Environmental campaigners from Devon staged a protest at Kensington Palace this morning, in response to the Duchy of Cornwall’s announcement earlier this month regarding the expansion of Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor.
Pictures from the campaign group Wild Card show a butler holding a platter of small potatoes, next to a card that reads ‘Prince William’s Small Potatoes’. The group, supported by TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, also attached a banner to the gates of the palace which read “0.01% WHAT ABOUT THE REST”.
The announcement from the Duchy to regenerate the 3 hectares of forest in Wistman’s Wood by 2040 came after a petition hosted by Wild Card reached over 71,000 signatures. The petition called on Prince William to ‘bring back Britain’s rainforests’ in His Royal Highness’s newly inherited estate, but the campaigners argue the recent announcement did not go far enough.
The Duchy of Cornwall manages 27,300 hectares on Dartmoor. Wistman’s Wood accounts for just 0.01% of the land owned by HRH The Prince of Wales across Dartmoor.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, one of the celebrity backers of the Wild Card campaign, said: “In inheriting the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince William has an enormous opportunity to resurrect one of the world’s rarest habitats and to walk the walk on his long standing environmental advocacy. Decisive action by the Prince to expand the rainforest fragments still remaining on Dartmoor would be an act of boldest optimism in the face of the ever worsening nature crisis.
“I really think he could inspire a wave of rainforest restoration in Britain and beyond. By protecting and expanding these areas, the Prince could become a world-leading example of rainforest restoration.”
Ecologist and spokesperson for Wild Card, Emma Smart, said: “We’ve taken action today to highlight the disconnection between Prince William’s words and his cowardly actions. As the founder of the Eartshot prize he has shown he understands the urgent need to act on the nature and climate emergencies.
Prince William has said that ‘now is the time for each of us to show leadership’ and he was right. But addressing just 0.01% of his vast estate on Dartmoor, with a timeline of 2040, is not leadership, it’s just small potatoes. The British people deserve better from the royal family, who earn a substantial private income from their land every year, farmers deserve real consultation and future-proof planning, and local communities – thousands of whom signed our petition – deserve to be taken seriously.”
This Autumn hundreds of local people will march on the Duchy of Cornwall offices with Wild Card, to demand urgent action to rewild Dartmoor.
You can join us on our social media pages, follow us on Facebook or Twitter and keep up to date with whats going on in South Devon.
Got a news story, blog or press release that you’d like to share or want to advertise with us? Contact us
