July 2019 – Katie Thornburrow

We declare a biodiversity emergency

In May this year Cambridge City Council declared a biodiversity emergency and pledged:

to provide leadership and to ensure that we work with all organisational departments, partners and our communities to reverse the decline in biodiversity and deliver measurable biodiversity net gain within Cambridge and the wider region.

I was proud to propose the motion, and as I introduced it this is what I said:

I’d like to stand before you and say how pleased I am that Cambridge City Council is leading the way in acknowledging the significance of species collapse, and pledging action, but I can’t, because I fear that even this will be too little, too late.

I hope I’m wrong, and that what we do today makes a contribution to turning us away from the ecological and agricultural disaster that faces us

Continue reading “We declare a biodiversity emergency”

Replacing gas mains in Trumpington

As I cycled into the Guildhall this morning I went down Porson Road and noticed the large yellow pipes standing ready to be laid along the road. Yellow is the colour used for gas, and although I was pleased to see that Trumpington’s vital infrastructure is being properly maintained, I also wondered how long we will want to keep providing gas to people’s homes when we are planning to becoming a zero carbon economy by 2030.

We all know that if we are to avoid dangerous levels of global warming then we need to change many of our current practices and assumptions, especially here where so much of our daily life and industry rely on oil, coal and gas. However we don’t seem to reflect on what that means – and it will mean not piping gas to everyone to burn, however convenient it may be.

Clearing Floating Pennywort from the Cam

At the weekend I had an enjoyable if tiring time canoeing on the Cam near Horningsea. It wasn’t just a pleasant afternoon on the river – I had joined enthusiastic members of the Cam Valley Forum and the Cambridge Canoe Club as they embarked on their mission to clear floating pennywort from the river.

This involved carefully pulling the weed away from the bank and collecting it in buckets on our canoes, and then either putting it on the bank to provide useful compost or putting it into a boat being used by the Cam Conservators.

It was a beautiful summer day, and great to work with such a committed group of volunteers. And my upper arms really benefited from the exercise!