Devon Friends build Quaker agroforestry community
'10: The percentage of English rivers that contain harmful neonicotinoids.'
Two Quakers in South Devon are planning to create a Quaker agroforestry community.
The couple, from Ashburton Meeting, have been working with wildlife experts to create a protected nature area. Simon Iredale told the Friend: ‘My partner Gill and I own six acres of land in south Devon. We have been working alongside Devon Wildlife Trust to make it a part of the nature corridor for animals and insects, stretching from Cornwall to Scotland. We have planted over 150 trees and introduced wild flowers over the last eleven years.’
The wildlife ‘corridor’ is part of the Nature Recovery Network (NRN), a national network of wildlife-rich places developed by the Wildlife Trust, and a major commitment in the government’s twenty-five year Environment Plan. The aim is to expand, improve and connect these places across the UK to improve the landscape’s resilience to climate change.
The couple’s ‘dream’ is to welcome six to eight people onto the field to start a Quaker agroforestry community. ‘Those interested would ideally be moved to hold regular morning Meetings [for Worship] and hold dearly Quaker values and non-hierarchical perspectives and work together to build a Meeting house, accommodation and sustainable agriculture,’ said Simon.
The Devon NRN is being expanded, with a live interactive online map in development. The Devon Wildlife Trust has also recently highlighted the dangers of a bee-keeping pesticide which received government authorisation for emergency use earlier this year. Even a minuscule trace of the ‘highly damaging’ neonicotinoid thiamethoxam can ‘disrupt a bee’s ability to navigate and reproduce, significantly reducing the chance of survival’, it said. Research published in 2023 found harmful neonicotinoids present in more than 10 per cent of English rivers, home to 3,800 invertebrate species.
Those interested in the Quaker community can call Simon on: 07971118053.
