Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: Don_1 on 14/11/2008 12:50:58
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I would like to be in a position where I could buy a good sized piece of land, spend a couple of years ploughing it, say once every other week and turning in leaf mould, bark, horse manure and other natural ingredients to enrich the soil and rid it of man-made fertilisers and imported/hybridised plants. Then embark on a programme of populating the land with indigenous plants such as Beech, Birch, Oak, Chestnut, Scots Pine, Hawthorn, Dandelion, and Chicory and so on. Once these plants and trees were established, I would then introduce indigenous animals such as Red Squirrels, Stoats, Fallow Deer and hedgehogs. I suppose it would be too much to try to keep out the immigrants (Rabbits, Black rats etc.). Insects and birds would doubtless find their own way onto the land.
What would you like to do to leave your mark on this world?
Try to keep it within the current realms of possibility, so no inventing the time machine or building of the star ship Enterprise, no uninventing of nuclear weapons or eradication of poverty.
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Damn it, Don! What am I supposed to do now?
(Chestnut isn't indigenous though...)
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These are what you can have..
1. Scots Pine - Pinus sylvestris
2. Bay Willow - Salix Pentandra
3. Alder - Alnus glutinosa
4. Hazel - Corylus avellana
5. Small Leaved Lime - Tilia cordata
6. Bird Cherry - Prunus padus
7. Goat Willow - Salix caprea
8. Wych Elm - Ulmus glabra
9. Rowan Mountain Ash - Sorbus aucuparia
10. Sessile Oak - Quercus petraea
11. Juniper - Juniperus communis
12. Downy Birch - Betula pubescens
13. Silver Birch - Betula pendula
14. Aspen - Populus tremula
15. Ash - Fraxinus excelsior
16. Holly - Ilex aquifolium
17. Common or Pedunculate Oak - Quercus robur
18. Hawthorn - Crataegus monogyna
19. Crack Willow - Salix fragilis
20. Black Poplar - Populus nigra
21. Yew - Taxus baccata
22. Whitebeam - Sorbus aria
23. Midland Hawthorn - Crataegus leavigata
24. Crab Apple - Malus sylvestris
25. Wild or Gean Cherry - Prunus avium
26. Strawberry Tree - Arbutus unedo
27. White Willow - Salix alba
28. Field Maple - Acer campestre
29. Wild Service Tree - Sorbus torminalis
30. Large Leaved Lime - Tilia platyphyllos
31. Beech - Fagus sylvatica
32. Hornbeam - Carpinus betulus
33. Box - Buxus sempervirens
http://www.uksafari.com/britishtrees.htm
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Yes Don_1
As you will see from this Royal Forestry Society's (RFS) link it will show you that the Horse Chestnuts originally come from
Central/Eastern Europe - Albania
http://www.rfs.org.uk/thirdlevel.asp?ThirdLevel=63&SecondLevel=34
Try Elderberry for the colour of the blossom and the berries for the fermentation (sloes) of gin and of course for the birds.
Or bushes to make a hedge with for nesting birds and animals as well as blackbirds etc.
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(Chestnut isn't indigenous though...)
You're quite right, how remiss of me! I blame old King Charles for that..... and that was an Oak anyway.......... Have I gone bonkers, or conkers???
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I would like to practice my hedge-laying, as well as start some coppice management for fuelwood and ecology.
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....and a cider apple orchard
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Nice list Don_1 and a great idea, some badgers would be OK too and a couple of wild boars to keep the soil turned over so the seeds can germinate.
It's good too, with all the introductions that have taken place, to be reminded that there are only 3 native conifers, and one of those is pretty scarce.
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Why can't I rid the world of poverty. That is exactly what I'm trying to do to leave my mark on the world.
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You can also use the wild boars to root for fungi/mushrooms and
truffles around the base of oak trees. Make sure that the trees
are infection free first.
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You should include beavers, Don. I know they stink to high heaven and cut down precious trees BUT they re being re-introduced to the UK and they do create wetlands for other almost extinct species such as the freshwater pearl mussel. It would also create a place to grow rushes for the quaint thatched roofs found in parts of the British Isles, as well as to use on the floor of the Great Hall in the local castle.
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Why can't I rid the world of poverty. That is exactly what I'm trying to do to leave my mark on the world.
Well done you! I'm sure you feel the better for your effort. All I meant was make it something achievable. Sadly, I fear poverty will be with us ad infinitum.
You should include beavers,
Did you have a particular Beaver in mind I wonder?
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Defeatist! If everyone has that attitude then of course we wont rid the world of poverty.
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Not defeatist, realist. The rich can only be rich while there are those who are poor. There will always be those who want more than the rest.
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You should include beavers,
Did you have a particular Beaver in mind I wonder?
Well, yes, I did. I know one that wishes he were away from the rug rats, the dentist, the chemist, the village, the English, and a couple of cats.
Perhaps you could help him relocate? A very eleemosynary thing to do.
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Not defeatist, realist. The rich can only be rich while there are those who are poor. There will always be those who want more than the rest.
Thus it always was, and will be. Imagine what an impoverished landscape there would be in Britain if there had been across-the-board equality.
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Try Elderberry for the colour of the blossom and the berries for the fermentation (sloes) of gin and of course for the birds.
Elderberries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambucus_nigra
can be used to make wine but sloes (for sloe gin)are something else
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackthorn
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Id like to finish my undergrad, get a PhD, and work in the energy industry for a while. Then Ill retire and open my own consulting firm, become independently wealthy, and invest in more business ventures that put as many of the poor back to work as I can afford.
All the while seeking out those with bright futures but less opportunity and giving them a helping hand. (I learned that part from this grumbly, acerbic, soft rock geologist...hehehe)
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Id like to finish my undergrad, get a PhD, and work in the energy industry for a while. Then Ill retire and open my own consulting firm, become independently wealthy, and invest in more business ventures that put as many of the poor back to work as I can afford.
All the while seeking out those with bright futures but less opportunity and giving them a helping hand. (I learned that part from this grumbly, acerbic, soft rock geologist...hehehe)
And while in school don't break your nose when stepping on your cat at night!
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hehehe...thanks Jim! Wish you would have warned me of that a few days ago. The fever looks like it has broken (much like my nose) and the swelling has begun to go down on my face (though I have a black eye). Overall, its not NEARLY as bad as it could have been. Im lucky in my unluckiness.