Hope in Bloom: Rediscovering Nature’s Power to Heal

By day, the bright purple lavender was awash with bees.  The sound of their humming strong and constant in the heat of the sun.  White butterflies, gently floated above the fragrant flowers and swallows glided on the winds, silhouetted against the bluest of skies.

By night, a thousand sparks of bright light danced and fluttered along the hedges and up into the field and along the wooded hillside. Fireflies resembling little embers of magic, like fairies weaving spells between the leaves and grasses. Enchanting and beautiful but too dark to make out the celestial bodies producing the wonderous symphony of fairy light. 

Such was the miracle of nature, witnessed in a rarely touched garden wilderness.

“Then I returned to England,” a friend said disappointedly.  She had returned from Italy after a few days break, which served as a harsh reminder of the loss of biodiversity in her own garden. 

Shifting Baselines

It showed how declines in the natural world can become normalised and barely recognised. How quickly we forget what thriving biodiversity should look. How we grow accustomed to the loss and give scant thought to the extent that surrounds us. 

It’s called ‘shifting baseline syndrome’ and as a result the scale of loss becomes invisible to subsequent generations. That is, without a powerful reminder of a flourishing ecosystem.

I’m of a generation that remembers the multitude of insects that would cover car windscreens following a drive. Of the difficulty of removing them from the headlights and number plate. Not so nowadays.  

The stats are sobering. 

The latest survey has revealed that the number of insects found on vehicle number plates has plummeted by 63% since 2021. This new data shows a decrease in insect splats across the UK, with the sharpest fall of 65% recorded in Scotland.

According to the United Nations, the rate of extinction among insects is now happening eight times faster than mammals, birds, and reptiles.

War on Wildlife

Declines are mirrored in our birdlife, for which one out of every six birds has been lost since 1980. That adds up to the loss of 600 million breeding birds over 40 years.

Industrial farming is largely to blame. The falls in Europe are widely accepted as being driven by agricultural intensification involving greater pesticide and fertiliser use, pollution and the resulting deterioration of farmland habitats.  

Keeping large numbers of farmed animals crammed and confined has sparked off the new and more deadly form of bird flu, which according to the United Nations has created a perfect storm, wiping out hundreds of millions of birds worldwide.

Taking wildlife as a whole, there has been a catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations in just 50 years (1970-2020), according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024. 

The report warns that parts of our planet are approaching dangerous tipping points driven by the combination of nature loss and climate change which pose grave threats to humanity.

Never before has it been so vital for us all to save, not just wildlife, but humanity too. We are all connected.

Thankfully, investments are being made in nature-based solutions which give reason great for hope.

Bringing Back Nature

One such example can be found on the East Coast of Suffolk, where a family business has established the internationally successful Dingley Dell Pork brand. Their philosophy of animal welfare, taste and sustainability, remain the pillars and foundations of their farm. Rather than simply planting grass to stabilise soil, they saw an opportunity to create pollinator-rich habitats that would not only support farming but would also enhance biodiversity.  

They have fulfilled their ambition to bring back a million bees by planting 338,000 square metres of flowers (phacelia and other nectar mixes) equivalent to eighty-three football pitches, in blocks around the farm. One square metre can contain 10-12 bumblebees.

Another example is the Wiston Estate in West Sussex, which shows what long-term biodiversity investment can look like on the ground. With a belief in creating a place where people, nature and enterprise can coexist and flourish, the estate has recently appointed its first full-time ecologist, Penny Green, formerly of Knepp (a famous wildlife conservation and rewilding project)  Her appointment reflects a growing shift in how forward-thinking estates are putting biodiversity at the centre of strategy.

In accord with the need to transform our food systems and transition to nature-friendly, sustainable practices, Lynbreck Croft in Scotlandis an award winning, multi-enterprise food producing business that is firmly rooted in farming with nature and high animal welfare principles. Owners, Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer now produce a diverse range of food from eggs and pork to beef and honey. 

Recognising that land and animals are our most valuable and essential assets, Lynn and Sandra use regenerative grazing principles, prioritising soil health with a goal to increase biodiversity. They have planted 30,000 native trees and choose animals that are suited to the local climate and natural forage.

All of which shows us that hope is not only possible but growing. From family farms to rewilding estates and regenerative crofting, people are showing that a different path is not only necessary but achievable. 

These are not just stories of environmental restoration, they are blueprints for renewal. If we choose to act now, to restore what has been lost and protect what remains, we can create a future where bees buzz, birds sing, and fireflies once again light up the night. The time to act is not tomorrow, it’s today.

Note: A version of this article was first published in The Scotsman on Friday 11^th July, 2025