Remembering the lost species of surrey

Posted on September 30, 2022 by XR Dorking

You may have seen them popping up at the War Memorial in Dorking on a Friday morning:  a group of people, out in most weathers, sitting in silence with a banner reading “Pause for the Planet”.  For several years now, Extinction Rebellion Dorking have been quietly asking passers-by to pause a moment and spare a thought for the planet and what we humans are doing to it.  Last Friday, they had something more to say.

This time the banner read, “Remembering the Lost Species of Surrey”.  One of the organisers, Sophie Blond, explained, “The Surrey Wildlife Trust has recorded at least 17 extinctions in the county in a little over 100 years.  This means that despite appearances, our so-called green and pleasant land can no longer support significant numbers or breeding populations of 17 species.”  She continues, “The problem is that each generation has little idea of how things were for the previous generation. So, our children grow up not knowing that they should see a pine marten chasing a squirrel through the pine trees on Leith Hill; that there should be a Water Vole running along the River Mole, or that they should see the glorious Lady Orchid growing tall amongst the grasses in local woodland clearings.  They don’t know what they are missing. We don’t know what we are missing.”