Observer Article – September 2022
One thing I have learnt, in all the wall to wall coverage of the Queen’s life this week, is that as well as having a great sense of humour she was a true matriarch, quietly wielding a lot of soft power behind the scenes. Matriarchal power is the kind exercised by older women who have managed to become valued for their wisdom and experience, not overlooked once their youth fades; who have arguably earned the right to please themselves, yet choose instead to offer comfort and counsel to younger generations. In 2021, advised by her doctors to rest rather than attend the Cop26 climate conference, the Queen sent a video message in her place. There was a quiet urgency to it. “We none of us live for ever,” she said, a photograph of her late husband beside her, “but we are doing this not for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children.”
Whatever your views on the monarchy and our tainted colonial history, we now have a king who is a committed environmentalist at a point when the government is full of climate change deniers and delayers. Sure, I would rather not be relying on a figurehead as change-maker, but I’d take him over any other.
I never met the Queen but I did meet King Charles when I lived on an organic dairy farm. He was there in support of the Soil Association in Scotland, which was promoting the use of organically grown food in schools.
We all have to find common cause where we can, whatever our political beliefs, to urgently deliver the solutions to the climate crisis that already exist.
Organic growing relies in part on building soil health with compost, and communities can create a virtuous circle by creating local schemes to compost food waste. This came up at a recent meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce to discuss what local businesses are already doing to tackle the climate crisis and move to a zero carbon economy. Hastings has many independent food businesses whose food waste gets shipped all the way to Maidstone. We can, instead, make use of it while saving fuel. We do have the Composting Community in Hastings and St Leonards, who are busy rolling out food waste composting for local residents and now have five sites across the town, but we need a scheme for businesses as well.
In Lewes, the Compost Club is collecting food waste and turning it into compost to grow local organic vegetables. Now that is a proper circular economy.
I recently attended an Open Day at Farley Bank for residents of Optivo housing, run jointly by Hastings Borough Council and Optivo. There was huge interest in food growing among the residents. A weekly growing group has already started, supported by the Greener Futures project, with herb plants in the newly tidied up planters.
I want to develop a food action plan for Hastings. We have increasing numbers of people going hungry, and an interest in local food growing is at an all-time high, but with over 600 people on the waiting list for allotments we urgently need to identify more land that can be used for growing food. If you have land or growing skills, do get in touch.