July is the month to linger in the garden or enjoy a rare stroll in the park or countryside on a mild evening. If you live near a small pond, go and visit it, since this month nocturnal life such as bats, dragonflies, damsels, hedgehogs and foxes will all seek the waterhole after a hot July day, not unlike the African savanna. If you are patient you will see their shadows by the water’s edge. A torch above water at dusk will reveal backswimmers and the occasional newt. Look for toadlets around your feet – and remember that, while you kiss a frog to find a prince, a toad reveals a princess. There are fairytales written about both for good reason, because they’ve been connected to fertility since antiquity. In Scandinavia, fertility or “frog dances” called Små grodorna traditionally take place around the maypole in midsummer.
Ease yourself into July and welcome in a slower pace of life
July is also the start of the butterfly season, with tortoiseshells, red admirals, peacocks and commas fluttering above the wildflowers. If you’ve been sowing in the spring, now you can enjoy your peas, beans, salads, beetroots, carrots and artichokes, while every fruit that ends with “berry” is reaching full maturity. In the past, our ancestors would have been busy making hay this month to ensure cattle can survive the winter. It’s a once-difficult, time-consuming work that machines do for us today, and one of the reasons there are fewer traditional celebrations in July by comparison with May and June.
The summer is at its zenith, so ease yourself into the month and welcome in a slower pace of life. If you live by the coast, it’s your last chance to behold Britain’s greatest show of sea-bird colonies. So why not cancel that meeting, gather your hamper, fill it with berries, and explore some rock pools?
Positive Ecological Restoration Stories
Deer prudence
There are only 300 remaining Italian or “Mesola” red deer (Cervus elaphus italicus), the last endemic red deer of the Italian peninsula. Habitat destruction has driven it to near extinction. Now a plan is underway to move 60 deer into a designated area to begin the process of building a new population that ecologists hope will one day thrive. “It will require a lot of talking and explaining to local communities, but the response has been very positive so far. People need to understand the incredible value of this process of re-naturalisation that Italy, as well as Europe, is going through,” said Alfonso Grillo of Parco delle Serre.
Symbiotic scotch and oysters
Oyster reefs are essential habitats for fish and shellfish, regarded by ecologists as one of the most important ecosystems in the world. Today, oyster populations are at a historic low due to overfishing and marine pollution. However, the US oyster restoration effort has been a success and it’s reported that newly restored oyster reefs have increased the population of shellfish and fish by up to 97 per cent. Naomi Kennon, a lead in restorative ecology at Heriot-Watt university in Scotland, has found that biodiversity can double once oyster restoration projects are under way. She’s helping to reintroduce four million oysters into Dornoch Firth, where the added bonus of cleaning the water will aid local distilleries in creating their famous whiskies. Good joined-up thinking!
Praise for Portugal
The sunniest country in Europe has worked on its solar infrastructure and is now breaking records for usage. The country installed 0.9 GW of solar photovoltaics, which powered one million homes. “Portugal is entering the next stage of its energy transition… solar is now pushing gas off the grid,” said Ember data analyst Matt Ewen. Spain also saw all-time records, with Euronews reporting that the two countries have already met 49 per cent of their electricity demand with renewables and have sunny months ahead to continue in this promising trajectory away from coal.
Beavering around town
Beavers are returning to London after 400 years. They are being released within Ealing’s Paradise Fields, which harbours wetlands and woodland habitats, just a few minutes from Greenford Tube station. Ecologists will monitor the beavers for a few months and once they’ve settled, the fields will open for the public to enjoy. “Many people assume beavers to be a wilderness species, in fact we’ve just forgotten how closely we used to live alongside them. We’re so excited to study how beavers interact with an urban river catchment and, crucially, with urban communities,” said Dr Sean McCormack, chair of Ealing Wildlife Group. “We are hoping to challenge perceptions and demonstrate how London, too, can embrace these ecosystem engineers as we strive for a healthier, wilder future in which our capital can become a leader in urban rewilding,” added Elliot Newton, co-founder of Citizen Zoo.
Sky Events
On 1 July, the planets Venus and Mars will pass closely to each other at 2:48 am (06:48 UTC). Both planets will be visible from the constellation of Leo. The full moon is on 3 July: called the Wyrt (herb) Moon or the Mead Moon, it will be a much bigger full moon than usual. On 29 and 30 July, we’re visited by the Delta Aquarids, producing 20 meteors per hour at its peak – radiating from the constellation Aquarius.
July Tides
Spring: 4th–5th and 18th–19th
Neap: 11th–12th and 26th-27th
Andreas Kornevall is a Swedish storyteller, author and ecologist. He is the Director of Operations for the Earth Restoration Service Charity based in the UK
