Earley Town Council declared a climate emergency in March 2021 and formed a working group to start taking actions to address many of the issues around global warming. Part of the strategy was to have a Green Infrastructure Action Plan and, at its meeting on 11th May 2022, the Town Council voted to adopt the new Earley Town Council Green Infrastructure Action Plan.
Town councillors believe such a plan is important as, according to The Royal Society (see link https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/biodiversity/biodiversity-in-the-uk/) – “…the most recent State of Nature report, published in 2019, suggests there has been a 13% decline in the average abundance of wildlife in the UK since the 1970s”. The report goes on to state “The UK has increased the extent of protected areas both on land and at sea, together with reducing air and sea pollution. The relative abundance and distribution of priority species, however, has not improved. Numbers of farmland and woodland birds have deteriorated while pollinating insects have also showed little sign of improvement. This comes despite an increase in public spending on biodiversity of 69% since 2000, although there has been a 33% decrease in spending over the past five years.”
Earley Town Council’s new action plan will help with developing, protecting and preserving Earley’s many biodiverse areas. The Green Infrastructure Action Plan is available on the town council’s website and councillors welcome comment and input from residents.
Maiden Erlegh Lake and Nature Reserve – Population 50bn