryside and farming

9.  Space

The next Walk and Pray for the Climate walk will be on Wed 1 Sept - It may be a late teatime/early evening walk - look out for news at the end of August.