Turning Environmental Anxiety into Hope and Action

Long Mead gives me something we in the environmentalist movement have long since needed: Hope and motivation

^{By Robbie Cooke}

Long Mead meadow is undoubtedly a place of serene natural beauty, the gentle, green horizon and the mosaic of flowers it holds often feel like a scene straight out of an Arthurian fairy tale. But from my time both experiencing and partaking in the conservation efforts of the meadow I grow a deeper appreciation for this site and the Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project (TVWMRP) as a whole as it provides a sensation I feel is sorely lacking in environmentalism: Hope.

Whilst I 100% agree that environmental and ecological issues are to be the greatest challenges we will face this century, I frequently feel frustrated with the overbearing attitude of “doom and gloom” that pervades the environmentalist movement and often remark “they’re not inspiring the public into action they are inspiring them into anxiety!”. In the long run this outlook just ends up demoralising people and makes the situation harder to solve. This makes me all the more grateful I was able to discover Long Mead during my Masters with Oxford Brookes as finding out about both this place and the conservation strategy of “rewilding” gave me a much-needed dose of optimism!

Unlike many other government or NGO-led projects Long Mead also stands out for how grassroots (pardon the pun!) it is and how grounded and down to earth its community and goals are (again apologies!). The work done by volunteers and visitors has led to increase in plant biodiversity, both in Long Mead and the surrounding meadows, with snakes head fritillaries and ragged robin being an increasingly common sight, and many other meadows and farmland across Oxfordshire having begun taking and planting wildflowers from Long Mead. Indeed, it seems the influence of Long Mead is to continue to grow, both in a literal and metaphorical sense!

And indeed I hope that it does so as alongside the conservation potential, the work people do at Long Mead can be extraordinarily helpful psychologically. I remember that when my mother and I were dealing with serious medical manners we would always look forward to and try to visit the site as it meant for a few brief hours we could be transported away to a peaceful, calm, healing natural-space. Many other volunteers who work at Long Mead describe many a similar feeling, and seeing the rising biodiversity and community engagement only strengthens this happiness and drive.

This is above all what many of us look for throughout our lives: Drive and Purpose, and Long Mead and the TVWMRP provides this in abundance. I only hope it can continue to do so for others both across the county and perhaps even the country.