Do the first stirrings of spring unleash poetic feelings in you? Even better, does the possibility of new beginnings stimulate a desire to stand up for nature?

If so, your resolve might be boosted still further by this poem by our friend Luke Western, a local artist who kindly donates a portion of his sales of wire sculptures to the Trust. Listen to BBC radio presenter Peter Gordon reciting the piece.

For this land

We once fought for this soil,

for these mountains and seas,

for the grass and the leaves,

and the roots and their trees.

Waged wars for these shores,

for the rivers that flow,

toe to toe with our foe,

for the flowers that grow.

Head to head, sword in hand,

for the freedom to roam,

made a stand for this land,

for this place we call home.

A home we inherit,

and it isn’t just ours.

These landscapes we share

with the bees and the flowers,

with the otters and eels

that weave through the reeds,

and the life in the earth

that breathes in the weeds.

But as life moves on,

at a frightening pace,

we’re making ground

in taking space.

Ancient woodland, cut to its core,

the home of the bluebell-carpeted floor.

Our ancestors’ heaths are in danger too,

where unknowing eyes thought nothing grew.

But they’re rarer than rainforests,

more precious than gold—

endangered havens, millennia old.

A battle begins;

it can’t wait anymore.

A fight to connect and protect,

rewild and restore.

So wage war for the woods,

for these grasslands and lakes,

and butterflies and beetles,

and lizards and snakes.

For heaths strewn in heather,

and birds of a feather,

for all life on earth,

thriving together.

Take the baton in hand,

for a world that is just.

Join the fight for this land

with Surrey Wildlife Trust.

Give wildlife a helping hand across Surrey by supporting our Save Surrey's Nature appeal.