A COVENTRY woman has encouraged others to join calls for ‘no more harm to nature’ after her daughter told her she was considering not having children due to fears over the state of the environment.
Shantyl Rogers was among just 100 people from across the UK randomly chosen to take part in the first-ever UK-wide Citizen’s Assembly for Nature.
The assembly led to demands for urgent and immediate action from every part of society to renew and protect the natural environment.
Shantyl took part in the assembly across four weekends due to her concern about the declining natural world and the impact this will have on future generations.
Her 30-year-old daughter recently told her she and many of her friends were considering not having children due to their environmental concerns.
“This is extremely disheartening to hear and shows we need to do something now so future generations have the same opportunities and access to nature as we did growing up.”
Data shows 38million birds have vanished from our skies in the past 50 years, while 97 per cent of wildflower meadows have been lost since the Second World War.
In addition, experts have warned only five per cent of UK land is effectively protected for nature.
The assembly came together to review evidence on the state of nature and find common ground on the action needed to stop the declines.
Shantyl and the rest of the assembly’s work has contributed towards a ‘people’s plan for nature’ which aims to challenge governments, businesses and charities by creating a public demand for sweeping change.
The people’s plan’s top proposals include ensuring all commercial and policy decisions take into account the potential impacts on nature.
It also proposes an overhaul of farming systems to prioritise sustainable and nature-friendly farming and calls for greater government accountability.
And it calls for access to nature to be recognised as a human right.
The plan followed months of discussions with the public, including the citizen’s assembly and an open call for ideas on how to save nature, which received 30,000 responses.
Visit peoplesplanfornature.org for more and to comment on the people’s plan for nature.
