A crafty conclusion

So, I’ve reached the end of my Explorer Award finally. 64-ish hours of discovering, exploring, conserving and sharing the birds of the National Cycle Network routes in Edinburgh and Ayrshire. I started it in December 2019 and it’s been a rocky time since – my Award has been a place to escape to and a joy to get back to during that time. I also started stitching in 2020 and learnt more about craftivism– crafting to raise awareness of issues. This seems the perfect last share for my Award. In 1938, John Muir wrote ‘Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.’ I don’t think we can say that’s still the case. In February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report looking at the causes and impacts of climate change, and potential solutions. The BBC reported the conclusion that ‘extreme weather events linked to climate change like floods and heatwaves are hitting humans and other species much harder than previous assessments indicated’. Rising temperatures are also changing nesting dates, food availability and migration patterns of birds - the latest review of the UK Red List of birds was published in December 2021 and lists 70 of our 245 species as under threat. That’s 1 in 4. Hopefully these 30 little birds that I have stitched and put out on the National Cycle Network can carry the message to people that we can all help by acting now – altering the way we travel, looking after greenspace and the wildlife in it, and raising awareness. It’s now or never. Thanks, John Muir Award, for a really enjoyable 2.5 years.