An interview by Mary Hammond
Dave Bookless was deeply concerned. He had read a Report from the Southall Regeneration Partnership in 1998 which concluded that there was ‘a lack of greenery, open space, clean air and environmental awareness – all of which contribute to a lack of confidence and pride in the area.'
A large plot of land within that area, known locally as ‘Minet site' was an eyesore. It was used as an illegal fly-tipping site as well as an unregulated car-boot sale pitch. The resultant litter – literally tons – and the quagmire of mud did nothing to inspire pride in the area. So Dave became a man with a mission. A man who would dare to care for God's world – and transform the ‘Minet site'. We spoke to Dave Bookless shortly after the publication of his new book Planetwise* about his work.* Planetwise by Rev Dave Bookless, published by IVP 2008, ISBN 9781844742516 £7.99
Plain Truth: What got you started on the Minet project?
Dave Bookless: My concern for the Minet site and for the local community both stemmed from my Christian faith. Some years previously I'd had a ‘lightbulb' moment when for the first time it really dawned on me that my lifestyle was negatively affecting God's world, and that it was part of worshipping God to care for the planet. Living in multi-racial urban Southall, I'd seen how a poor environment was a major factor in people's lack of hope for themselves or their locality. Walking around Minet amidst burned-out cars and fly-tipped rubbish I sensed God asking ‘How do you think I feel about this?' and I felt creation's groaning to be set free.
The hard work began with discovering who the site belonged to (Hillingdon Council) and who else had an interest in it … groups including a cycling club, a football club and local residents. The local MP for Hayes & Harlington, John McDonnell, was hugely supportive and a consultative group was formed, including the Council. There were lots of different views – some people wanted to develop the site heavily for retail, leisure, even housing – but the local community were clear they wanted it clean, green and accessible.
I had known about A Rocha ( www.arocha.org ) for years – as a Christian charity doing nature conservation in Portugal and beyond. And I had become increasingly involved myself, so it was natural to seek advice and prayer from A Rocha, and, as the project developed, to seek to set it up under A Rocha's auspices. My wife and I'd been inspired by seeing how A Rocha projects combine care for wildlife and habitats with care for people – integrating the social, environmental and spiritual aspects of the gospel – and we sought to do the same with A Rocha UK as it developed.
The transformation of the Minet site took several years, with A Rocha UK providing ecological consultancy to the Council as landowners, and once the works were completed, working in conservation, environmental education and community engagement. Since Minet re-opened as a new Country Park in 2003, we've had thousands of school children visit each year, and the park is used daily by hundreds of people to walk their dogs, kick footballs, cycle or just enjoy the ever-changing life of God's creation. As well as people, the wildlife enjoys it too – there are breeding kingfishers and woodpeckers, newts, dragonflies, foxes, voles and butterflies.
PT: As a nation we do seem to have been more aware of our environment recently. For example, last year saw the banning of smoking in public places and more recently many towns have withdrawn plastic carrier bags because of the damage they can do to wildlife and the environment. But is this just tokenism? Is it too little, too late by too few?
DB: No step is too small if it's part of a journey. Plastic bags are causing immense harm to wildlife and finding their way to some of the most pristine and beautiful places on earth – causing the deaths of albatrosses in the Pacific for instance. They're also a symptom of how our relationship with nature has gone wrong. We need to discover a way of living well that sees creation not as a car-boot sale or a supermarket where we grab what we can as cheaply as we can, but as an infinitely precious home that we are looking after for its owner.
In terms of ‘too little, too late by too few', we are certainly at a crisis point. Our lifestyles emit almost 100x as much CO 2 as a rural villager in Africa, and if everybody on planet earth were to consume resources as we do, we'd need more than three planet earths. This can't go on – both as a matter of justice and simply as a matter of supply and demand. Today there's a real urgency that, whilst we start with small symbolic actions like changing light bulbs or not using plastic bags, we rapidly move on to more far-reaching actions that quickly reduce our negative impact – for the sake of the poor, for the sake of the planet, and for God's sake!
PT: So who should ‘lead the way' in caring for the environment? Should it be the churches, the government, industry and business or should it be up to each of us individually? And what practical advice could you give to the average Plain Truth reader that would make a difference if they could make some changes in their everyday lives?
DB: We need action at every level – individual, church, community, business, government and indeed international treaties. It's just lazy to say ‘I won't change until the Government / big business / China / the USA starts to change'. In particular we're seeing that when Christians in their local churches catch a vision of living differently it can have an inspiring effect on those around them. A Rocha's lifestyle challenge – Living Lightly 24-1 ( www.livinglightly24-1.org.uk ) has already seen 750 people sign up to transforming their lifestyles step-by-step in community, as an outworking of Psalm 24:1, ‘The earth is the Lord's and everything in it'. Our Environment Resource Pack (called ‘Planetwise' to link with my book and available from www.arocha.org.uk/planetwise.htm l) provides lots of materials to help churches get started with service orders, home group materials, children's resources and some inspiring short films.
In terms of practical advice, here are four areas where we can all make a start:
ENERGY – make sure your home is well insulated; change to a green electricity provider such as Good Energy or EcoTricity.
FOOD – Buy local, organic, animal-friendly and fairly-traded food as much as you can. If that sounds expensive, eat less meat (which takes far more energy to produce). Also avoid packaging and items that have travelled too far, and if you have a garden why not try growing some of your own food. It's fun as well as healthy!
TRAVEL – Avoid flying whenever possible. Use public transport, cycle or walk if you can, and if you're replacing a car make it as ‘green' as possible. We now have an electric car as a family – and the kids think it's ‘well cool'!
CAMPAIGNING – Politicians notice if ordinary people get active. The Stop Climate Chaos campaign (www.icount.org.uk – A Rocha and many other organisation are involved) is trying to make Climate Change as a big a campaigning issue as ‘Make Poverty History' – why not support this?
About the author : Rev Dave Bookless is National Director of A Rocha UK. He is married to Anne and they have four daughters.
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