More Than Disgusting

 

I don’t know what year to start off with, but, in my own honest opinion, the land at the back of where I live is part of Reddish Vale Country Park – a stunning location if you ignore the fact that it seems that everyone has ignored it. For years, it’s been blighted with fly-tipping and just last summer, tyres were dumped there and they’ve been there ever since – with every promise made about clearing them up broken… and whats worse, the other rubbish has got worse too.

So the problem is really two-fold and if it wasn’t for the tyres, then the rest of the whole acre would’nt have become suddenly so prominent.

Last summer, a sculptor created ‘the green man’ – a wooden figure carved out of an old tree trunk. Then the pavement leading towards the path that takes you to ‘the green man’ was decorated with pretty pictures.. and then there’s the path itself. This is where the landscape stops and the landfill starts. To begin with, the first sign isn’t that you’re on Country Park territory, the first sign is a warning that riding motorbikes is illegal and if caught, you’ll have your bike confiscated and crushed – there’s also a fine too…

The next sign on the path is a small one that tells you ‘Welcome to Reddish Vale Country Park’ and a nice little reminder to keep it tidy…

Yeah, tidy…

So as you progress along the path, you’re met with litter all along the left hand side  where the houses are and then the tyre pile and of course, at random intervals inside the bushes – there’s more.

yup… tidy…

I have it on good authority that work is scheduled at the visitor centre to the Vale about a mile and a half away – they want to cut down trees and shrubs to make the viaduct a prominent feature and re-lay tarmac on the car park.

In the meantime – the filth and the rubbish remain. There are trees collapsing too because of the neglect – it’s disgusting.. I like how the money was found to do the tarmac and the excessive tree cutting because it’ll have a massive effect on the wildlife that inhabit that area by the visitor centre… so much so that it’ll deter the birds from breeding for at least the next few years. And just to make matters worse, if they leave the 1 acre of woodland at the back of me alone, the wildlife won’t be wanting to stay there much longer either….

I know the bird numbers are down here because we also had all our overgrown (by 8 years) shrubbery cut on the 6th January in the gardens here – and it does put birds off – I didn’t need to do a study, it took a full month before the birds realised my feeders were still there and now, they come regularly… bigger areas of ‘deforestation’ result in longer periods without wildlife.. *fact*

The thing is, the people at the visitor centre want a green flag award – but they’ll be doing it to the detriment of the wildlife…  Should the work go ahead, then if they don’t improve the 1 acre here, then there will be all hell let loose.

What they’re doing is almost a crime against the wildlife, who for the last 20 years or so, have regarded the area around the duck ponds their home… to cut down bushes and trees for the sake of a vanity award rather than do more for the wildlife – it’s criminal.

I really feel disgusted about all of it. The money they’re getting for the work could be better spent elsewhere…… no harm ever came from looking after what there is better.

I’ve contacted my local newspaper and I’ve included pictures. I do hope that they publish the story that needs to be told….