Marram grass in Lindisfarne

"The monks of Lindisfarne must have been aware of he island's remarkable natural environment. The monks who illustrated the gospels with bird and plant designs had a keen understanding of their form and detail. St. Cuthbert's mysterious power over the natural world was well documented in early accounts of his life."

From a visitor display at the Lindisfarne Heritage Centre, Holy Island, Northumberland.

'...a keen understanding of their form and detail.' Our natural environment has such a breadth and almost unfathomable wealth of beauty and intricacy. How is it, then, that the ideal relationship with the environment within which we live is summarised as one word: sustainable? Or just one colour: green?

How about the silvery colour of marram grass in the wind under a clear October sky; the sound of a single grain of wheat pushing up through the earth?

Do we need to understand the beauty in order to protect it? How do we express this in our language?

I'm not sure we have the answer yet here in England.