Plane trees on East Finchley High Road

Dear Readers,  you might be thinking that I haven’t mentioned the Open University for a while. You might also have noticed that my blog posts have been a bit shorter just lately. Well, on 2nd June I submit my final report for my Biology/Environmental Science degree, and so I am rather snowed under at the moment, trying to wrestle my ideas to the ground.

Most of the final assignment is a report, and I chose to look at East Finchley street trees. I’m comparing their ‘ecobenefits’ (how much carbon they sequester, how much flooding they prevent, how much air pollution they absorb) with the amount of biodiversity that each species of tree supports, and believe me, it’s not easy. ‘Ecobenefits’ are easily quantified – there’s a tool called ‘i-Tree’ that calculates these things – and councils love them, because they put a value on each tree, and if there’s one thing people love, it’s being able to count something. Biodiversity is not: just because a tree species could host a particular fungus or insect doesn’t mean that it can do that in a city, and data is sadly lacking. Fortunately, there is just about enough to put something together, and I’ll post my results once the deadline for the report has passed.

I also have to do an essay on a sustainable food production method, so I’m choosing the ‘Incredible Edibles’ project that started in Todmorden and has spawned numerous other projects around the UK. It involved using public space such as flower beds to grow fruit and vegetables that anyone could harvest, or get involved in  growing. The nay-sayers suggested that it would be one lot of people doing the growing, and another lot stealing the produce, but this turned out not to be a big problem. Who knew? People are basically honest, and when enough people are involved in a project they will monitor it themselves.

At any rate, suffice to say that the next few weekends will see me working away, until on 2nd June I raise my head and rush blinking into freedom. I’ve been doing this for six years, so it will be something of  a shock, but I have plenty to do! Not least ridiculous quantities of theatre to see, and rather a large pile of books to read. Keep your fingers crossed, readers!