HS2 and The Christmas Island Project

 

The construction of the High Speed 2 railway line from London to Birmingham is a huge engineering project. Amongst the many tasks there has been the provision of a ‘bat tunnel’. An artificial tunnel, built over a section of the high speed line, to prevent bats being killed by fast trains as they fly over that particular  section of line. Years ago an electrified line on the third rail system had small tunnels provided underneath the lines to give badgers safe passage.

One of the most amazing examples of applying measures to protect wildlife from danger can be found on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Following the first major rainfall at the beginning of summer, millions of Christmas Island Red Crabs carpet the island as they migrate to the coast. These palm sized land crabs live in burrows in the rainforest for most of the time, feeding on leaves, fruits, flowers and seedlings, occasionally scavenging on dead crabs and birds.

Their young must, however, develop in the sea, thus, once a year both the males and females swarm in their countless millions to the coast to breed. The males arrive first to make burrows beside the shore. Females arrive then to mate with them and stay with the eggs while they develop, before they crawl out and release the eggs into the sea. Here the young hatch out as free swimming larvae. Although they are small and vulnerable to larger marine life, their vast number ensures that many survive to become tiny baby crabs ready to come ashore to the rainforest. When they reach maturity at about four to five years old they are ready for the yearly migration to the coast.

Remembering Sir Nicholas Winton

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

Towards the end of 1938, a stock-broker, born to German-Jewish parents, travelled from England, which had become his home, to Prague, Czechoslovakia, knowing that upon arrival, he would find many people displaced from their homes. Some were living with relatives, others living rough or in camps with little food and trying their best to keep warm in the winter conditions. At the age of 29, he had so far lived a relatively comfortable life, but hearing about Jews who had lost their jobs and suffered other forms of persecution, he set out to see if there was anything he could do to help.

Whilst a number of organisations were working away, things were getting tougher. He was concerned with rescuing children, but amongst other challenges, was the problem of transporting unaccompanied children across Europe into Britain. Nicholas used his political connections to put certain things in order and his mother went to the ‘Home Office’ to make his rescue plan possible.