After a long January, February passed in a flash and here we are in the first week of March. In meteorological terms at least, spring is here. Enjoy the sunshine though it would still be good if someone could tell the thermometer!
As one of the last areas in the southeast where we still get a good dark sky, it has also been wonderful to try to see all seven known planets aligned in the night sky.
Spring is a great time of year to enjoy nature. On Friday I visited the RSPB Pulborough Brooks at Wiggonholt near Storrington. With beautiful views across to the South Downs, this reserve is set in one of the richest areas for nature in the country. At this time of year there are a fantastic array of birds: lots of aerobatic Lapwings and wintering wildfowl, such as Wigeon and Teal. The RSPB also looks after neighbouring Amberley Wildbrooks.
We cannot take these precious and delicate nature landscapes for granted which is why it is important that we make our rivers even cleaner and invest in the infrastructure to cope with the population influx in the southeast of England. I share residents’ concerns about the increases in our water bills, but the hard truth is that many of us spend more on a cup of coffee than a whole day of clean water and our sewage taken away. Since 2014 the average water and wastewater bill increased by just 0.5% compared with inflation of 33%.
