Tim and I went for a walk this afternoon to Fairburn Ings; a local RSPB Reserve. It consists of groups of lakes and wetland habitats, and runs alongside the River Calder. Not only does Fairburn Ings sit in the shadow of Ferrybridge Power Station, but it is situated on the site of an old mining complex that included a coal tip. The RSPB say:
"We are working with our partners to manage the restored coal tip. Measures include mowing and grazing the dry grassland to help breeding skylarks, grey partridges and lapwings; improving the shingle around lagoons for breeding little ringed plovers, ringed plovers and lapwings; and enhancing the farmland areas for passerines such as tree sparrows and corn buntings.
We are also improving water control, introducing fencing, conducting patrols, and monitoring plants and invertebrates."
Ferrybridge Power Station and it's sister stations at Drax and Eggborough dominate the skyline as I travel around our Circuit, they provide employment in an uncertain age for hundreds of people, and that is good news for an area hard hit by the recession and suffering from high unemployment figures. All three burn Bio-mass in an effort to reduce the carbon emissions produced by coal burning, but all three power stations still serve as reminder of our reliance upon fossil fuels for electricity. That all three are involved in schemes to help the environment is to their credit... we live in a world of juxtapositions and contrasts. It would be easy to critisise the industry without thinking, it is more challenging to work alongside it in an effort to find a sustainable way forward whilst acknowledging that we currently live with a less than desirable situation.
Fairburn Ings stands out as a symbol of hope, trees and grasses now colonise the coal tip, and the lakes and wetlands cover the scared face of the mined land forming a rich habitat for bird and marine life. At the RSPB Centre groups of adults and children come to hear about wildlife and conservation and regular activities and opportunities for learning are planned.
I am struck by the potentially unlikely partnership here, and wonder what this has to say to us as a church; it seems to me that some of the most successful Fresh Expressions initiatives spring from unlikely partnerships, that creativity flourishes when we dare to step beyond our comfort zones, and that transformation becomes possible where we had thought that all was lost.
I am currently thinking and praying about creating a garden area on a piece of unsused land, I would like to involve the teenagers who hang around in that area drinking and smoking. It is certainly an unlikely partnership, and at the moment the task of convincing either of the groups who would be involved seems impossible and risky. It will certainly be messy, and won't be without problems, grace will be called for, but I wonder if together, by grace, and through prayer if we might just be able to create something beautiful....
Fairburn Ings is beautiful, and through its trees even the view of the towers was Ferrybridge were softened in the evening light.
We did see this Kingfisher today, there is a special viewpoint at the reserve where you can watch for Kingfishers, a testament to the work of an unlikely partenrship!
