Why Sutton's biodiversity matters to us all
Cllr Andrew Jenner writes about why protecting local biodiversity is vital to our everyday lives and the work being done to help nature thrive across Sutton.
If humanity was wiped out today, the earth would return to a paradise in a few hundred years.
If we lose bees, we’re a desert. Forever!
That’s Ricky Gervais’s comment from his Armageddon show on Netflix. He’s probably referencing Albert Einstein who said ‘we have four years left to live if bees disappear’.
It’s not true but we would seriously be short of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and berries (like apples, almonds, and blueberries), leading to severe dietary scarcity, higher food costs, and a massive loss of global biodiversity. So their exaggeration does make the point.
Biodiversity in England and the wider UK has declined sharply over the past 50 years (since the 1970s), transforming the natural landscape and acoustic environment.
So when we talk about saving the planet, it is easy to think of distant rainforests or melting ice caps. But the truth is, the battle for a healthier world starts right outside our windows. Protecting and boosting our local biodiversity isn’t just a nice thing to do for the birds and the bees—it is a vital safety net for our own daily lives.
Think of nature as a beautifully complex engine running quietly in the background. Scientists call the things this engine produces "Ecosystem Services," but you can simply think of them as the ultimate support network, broken down into four distinct gifts:
The Shopping Basket (Provisioning): This is the tangible stuff we rely on to survive. It is the fresh water we drink, the food on our plates, the wood we use for building, and the natural ingredients that form our medicines and fuel.
The Safety Net (Regulating): Nature acts as our invisible shield. Thriving ecosystems naturally steady our climate, soak up heavy rains to prevent local flooding, and filter the water we rely on.
The Sanctuary (Cultural): This is how nature feeds our souls. It is the peace you feel on a morning walk, the mental reset of sitting in a park, the spaces where our kids learn to explore, and the quiet spiritual connections that keep us grounded.
The Foundation (Supporting): Behind it all are the fundamental processes that keep life moving. We are talking about the basic cycles—oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and nutrients—along with soil formation, photosynthesis, and providing homes for wildlife. Without these under-the-hood systems, the other three gifts simply couldn't exist.
Biodiversity is the glue holding this entire engine together. When we lose local plants and animals, the whole system starts to stutter, affecting every single resident—whether they walk on two legs, fly on wings, or burrow in the dirt. By actively protecting and restoring our green spaces, we aren't just saving a patch of grass; we are safeguarding our health, our resilience, and our shared future.
The council has many initiatives to promote biodiversity in the borough from planning regulations, river restoration projects, butterfly banks, tree planting and even harnessing the enthusiasm from local volunteers. If you’ve been planting spring bulbs with your local friends group you’re doing so not just for spring colour but help provide vital food for early pollinators. Several more thousands added to the 170 thousand planted in the last 5 years.
You can go into more detail by reading the councils Biodiversity Duty Report. It highlights the actions the council has, and will, undertake to make Sutton a great place to live, for all of the borough’s residents.
-Councillor Andrew Jenner