MONIQUE SLIEDRECHT: Connecting with nature is still a top priority
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Northern Drift by Monique Sliedrecht
I am blown away by the variety of Caithness wildflowers and plants through the spring and summer months. And they are so prolific this year.
The raspberry bushes in my garden seem to be producing fruit much sooner than other years – they just keep on giving. I cannot keep up! I could easily have filled at least one pint box each day in the last week.
The next task is to find more freezer space to accommodate all these wonderful red gems.
At the moment, I seem to be in competition with the blackbirds who enjoy the treat too, and have been pecking at the berries. Saying that, there is plenty to go around.
Caithness has so much to offer. It is an open and exposed landscape that, at first glance, can seem quite bare, but when you look up close there is a wonderful display of grasses, flowers, fruit and sea life.
In the last few years I think I can say that many of us have increased our awareness of nature directly around us. That is largely due to the fact that we have not been as busy, distracted or driven, striving so hard for the next thing outside of our immediate environments.
When restrictions were in place we were given the opportunity to explore our home turf in new ways.
With the easing up of these so-called 'limitations', and the busyness of our lives and work seeping in again, do we notice these treasures of nature in the same way? Do we carve out times to enjoy the natural world? Can we step outside and give name to the flowers on the verges? Do we stop to smell the roses?
I’ve recently started to enjoy the simple act of picking my own fruit. I know I could just go to the shops, buy a punnet for a few quid and come home, continuing with my work and life. But there is something wonderful about stepping into nature, even for a few minutes, engaging in the process of picking your own food.
That, accompanied with relating to all the other surrounding aspects – bees buzzing, grasses blowing in the wind, a wren flitting past, a startled duck quacking – brings a richness to my day, and fills me with gratitude. The raspberries taste that much sweeter.
Recently James Lovelock, the creator of the Gaia hypothesis, died on his 103rd birthday. His theory suggests that the Earth itself is a living, breathing organism, a self-regulating community of life forms interacting with each other and their surroundings.
It is a simple but astonishing insight which has gained more power and credibility over the years and, just like the first images of the Earth from space, has given humanity a sense of the fragility and beauty of our home – 'the living planet'.
Lovelock spent his life advocating for climate measures, starting decades before many others even began to take notice of the crisis.
We are being faced with extremes in the natural world today. Only in the last two weeks we have seen devastating fires in the UK and Europe and terrible flooding in Kentucky. Time and again, people say "We have never seen anything like this in all our lives". The evidence of change is now overwhelming, and we are being called on to act.
It would be wise for us to pay attention, to learn to use only what we need rather than what we want. We must learn to treasure the small things while we have them! Only with a spirit of generosity, creativity, cooperation and hope, can we help bring positive change to the planet.
The sun is starting to shine again. I think I’ll go out and fill another tub of raspberries.
- Monique Sliedrecht is an artist, blogger and podcaster based at Freswick – www.moniquesliedrecht.com
