As panto season draws to an end, I have to say that my visit to the show in Perth was wonderful. Congratulations to Barrie Hunter for his first panto as director, writer and performer, creating an eco-conscious but hilarious performance. I am unlikely to be attending next year’s though, as I am afraid they are (already) advertising that it will be Cinderella.
And I really — really — hate Cinderella.
So, I found myself grimacing when the land-based sectors were referred to as ‘Cinderella sectors’ at a meeting recently. I do love a good metaphor; however, I am not exaggerating when I say that this fairy tale leaves me cold.
It isn’t just a story I have grown to dislike through its portrayal of an unrealistic ideal, and it isn’t just that it is essentially recommending to wee girls that they should tolerate controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour with a smile. Though that is obviously — Not Good. But I didn’t understand any of that when I was little.
Like most girls at the time, I loved the dresses, although I was probably more enamoured with the idea of being able to get changed from one outfit to another with just the wave of a wand (our house was COLD). I also loved the idea of animals helping me to tidy up. I was even more taken with the idea of a Fairy Godmother, but Cinderella still managed to ruin it all.
Even though she is trapped in a life of servitude and drudgery, badly treated by her stepsisters and stepmother, Cinderella just accepts this role, never once trying to run away or fight back. She dreams of a better life without her abusers, but she still accepts everything without complaint, whilst all the time staying composed and beautiful (of course).
Then, in the end, she receives her just reward, because she made sure she cared for everyone except herself. As a result of passively waiting and not complaining, a singing sorceress appeared to grant her wish. That was annoying enough, but even that wasn’t what wrote the story off for me.
No, it was when what seemed like the entire animal kingdom and a Fairy Godmother offered to grant her wish. Did she ask to regain her status as the rightful heir to her father’s estate? Did she transform her wicked stepfamily into field mice? Did she ask for a nice place of her own with no mortgage to worry about? No, she asked for a night out. Despite having access to magical forces strong enough to transform matter… her wish is not to change her situation, but to go to a dance.
When I heard the Cinderella comparison, I presumed they meant that it is an underappreciated sector, one that is undeserving of its poor treatment. I will give them that and say perhaps it is an appropriate analogy, but actually – could we apply it further in the case of land-based industries?
Well, there is a typical example of a Cinderella comparison here which draws parallels between Cinderella’s role of cleaning the hearth, to the role that forests play for Earth. They absorb the carbon emissions released to the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. ‘Cleaning up the ashes’ so to speak. The most safe, natural, cost-effective and proven carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology currently, and likely ever, to be available. So far, so good.
The author then goes on to point out that cleaning up the cinders wasn’t her only job; Cinderella also had to draw water, gather food and fuel, and perform many other duties without any recognition. I am sure you would agree that again the parallels between Cinderella and the world’s forests are there. Forests play a crucial role in the global hydrological and energy cycles which are necessary for agricultural production, as well as in the global carbon cycle.And yet we are failing to look after them.
Tropical deforestation has continued along with loss of biodiversity both locally and globally. On average, an area of tree cover the size of the United Kingdom has been lost every year for the past 5 years and in June 2019 alone, deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon increased by 88 percent compared to June 2018. Agriculture continues to be the largest driver of deforestation, so there has never been a better time to think global, by planting (and buying) local.
But what happens when the Fairy Godmother arrives? Should she be asked just to bring together those responsible for Climate (Prince Charming), and our Forests (Cinderella) and make sure both are convinced that they are an ideal match for each other? Maybe, but what if Prince Charming turns out not to be in it for the long term?
Our land and sea sectors need to ask for more than a chance to go to the ball. To demand more than a short-term fix that disappears at midnight, leaving just a glass welly in its wake. And we can’t just wait patiently for the Fairy Godmother to arrive. No, if our Cinderella is to really have a better future, she needs to recruit some better long-term allies, and the best long-term candidates are still at school.
Jobs in the land and sea sectors are currently undervalued and underappreciated career options, and yet are crucial if we are to become truly carbon neutral and meet our emissions targets. We need the best graduates, the most skilled pupils and the most passionate advocates, influencers and collaborators if we are to address the damage done to our planet and to replenish its resources.
To this end, Lantra has been running a series of regional meetings, all focussed on recruitment, sharing good practice and identifying where help would be most beneficial. At the meetings in Inverness and Ayrshire we heard about how we might best brand the diverse range of sectors within the land and sea sector. We heard from new entrants about their journeys, and what makes it all worthwhile, and we heard from those who have already stepped up and who are ensuring the workforce has the diverse skill set and background required for the changing times ahead.
Unfortunately, Rural Skills — probably the only school subject that really embraces our land and sea sectors — has patchy distribution and is still seen by many as the subject for students who struggle with traditional forms of assessment. But it is so much more. Yes, we will always need entrants with excellent practical skills who love being outdoors, but we also need engineers, computing experts, problem solvers, strategists, teachers... the list goes on. We need that message to be clearly communicated in other subject areas, like Biology, Geography and Maths.
The message that has come across most clearly at our meetings so far (with Perth taking place in January), is that industry itself needs to step up and make its voice heard. Some of the strongest take-home messages from our meetings have been from our industry champions, who sold their sector to the audience very effectively. For example, Louise’s story of a rubbish day cured by a calf nuzzling up to her and dribbling some milk down her leg, was far more evocative than any PowerPoints and career maps that I could have come up with (though obviously, Louise’s message is going into at least one of them).
However, Cinderella had her ugly sisters and wicked stepmother, and we all know that land and sea has its own problematic relatives. As Louise went on to say, “If someone spends the first week shouting at their new employee because they did something wrong, it’s maybe no wonder that they have a bit of a problem with retention.” There is some great practice out there, but we need to ensure that all those mentoring the next generation have the support and training to do this in a positive way.
Whether it’s by selling the opportunities within the sector to the next generation of workers and their parents at career events, or by hosting a school visit, or passing on skills and opportunities by taking on a career changer as an apprentice, industry has it in its power to start to make a difference to the next generation, without the need for a Fairy Godmother.
By communicating to all how responsible stewardship of the resources on our doorstep is key to solving global problems, how making the right choices for what we do with our land and waters can reduce our climate impact on a global scale, I think Cinderella might be able to take ownership of her future back from those who seek to limit her options.
So, in conclusion and to take the analogy to a better conclusion than the fairy tale, whilst the forestry Cinderella might look a bit grubby at the moment, by speaking up and with a bit of help from some friends, she can turn around that image, whilst at the same time helping everyone to live happily ever after.