Norman Moore is 90 today – Happy Birthday!
Norman Moore has played a major role in nature conservation thinking and practice and his influence still endures. His work on heathlands, hedges, dragonflies, and much more, is still widely quoted. Norman is credited with coining the term ‘a birdwatcher’s insect’ for dragonflies. Norman is the last of three giants of nature conservation of his generation; Norman Moore, Ian Prestt and Derek Ratcliffe.
And some snippets:
- there is less than a week left to submit names for consideration for the NT’s Octavia Hill Awards
- last week saw the first successful Scottish prosecution of a firm concerning destruction of the freshwater pearl mussel (I hear from Peter Cosgrove) and this resulted in a £4000 fine
- tomorrow sees the seas on the move
- I enjoyed Friday’s Wild Arabia programme – the BBC are on a bit of a roll with their nature programmes at the moment
- …and finally… a propos of nothing; it is the last day of 2013’s National Chip Week. Did you do your bit?
A great summary of his era is in his book “The bird of time” which helped me to understand how much progress had been made in conservation in his time…
Sir Norman is a wonderful and inspiring (and modest) gentleman. He has been a great friend and supporter of Wicken Fen for many, many years. He came to open the new windpump 18 months ago and was in lively good form. Do try to read Norman’s very interesting book “The Bird of Time – the science and politics of nature conservation” (1987), for a retrospective of his time in nature conservation.
Norman carried out pioneering work on nature conservation (eg his classic 1962 paper on the severe fragmentation of the Dorset heaths) and his pesticide research was fundamental in developing the understanding the impacts of these chemicals up the food web, and in establishing a precautionary principle in their use. He really pushed hard for the government to establish a scientific basis to much of modern nature conservation. (and the recent closure of Monks Wood was a kick in the teeth to that).
Happy Birthday Norman.
Mark – May I join you in wishing Norman Moore a very happy 90th today. As you say Norman is one of the greats of nature conservation – chief Scientist at NCC, world expert on dragonflies and the conservation biologist who, back in the 1970s, was the one who persuaded his conservation profession and colleagues that if wildlife in the UK countryside was to be enhanced there had to be a real attempt to build bridges with those who managed the overwhelmingly majority of the countryside – farmers and landowners. Norman was far ahead of his time in his thinking in achieving real and pragmatic gains for wildlife.
Earlier comments above mention – Norman’s book “A Bird of Time” which is well worth a read or I hope a re-read. A great man setting out his thoughts on the science and politics of nature conservation. Norman’s approach in his book, is so very different to your own highly readable “Fighting for Birds” with its combative tone, in which you make six references to farmers and landowners, all of them uncomplimentary if not downright rude. Describing the NFU, the organisation which represents farmers as “enemies” and “enemies of environmental progress”(page 319) might create publicity but is it the way to genuinely help wildlife in the farmed countryside? Especially as most farmers won’t be following the farming and conservation political debate but will be taking their lead from the organisation to whom they pay a yearly subscription – the NFU.
If anyone has a copy of Norman’s “Bird of Time” to hand, I do urge them to read Chapter 20 – “A failure to communicate” (pages 221 – 238). Wise words from a great man. If we really want a better future for wildlife, rather than to provoke and seemingly enjoy a battle, may I suggest that Norman’s approach of positive communication points the best way forward for real wildlife gain.
Now – recognition or at least acknowledgement, of that by you Mark, would make a great birthday present for Norman.
Philip Merricks
Philip – thank you so much. I guess we don’t know what Norman would write if he were to update ‘A Bird of Time’ nearly 30 years after he wrote it – I’d be very interested to know.
There is a whole chapter and many other mentions given over to farmers and farming in Fighting for Birds. Here is an excerpt: ‘I love farmers – some of them. And some of them love me – although some of them don’t, and that’s OK too.’.
Good idea of yours Mark to find out what Norman would write today. I will send this blog link to his son Peter, who is computer friendly (unlike Norman).
I called in to see the great man at his home in Swavesey after listening to you and others in a hot and steamy marquee at the Bird Fair (was it the weather or your speech that made it steamy?). He was on great form and recounted his birding trip to Tierra de Fuega forty years ago, in great detail – nothing wrong with his memory.
Re your own book and your reply above, Mark – my point is that I can’t see the sense in making an enemy of the organisation that represents and is the collective spokesman for the farming industry.
Philip – if farmers, like you, allow the NFU to take such an environmentally unfriendly approach then you will have to expect some people to point that out. I think you may be the first farmer to come on this blog and say that the NFU speaks for you – more seem to keen to say that the NFU doesn’t speak for them! But I agree that we should regard the NFU as the voice of farming in England and some of Wales as only farmers can elect their spokepeople.
Your attempt to summarise what Fighting for Birds says about farmers is so wide of the mark that maybe you should go back and read it again.
Mark, the NFU represents the farming industry, not the individual views of individual farmers. It is the spokesman for the majority of the 100,000 or so farmers in England and Wales as is the CLA for landowners. Of course most farmers have individual views as do I, but the industry is represented collectively by the NFU and the CLA.
Re reading “Fighting for Birds” I see that in your book you have made four comments about he NFU (pp 108, 121, 255 and 319) and two about the CLA (pp 140 and 285). All of them derogatory. Is this really helpful?
With respect, Mark, you are failing to distinguish between what you say about some individual farmers and what you say in your book about those who represent and guide the thinking of the industry.
Back to Norman Moore – My point is that his approach is very different to yours. And I believe, in the long term, is more beneficial for wildlife in the farmed countryside.
Philip – with the same respect, Philip, you are failing to differentiate between what I say about some individual farmers and those who claim to represent the industry. I think you’ll find that individual farmers are singled out for particular praise in Fighting for Birds (see pages 118-120).
Thank you for highlighting the passages on the NFU and CLA. Page 108 criticises the NFU hierarchy for not promoting the use of skylark patches despite their proven effectiveness and the money that is in ELS to pay for them. Page 121 tells a sympathetic anecdote about Sir Ben Gill and then says that I can’t remember the NFU saying anything very nice about wildlife for a long time but then, it is a union for farmers not for wildlife. Page 255 points out that the NFU line on being pro-biofuel sits badly with their line on feeding the world. And page 319 says that the NFU would, at the time of writing, be one of my top three environmental enemies (and it still would be over a year after writing that phrase). I was told by quite a few nature conservationists that I had been too soft on the NFU!
I happen to know that CLA staff love reading this blog to see whether their friends in the NFU get a mention. The two mentions of the CLA were about sea eagles and plant identification. Hardly all-out war.
A Bird of Time is indeed an excellent book. I have it here open in front of me. The passion for wildlife loss comes through very clearly after all these years. I don’t know what Norman Moore thinks about the current situation and wouldn’t presume to guess. However, just for you Philip, I will point out that the period since the publication of that book has been characterised by nature conservationists being extremely sympathetic to the farming industry and farmland wildlife disappearing even more from our lives.
Exactly my point, Mark. In your book you say nice things about four nice farmers who are doing nice things for wildlife (p 119) and then you slag off the organisation that represents farmers. However, the average NFU farmer member will read what the NFU says in its response to you, and not what any of your four friendly farmers might think or say. Hence relationships between farming and conservation become strained. No help to wildlife when that happens.
I fully agree with you that the last 30 years has been characterised by farmers and conservationists being much more sympathetic to each others objectives – a process in which birthday boy, Norman Moore, led the way. A process which led to me as a farmer, now having the conservation management responsibilty for two NNRs, as an NE Approved Body, and the RSPB becoming very large farmers. Who would have thought of that 30 years ago.
As an aside, isn’t it helpful that we seem to have this blog to ourselves today being Sunday. I guess that most of your readers and contributors read your blog during their working week.
Sunday lunch calls in a few minutes, so that’s about enough I think. I enjoyed our little joust.
Happy Birthday, Norman.
Philip – lunch and then watching rugby on TV for me too. Thank you for plugging my little book.
After that ‘joust’. I was beginning to think one of you was 40/30 up but have come to the conclusion is is probably deuce.
Bob – new balls please?
Well I had to laugh at that little joust.I am convinced you both have the same end game in mind just a different way of getting there.Think if Philip gets to know you better then he will understand that you seem to come over as slightly against farmers whereas I am confident you are for individual farmers but you want to mould them slightly to be more conservation minded.
I do think Philip has a point as for sure the RSPB try to tell farmers they are there friends while allowing some individuals to severely criticise farmers on blogs etc.This id definitely unhelpful as it means some farmers say sod the birds and RSPB.
Of course individuals should have the right to criticise farmers but not under the banner of RSPB while they are making out they are so farmer friendly.
I personally have pointed this out very strongly on several blogs over the last few months.think the word is similar to hypocrites.If they say they are farmer friendly they have to mean it,really simple it is.
Just remind me how environmentally friendly farmers (I might be persuaded to revise it to agri-industrialists) are again …. is it anything to do with all the public subsidies they receive in Single Farm Payments, Stewardship payments, Special Levies to drain land for agricultural/private profit. Is there any wildlife benefit on these marginal pieces of unproductive land that there is no public access to? Who monitors the outputs and analyses the cost benefit analysis of this fragmented ‘conservation’?
I’m sure we all (observers and avid blog readers) look forward to learning of Norman Moore’s revised stance after Philip Merrick’s kind offer to secure it via a personal representation of your behalf Mark.
So – after that joust – what about a few more Happy Birthdays for Norman (at 90 !!). He wrote his last book at aged 80. How many of us will be able to string together a few decent words at 80, wheras he wrote a proper book.
Mark – a great man indeed and I too enjoyed reading the subsequent exchanges above! I think though, if we waited for the NFU to make a real impact on nature conservation we’ll be waiting a long time.
I am an urban dweller with a passion for farmland birds and wildlife and know a bit about farming – why, because like a lot of us we have decided to show an interest. For me this has resulted in working with a local farmer in maintaining and creating habitats for wildlife including getting our hands dirty.
The original intro came through the V & FA initiative from the RSPB – now we are close friends and lend a hand voluntarily. The farmer mentioned on Saturday that us working as a team was like the old days when people used to cue at the gates to lend a hand – maybe we need more of this – urban and country dwellers working together? Good god what next..
By way of illustration (and amusement) here is a blog entry I wrote from our latest endeavors this weekend.
http://suitedbirder.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/doing-work-for-wildlife-on-the-farm/