I have the most playful of neighbours. Sylvia is always so busy that she hardly ever stops by. I sometimes go and visit her in her little cosy treehouse but she rarely visits me, especially in autumn.
Last Saturday was a very sunny day so I left the front door open to let some sun and warmth in. I haven't seen Sylvia recently, not even in passing. Sometimes, I see her jumping from one tree to another but I guess she is busy collecting winter supplies. Well, that day, of all days, she popped in to see me. She brought with her her favourite nuts, hazelnuts, some maple syrup, two handfuls of blackberries and a big smile. She gave me a warm hug and then hastily rushed through my house like a tornado. We prepared a sweet treat from the lovely gifts my squirrel friend brought. Then, we had a cup of tea on the terrace admiring the view of the autumn park, while she shared with me her latest adventure.
Sylvia told me how she met three house sparrows while she was picking some acorns the other day. The sparrows were talking animatedly on a branch of a nearby hazelnut tree. 'Sparrows are always a little loud,' narrated Sylvia, 'so I did not get alarmed at first seeing what appeared to be an argument. They were chirping loudly, moving their wings rapidly and hopping in place.' described the squirrel.
'What were they talking about?' I got a little curious.
'They were trying to find the best solution to their problem. So I decided to speak to them in hope that maybe I could help, despite being very busy these early autumn days.' continued her story Sylvia.
'I see. And did you manage to help them?' I asked.
'Well, let's see...' my friend answered mysteriously.
After taking another sip of her tea and a spoonful of a blackberry crumble we had made earlier, she continued her tale. 'The three sparrows were anxious because at their annual gathering the week before, very few sparrows showed up. Everybody wondered why, so they had investigated the problem. It turns out, there are fewer and fewer sparrows around due to lack of places where they can nest safely, and insects which are their main food.'
'Oh, how terrible!' I commented a bit surprised.
'Yes, very scary! The sparrows said that they could go extinct like the dinosaurs if something wasn't done about it soon!' continued the squirrel.
'What can we do to help?' I asked, increasingly worried.
On hearing my offer Sylvia excitedly continued 'I offered to help them. I am very good at collecting nuts, as you know, so I suggested I could bring them lots of hazelnuts and chestnuts to feed on,' she paused taking in a deep breath, 'but they said they could only eat a little bit of nuts and needed grain and insects, really. Sparrows eat different food to squirrels!'
'So, nothing can be done?' I was getting more and more concerned
'Well, all this problem started when humans changed small farms with many different crops to big farms with one type of crop planted over large pieces of land. The birds lost bushes where they could hide, the variety of grains and many tasty pollinating insects which need patches of wildflowers to survive. Then, the use of insecticides made the matters worse!' replied my friend
'What is an insecticide?' I was a bit confused.
'It's a poison that farmers use to kill insects so they don't damage their crops. The insecticides are sprayed in the fields and bugs die and everything that depended on them to live,' explained Sylvia and then, went on a bit hesitant. 'So, I promised to the sparrows that I would ask you if you could speak to the farmers. You could explain to them the result their new type of big farming is having on the sparrows, bees and other animals because it's the whole ecosystem that suffers not just one type of animal. We are all connected, so you can't hurt some of us without hurting others.' said thoughtfully Sylvia and she paused pondering her own wisdom. Or was it Mother Nature who was speaking through her?
After a long pause filled with silence Sylvia continued on her mission to convince me to speak to the farmers: 'You could insist that they must stop using insecticides and change the farms to animal friendly farms where there is a bit of space for everyone. Would you do that for my friends, the sparrows, please?' pleaded the squirrel.
'I most certainly would and I will!' I replied resolutely, determined to help them.
'And if the farmers don't listen. What will we do?' Sylvia was still visibly worried.
'I will find others who think like we do, who want to protect sparrows, insects and plants from poison and destruction. We will make the farmers, the politicians and all the people responsible for this disaster, listen and change!' I committed myself to the cause of the sparrows. 'After all, we eat the food they spray with those poisons! That's not right!'
'You are most certainly the best human I met and such a wonderful friend to me and my friends the sparrows.' said Sylvia smiling, 'and to answer your earlier question: I think I helped the sparrows by telling you about their big problem! I knew you'd understand and find a way to help!'
She jumped up, gave me a warm hug saying goodbye and left as unexpectedly as she arrived.
