Book Review - The Lie of the Land by Guy Shrubsole

The author begins by explaining that, for centuries, we have been sold the myth that owning land makes people good stewards of it. This idea was used to justify the enclosure of common land and the eviction of the people who lived and worked there in the past and it is still dragged out to justify restricting access to the countryside today. We are told that people who do not own the land will treat it badly. However, ownership gives people the legal right to destroy their property and large landowners have taken full advantage of that to inflict enormous damage on our landscapes. As Guy Shrubsole says, ‘the greatest threat to the countryside comes from within it’. Reading the first couple of chapters, I realised that I had subconsciously absorbed this ‘lie of the land’ myself, but the rest of the book will leave no-one in any doubt that there is something profoundly wrong with the way land ownership works in this country.

The following chapters provide a series of examples of how large landowners, (often the aristocracy, but also the newly rich, investors and institutions), are abusing the land they own. Vast tracts of our upland moors are managed as grouse shooting estates. Their deep peat soils are the UK’s single most important carbon sink. However, when managed for grouse, the land is drained and the vegetation is burned to promote the fresh growth of heather, favoured food of the grouse. This devastates the botanical diversity and turns a carbon sink into a carbon source, as the peat dries out and releases long-trapped carbon as it decomposes. The damaged peat is no longer able to absorb the winter rains as effectively, causing flooding in the valleys below. To add insult to injury, the gamekeepers on these large estates systematically kill predators of the grouse, including protected birds of prey. They are very rarely prosecuted. Grouse moors are a sick landscape, all so that the very rich can shoot birds for ‘sport’.

The fenlands of East Anglia used to be common lands, ‘a vast wet wilderness’ where people had an abundant source of food (fish) and a unique lifestyle. However, marshy land is difficult to own and produces little profit that can be counted in pounds and pence, so from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, a handful of investors bought the fens and drained them, destroying an ecosystem and a way of life. This area of Britain now produces most of our vegetables, but the drying peat is sinking and blowing away and we desperately need to stop the soil degrading further.

Another ‘sport’ introduced by the Victorians, driven pheasant shooting, is distorting lowland ecosystems. On estates across the country, 50 million pheasants are released for shoots every year. At the end of each summer, pheasants constitute a greater biomass than all our wild birds. 13 million are shot in the autumn. The rest provide an easy source of prey, which ensures the survival of larger numbers of generalist predators, to the detriment of more fragile bird and mammal populations. Pheasants eat caterpillars and beetles, many species of which are at risk of disappearing forever. They also prey on young adders, which are now on the brink of extinction. One group of trespassers found a pit of dead pheasants on an estate, behind the ‘Keep Out’ signs; after the ‘sport’ had finished, they weren’t even being eaten.

Guy Shrubsole shares various ideas about how things could be different. In Scotland, the right for communities to buy land, with a legal pathway that makes it possible, (albeit not easy), has led to a growing number of inspiring projects. Langholm Moor was managed for grouse shooting for decades but, since it was bought by the local community, it is now managed as a nature reserve and the wildlife is starting to recover. Unfortunately, we still don’t have the same rights for communities to buy land in England.

The author proposes returning to the vision of the government’s Nature Conservancy of 1949, which recognised the importance of state ownership and had the power to compulsorily purchase land and restore it for nature. Perhaps this right would be of most use in our national parks, which are not ‘national’ in any true sense at the moment. The vast majority of the land within them is privately owned, much of it by the aristocracy, and nature is declining more rapidly within the UK’s national parks than in the wider countryside.

Finally, the author proposes a national land use framework. This was first attempted in the 1930s but those who own the land have consistently resisted all efforts to temper their control over it. It needs to cover land to be reserved for nature, as well as agriculture, and require large landowners to report on their management for carbon and nature. This would restore some semblance of democracy to the management our land and perhaps promote true stewardship.

As with Guy Shrubsole’s previous book, our Green Book Group was impressed by the enormous amount of research that must have gone into writing this thorough and fascinating book. It was published just after the Labour government came into power and expresses optimism throughout at the changes they could make. We were left wondering how he feels now, after a year of Labour’s dithering and inaction on nature…

Mass Climate Lobby

Two intrepid travellers cycled off to Leicester Station on Wednesday 9th July to catch the train to London for the Mass Climate Lobby….

We had a meeting booked for 1.15pm in Westminster to meet Shockat Adam the Independent MP for Leicester South. Our train (we had allowed extra time) broke down on the way which reminded us of one of the topics for our discussion – public transport. 

Getting through security in Westminster is a challenge in itself and then having all of our information to give to Shockat taken off us – as no paperwork is allowed, in case we throw it around apparently – was a bit of a shame but we finally managed to keep our appointment and were joined by another campaigner from Leicester South.

Shockat was very friendly and listened well – we had spoken to him before about the Big Climate Plan that we are asking for it to hit our UK climate targets and improve people’s quality of life. We told him that our communities deserve warmer homes, cheaper energy, cleaner air and better public transport and well-paid green jobs. We explained that millions of people in the UK are already suffering the impacts of extreme weather, sky high energy bills and rising inequality so the new Climate Plan which is being re-written at the moment and will be published in October needs to be bolder and fairer. We reminded him about the points we would like him to raise when handing in our petition which we had previously given to him.  Shockat said he would try to do this before Parliament closed for the summer recess as time is getting short.

Shockat then treated us to a guided tour of some of the rooms at Westminster and led us onto a veranda overlooking the Thames for a photo opportunity before thanking us for coming and giving him (albeit verbal only) the information about the Climate Lobby asks.

We then made our way to the National Friends of the Earth meeting rooms for the day and a well-earned cup of tea.

As the day was heating up it was then time for weary travellers to make their way to St Pancras and begin the very hot return journey.

A very productive day though – thank-you to Shockat Adam for meeting us and making us welcome.

Melanie Wakley

Earthmover award for our pesticides campaign

At the recent regional gathering, we were delighted to receive an Earthmovers award from national Friends of the Earth for our pesticides campaign! They remarked that it was awarded for, "A determined, inspiring, long-term pesticides campaign - innovative, fun and engaging tactics, rigorous research and policy background and persistent ongoing political lobbying". We were very grateful for the recognition!

Alison gave a short presentation about our campaign and received the certificate from Richard Dyer, our regional campaigner.

Leicester Friends of the Earth’s statement on the Public Space Protection Order in the city centre

Leicester Friends of the Earth would like to express our concerns about some of the restrictions introduced by Leicester City Council with the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that took effect on 31^st March 2025¹.

PSPOs are a tool to tackle anti-social behaviour, used by many local authorities to prohibit public consumption of drugs and alcohol. Leicester City Council explain that they introduced a PSPO in the city centre to ‘address behaviours that cause harm or nuisance in public spaces’. In Leicester, the restrictions include drinking alcohol and riding e-bikes or scooters in an anti-social manner, but also prohibit amplified noise without prior permission and ‘setting up structures’ including tables, stalls and banners without council consent or authorisation. We contacted the City Council to ask how to apply for authorisation to have a campaign stall (a table with leaflets) in the city centre, but we were told that there will be no permissions granted for ‘temporary structures’ and assured ‘Please understand this does not replace your right to freedom of speech or to distribute free literature but you are unable to do so from a table.’

People have always gathered in town and city centres to celebrate, to protest and to share their ideas. This is why most towns and cities have some kind of public space at their centre. In a democracy, protesting and campaigning is not ‘anti-social behaviour’, in fact, it is just the opposite. Spontaneous protests allow people to react to events as they are happening and express their views publicly. Campaign stalls allow us to display information and provide space for people to fill in a petition or write a postcard to their MP. The freedoms that working people now enjoy, including weekends and paid sick leave, were hard won by tactics like these by the labour movement. Campaigning is a profoundly pro-social activity.

There is a worrying trend of restricting the right to protest in the UK and Leicester City Council seem to be perpetuating that. Leicester Friends of the Earth have had campaign stalls around the city centre for decades, since the group formed in the 1970s. We have photos in our archives of stalls in city centre streets about recycling and saving the rainforest from the early days, and more recent stalls about climate change and fracking. All of them would now be illegal. Setting up a table makes us visible to passers-by, allows people to come to us if they are interested in learning more without us needing to approach them and provides something to lean on to fill in a petition or a postcard. Some people choose to skirt around our stalls and it is their right to do so. However, we have never received a complaint that we are causing ‘harm or nuisance’ by sharing our views on environmental issues in a public space. We believe that prohibiting us from using a table does restrict our freedom of speech, because simply distributing leaflets, (as the City Council suggest), is far less effective than engaging with people and giving them the opportunity to actively support a campaign.

We urge Leicester City Council to reassess what they consider to be anti-social behaviour and to revise their Public Space Protection Order.
1Public Spaces Protection Orders

David Attenborough’s ‘Ocean’ – Take Action

A group of us from Friends of the Earth recently went to the cinema to see David Attenborough’s latest film ‘Ocean’ released on his 99^th birthday in May, and comes onto streaming services on World Oceans Day, June 8^th. Attenborough says that the ocean “Seems dark and distant, but the ocean is the lifeblood of our home”.  He says now he has nearly reached 100 years on our planet; he’s realised the ocean is the most fundamental part of it that requires protection.

The film shows some – and the only way to describe it is – shocking footage from inside a bottom-trawling net an industrial fishing vessel that drags a gigantic net across the sea floor, destroying everything in its path in order to catch a few fish for us to eat!  If you see the film, you can’t help but be shocked that this procedure is allowed to happen in the name of food production. The devastation left behind the nets is unbelievable and after watching the film you can’t help but want to take action.  As Attenborough puts it “If we save the sea, we save the planet” and the film showed how the sea can bounce back and the ocean floor can recover if left alone and the dredging stops.

On the 9^th June, 2025 the UN are holding an Ocean Conference which is the result of two decades of campaigning leading to two years ago world governments agreeing to the Global Ocean Treaty to put at least a third of the world’s oceans off limits to harmful human activity by 2030. For this to come into force and become law 60 countries have to sign the Treaty in their countries. Governments are aiming to put the Global Ocean Treaty in place at the Conference this June. Disappointingly, the UK government has not yet signed it even though they claim commitment to climate and nature. 

If you have watched the film – and if you haven’t hopefully you will soon - and I’m sure you will agree that we should sign the treaty and stop this barbaric practice as soon as possible.  If you would like to add your voice now you can click on the link and demand that David Lammy signs the Global Ocean Treaty into UK law before the conference begins on 9^th June.

Thank-you for helping to save the oceans. 😊

Melanie Wakley

Planet Over Profit campaign launch

We held a campaign launch event for our Planet Before Profit campaign, in Leicester’s Town Hall Square, as part of a national launch of this campaign.  We are calling for a new law to make it much easier to hold companies accountable for environmental damage and human rights abuses caused by their activities, both directly and within their supply chains.  Amongst those attending was Abigail, the Leicester Friends of the Earth orangutan. 

Friends of the Earth are part of a coalition of organizations campaigning for a new UK Business Human Rights and Environment Act, which would require companies to exercise “due diligence” in identifying and preventing both environmental damage and human rights abuses in their supply chains.  This would include things like deforestation, pollution and climate impacts, and things like land grabbing from indigenous communities and forced labour. 

In line with a recommendation by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights the proposed legislation would be based on the UK’s existing Bribery Act.  It would require companies and public bodies to carry out thorough checks on their supply chain, to identify risks and establish measures to prevent harm.  It would incorporate tough sanctions for failing to do this and allow companies to be held accountable in both civil and criminal courts.  It would also give affected communities a right to seek redress and require companies to engage with potentially affected communities.

Malcolm Hunter explains:

“Unrestrained pursuit of profit is driving widespread environmental destruction and human rights abuses world-wide. Many UK companies are contributing towards this, and this proposed legislation is designed to make them act in much more socially responsible ways and allow them to be held to account if they don’t.  Many other countries have already introduced similar legislation, or are in the process of doing so, but the UK currently lags behind and needs to catch up”.

Bee Picnic

We held our ‘Bee-Picnic’ a week later than originally planned due to a rain storm on Bank Holiday Monday – well it was a Bank Holiday after all, what else would you expect? - causing us to postpone. 

The Saturday after was a beautiful sunny day and everyone had a lovely time sitting out on the grass next to a flowerbed of pansies eating their bee friendly picnics. The event was organized to promote our ongoing campaign to persuade the City Council to stop using herbicides, which are a threat to biodiversity and a danger to human health, particularly that of children; and to raise awareness of the damage done by pesticide use more generally, to try to encourage schools, businesses and private individuals to stop using them.

A recent study found that populations of flying insects in the UK had fallen by 60% between 2004 and 2021, (1) and by a further 18% by 2023 (2).  This is a decline that has been ongoing since the 1970s.  This has major implications for food security as many of our crops rely on insects to pollinate them; and major implications for biodiversity, with many insect species threatened with extinction and knock on effects further up the food chain amongst other species, such as many birds.  Insects are suffering from both direct poisoning and loss of habitat.

Interestingly, in the park, opposite to where we were sitting Leicester City Council had a notice board about the value of bees to biodiversity with ideas as to how we can help to protect bees. They didn’t mention on the board that they themselves are spraying in their parks to keep them ‘tidy’ and helping to cause the decline of bees!! 

The impact of herbicide use on human health is also a major concern, since there is evidence of exposure to many common herbicides having long-term health implications.  Many have been identified as potential carcinogens, and there is also evidence of them causing liver damage, and of them increasing the likelihood of someone developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease (3), with young children at particular risk of exposure in urban areas, due to the way that herbicides are used by councils in areas such as parks particularly when children’s play areas are sprayed. 

As some councils have already gone pesticide free (4), and are allowing hard to mow areas to remain wild and adopting alternatives where some control of wild plants is needed, for instance on pavements (5), to protect both biodiversity and their citizens, we wonder why Leicester City Council cannot  follow their examples and stop spraying our parks and green spaces in particular. 

The picnic was a great success with people wearing Bee costumes and at the end taking part in a ‘bee die-in’ as a photo opportunity to forward to the Council to further our request for no more spraying and keeping our children and bees safe. 

We are planning another event later in the year so look out for that if you would like to take part! 

*Updated 13th May 2025

Our press release on this event was covered in the Leicester Gazette and the Northern Eco. The reporter from the Northern Eco, Sarah Hartley, had contacted Hannah Wakley from Leics. FoE before the picnic to learn more about the campaign as she is bringing together people campaigning against pesticide use across the UK and has set up a WhatsApp group. Hannah noticed that Leicester City Council had claimed, in their response to the press release, that glyphosate is certified by the Soil Association. She pointed out to Sarah that this is completely untrue and in fact the Soil Association have been campaigning for glyphosate to be banned for years! Sarah went back to the City Council, they admitted that it is only the adjuvant that is certified and she has now published a correction. 

Careful Leicester City Council we are watching you!!  

References

(1) Wildlife experts urge action on pesticides as UK insect populations plummet | Insects | The Guardian

(2) Bugs Matter Citizen Science survey shows further decreases in UK insect numbers - Buglife latest news

(3) Childhood exposure to common herbicide may increase the risk of disease in young adulthood

(4) Pesticide-Free Towns - success stories - Pesticide Action Network UK

(5) Tackling weeds without the use of pesticides - Pesticide Action Network UK

Peat

It’s that time of year again when gardeners head to the garden centre to get some compost.  Unfortunately you will still find peat based composts for sale despite the promises of previous governments to halt the retail sale of peat by 2024. The legislation to enact this ban looks to be stalled.

Peat accumulates at the rate of about 1mm per year, so when you see pictures like this you know current approaches to peat use are completely unsustainable. It isn’t naturally fertile, it’s a growing medium made fertile by the addition of fertilisers.

Hawkes Co. drivers use tractors to vacuum dried peat while harvesting. Courtesy of Hawkes Co.

Peat is a better store of carbon than trees as once trapped in a water logged bog the carbon can stay trapped almost indefinitely, until we come along!  Not only does peat store carbon, it acts as a sponge absorbing water and slowly releasing it, so helping to prevent flash flooding as our climate changes with the resultant torrential downpours.  It also helps to purify water, with much of our drinking water coming from upland areas.

Not only is peat being exploited for gardening, it’s still being used as a home heating fuel!

It can also be burnt on moors when heather is being burnt to create ideal grouse feeding conditions for the shooting industry when a controlled burn also damages the underlying peat.

The government is currently conducting a consultation on amendments to The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021. Heather and grassland burning is currently carried out under licence but from an environmental perspective on many levels it’s hard to see why it should be allowed at all.  Please respond to the consultation.

Meanwhile, what can you do? 

• Write to your MP asking for the stalled peat ban legislation to be progressed and for the cutting and burning of peat for home heating to be banned.
• Buy peat free compost!  For guides to peat free compost see RSS | RSS  and Peat-free compost choices / RHS Gardening and The best peat-free compost for eco-friendly gardening
• See tips for using peat free compost at Peat-free compost: what is peat and how to use it - Which?
• Make your own compost using this guidance.  Surely the best answer!

Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland

 By law all councils need to come up with a Local Nature Recovery Strategy, as laid down in the Environment Act 2021. For Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland this is being led by Paul Killip, from Leicestershire CC.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a new mandatory system of spatial strategies that will:

• Map the most valuable existing areas for nature.
• Establish priorities.
• Map proposals for specific actions to drive nature’s recovery and achieve wider environmental benefits.

Why bother?

• The State of Nature 2023 report reveals that over 26% of terrestrial mammals in the UK are facing the threat of extinction.
• Birds are one of the most severely impacted groups, with 43% of species facing risk of extinction.
• Species like the Turtle Dove and Curlew have seen catastrophic declines.
• Pollinator species have decreased by 18% on average, while crop pest control invertebrates, such as the 2-Spot Ladybird, have declined by more than 34%.
• Freshwater habitats are particularly vulnerable, with species such as the European Eel and Atlantic Salmon facing dramatic population declines. The European Eel has seen a 95% decrease.
• In future Local Planning Authorities will have to take account of nature recovery areas when making planning decisions.  It would be good to think improvement initiatives would involve members of the public so we could get some local ownership going.

The LNRS aims to achieve 8 Strategic Aims:

1. Increase the area and diversity of land and water managed for wildlife in Leicestershire, Leicester, and Rutland.
2. Increase biodiversity by improving the ecological condition (habitat quality) of existing areas for nature conservation.
3. Re-instate natural processes and utilise Nature-Based-Solutions to support nature and climate resilience.
4. Protect and enhance green and blue spaces within urban habitats.
5. Promote sustainable agriculture and support local food systems.
6. Improve ecological connectivity by establishing coherent and resilient ecological networks at scale.
7. Reduce major pressures and threats to nature including Invasive Non- Native Species control.
8. Improve our understanding of the State of Nature and actively monitor habitats/species change over time.

The strategy has identified 8 priority habitats:

1. Woodland
2. Freshwater
3. Grasslands
4. Urban
5. Agricultural
6. Open mosaic
7. Nature networks
8. Geodiversity

Extensive studies have mapped the whole of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland seeking to identify areas for nature recovery.  The maps are available to look at online, including one where the general public can identify areas they think worthy of mention.

Following a session with Paul Killip LFoE have reviewed both the draft and the actual report and submitted suggestions for improvements.  The next version is due out in July so we look forward to seeing this strategy coming into being.

Meeting Shockat Adam MP about the Climate Plan

As part of our work on the Big Climate Plan campaign, we met Shockat Adam, the independent MP for Leicester South, to ask him to demonstrate his commitment to fair climate action. 

We explained that the government's new climate plan must set out how we will meet the UK's international commitment to cut carbon emissions by over two thirds by 2030. We're currently dangerously off track so we need to take urgent action. The plan therefore needs to be ambitious but we think it also needs to make sure that everyone can have lower energy bills, warm homes, clean air, better public transport and well paid green jobs. 

Many of the people hit hardest by the impacts of climate change, in the UK and worldwide, are those who have done the least to cause the problem. Fair climate action can bring benefits for everyone, not only those who can afford to buy a Tesla. With the backlash against net-zero in some quarters, it's vital that the government's plan is fair and seen to be fair. If it isn't, it risks being weaponised by climate sceptics and those seeking to delay climate action.

This week, Friends of the Earth published a new fairness focussed research report, highlighting the impact of climate policies on ordinary people. We gave Shockat a copy of the report and the petition that we had collected showing local support for fair climate action: 160 postcards and 227 digital signatures. We also presented him with the brainstorm of ideas for climate action, which people have been contributing to at our recent stalls. 

We discussed how fair climate action could make a difference locally, in improving cold and mouldy homes, reducing air pollution that affects the most deprived parts of Leicester most severely and in improving everyone's access to public transport. Shockat has agreed to present our petition to the Prime Minister and also to write to him to express his support for fair climate action. We were gratified to hear that he is very interested in these issues. 

Now all we can do is to wait and see what the new climate plan will bring! As this effectively marked the end of our work on this campaign, we went to the Phoenix for dinner to celebrate. Local groups across the UK are talking to their MPs about the need for fair climate action; we hope that together we will make a difference.