Update on Cammo fields

I wrote recently about the proposals to build housing on arable fields near Cammo Estate. Today I went along to the exhibition about the proposed development. 

The plan is to build housing on most of one of the fields between Cammo Walk and Maybury Road. The development will be surrounded by new trees with a footpath running through them to create a new woodland walk. So the developers are at least trying to be sensitive to the environment and landscape of the area, though it will significantly impact on the semi-rural aspect of the area. 

However, there is no attempt to be sensitive to the specific wildlife found in the field. This field (with the adjoining one) is the only place where I have ever seen tree sparrows (and it's a very exciting birdwatching moment every time I do see them), a UK red listed species that is specifically mentioned in Edinburgh's Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) as needing conservation help. Skylarks also use these fields (their songs are a joy in the springtime) as do yellowhammers (both are red listed species and specifically mentioned in the Edinburgh BAP).

Additionally, development of this field would set a precedent for other nearby fields which would destroy the semi-rural aspect of the area and leave Cammo Estate isolated in a sea of housing.

The Local Development Plan to turn that part of Cammo from green belt into development land has not yet been passed, but developers are perfectly entitled to apply for planning consent and it would be a tragedy if this open green space is lost to housing. 

If you're concerned about this development, you may want to go along to the exhibition and /or the public meeting on the developments. The exhibition will be in Cramond Kirk church hall, Cramond Glebe Road. The public can view, discuss and comment on on the proposed developments until 5pm today and also on these dates:

·	16th November between 9.30am and 5.30pm  - staffed from 10am to 1pm

·	17th November 9.30am -12noon - unstaffed

The public meeting will be held at Cramond Kirk, Cramond Glebe Road at 7.30pm, Thursday 28th November. This is an important meeting for people to attend as this will be an opportunity to input into any resulting planning application and to hear the views of other residents.

If you can't get along to the exhibition or public meeting, but have a genuine interest in the development then you can respond on the Cammo Development website. 

As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.

No Worries Whale - a book of ocean poems

I was delighted to be approached on Twitter by No Worries Whale to review a copy of their book of ocean poetry by Amanda Gehrke, illustrated by Alison Sojka. The book is designed to appeal to young readers to get them interested in the life of the oceans.

The poems in No Worries Whale are full of endearing ocean-going characters who address us in engagingly jaunty rhyming poetry accompanied by delightful illustrations. One of the first we meet is Thomas the Touring Turtle:

Thomas the touring turtle
Born on a Florida beach
Set off to find his mother
Who was somewhere out of reach.

The style is light hearted and many of the poems are entirely fanciful, such as Cookie Cutter Shark, in which 'a shark whose name is Clark..../ loves to bake confections'. Other poems though include a lot of interesting factual information about ocean life:

This paradise can be -2 degrees C
A wintery world weaved with whites and blues
Filled with funny fish you can see right through

(from Icefish Playground)

while other poems directly address some of the issues affecting ocean life:

When we contaminate the water
And pollute the Earth
It’s the corals and animals
Of the oceans who get hurt

(from Coral Reef)

There's even a poem (Aquatic Academy) to show the parallels between human children and fish and a few that offer advice for life, including Picasso Fish with its encouragement to the reader to Go paint the world a better place.


Children around the world will be captivated by the fishy characters in these poems and illustrations and hopefully will be inspired to find out more about the oceans and to protect the creatures that live there. An excellent example of using the arts to engage young people on issues around the environment.

No Worries Whale is available on Amazon or you can follow them on Twitter.

haiku

double rainbow -

the changing colours

of the cherry tree.

Supernature lemongrass infused rapeseed oil

The Edinburgh ethical grocers Real Foods recently invited people to volunteer as product reviewers and I was delighted to be chosen! For my first review I chose Supernature lemongrass infused rapeseed oil.

It's a beautifully presented product in this attractive bottle. This award winning oil is gently cold pressed at Carrington Barns Farm in the Lothians, 8 miles from Edinburgh. The farm uses a spring rapeseed plant, which is planted in April and harvested in September. Its natural rapid growth means that there is no need for the use of any herbicides or fungicides and the by-product of cold pressing is put to good use as high quality animal feed, ensuring nothing is wasted. I have to admit to not really liking the sight of the excessively vivid fields of rape, but there's no doubting that this is an ethically and locally produced cooking oil, with claims also to be healthier than olive oil. 

So how does it taste? Crafty Green Boyfriend and I initially tried the taste test as done at tasting events in the Real Foods stores - we dipped pieces of bread into the oil. I thought it was delicious while Crafty Green Boyfriend's comment was 'bit too lemongrassy for me, but it might be nice used in cooking'. Which was exactly what I did next using it to fry up onions, mushrooms, carrots and courgettes with a touch of freshly grated ginger and some ground coriander then adding lentils and water and boiling it all up and serving it with noodles. It tasted delicious and the lemongrass taste was subtle enough to keep Crafty Green Boyfriend happy.

There are several other flavours of oils produced by Supernature, the garlic oil sounds particularly appealing. 

Supernature Lemongrass infused rapeseed oil is available instore or online at Real Foods. 

As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.

Autumnal colours by the Water of Leith

We're continuing to enjoy stunning autumnal colours in Edinburgh. Many of the leaves are still on the trees:

These lovely fungi (possibly a species of bell-cap) were growing on a tree by the side of the Water of Leith.

My favourite tawny owl was again in its roost hole, this time, a chaffinch (seen here on the left hand side of the photo, you may need to click on it to enlarge it) was hopping around, calling loudly, as though it were taunting the owl. The owl was paying no attention at all.

Many of the leaves that have fallen from the trees have landed in the river, giving this lovely effect:

The orange ladybirds (Halyzia 16-guttata) which by this time last year were already hibernating are now just starting to gather on the old rusty fence.

(My hand is in the photo because otherwise my camera was refusing to focus on the ladybird!).

for Nature Notes

as ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other weboages where you can find out more.

Upcycled notepad

I made this little notepad from the back of a notebook that I had filled up, scrap paper and a hair grip that is too small to be any use for my very thick hair! It's useful to have by my side whenever I need to take notes or make lists.It's also endlessly refillable.

Rhinoceros Summer by Jamie Thornton

Seventeen year old Lydia Gibbhas, the daughter of a Sacramento pastor, works in a Christian shop and yearns to be a photographer. A missionary contact of her father's offers her a chance to travel to Tanzania, where she becomes ensnared in the cruel world of big game hunting and the complicated lives of an expatriate family with lots of secrets.

The story is told against the backdrop of the beautiful wildlife of Tanzania and the constant tensions between that wildlife and humans - whether hunters, conservationists or ordinary villagers trying to live and farm alongside the wild animals. The reader is drawn into the beautiful world of wild Tanzania and, with Lydia, sucked into the terrifying and corrupt world of big game hunting that threatens to destroy this wild beauty.  

This is a gripping and insightful coming of age novel, which reads like a thriller. Lydia's journey from naive young Californian to young woman aware of the dangers of the world is entirely convincing. Minor characters are also well drawn,  with the corrupt hunting safari manager Paul being particularly unlikeable, but all too believable. 

Can the hunters and villagers learn to live together with each other and the wildlife? Can Lydia find a way of using her photographic skills to help wildlife and people? Can Lydia's parents learn to accept that their daughter has grown up? 

At the end the reader is far more aware of the complexities of the obstacles facing conservation of African wildlife, but this isn't a book that offers a vision of easy answers to the complicated problems that face the wildlife and people of Tanzania.

Thanks to Story Cartel I downloaded a free review copy of Rhinoceros Summer by Jamie Thornton