Nature notes for noddies (by noddies)

[Vagabond]

Here is an "information board" beside a public footpath. Allegedly of interest to the roaming public.

 

 

..and here is a close up of part of that "information"

 

 

Now I don't much care if the Countryside Commission and West Sussex County Council think that sandstone is made of raspberry ripple ice-cream......

 

(For anyone wondering what sandstone IS made of, the clue is in the name !)

 

...but the noddies who wrote, checked (or should have checked), sanctioned and erected this piece of misinformation are the same noddies who "manage" our countryside, impose rules and regulations, and make decisions affecting our use of the planet.

 

Just how little natural history, earth science or even general knowledge is required to hold a post in local government or an environmental quango ?

 

I think I was about 10 years old when I formed the theory that 70% of the workforce didn't know their job. 70 years later I think my estimate was over-optimistic.

 

 

[corydoras]

Sounds more like limestone to me mate

[Vagabond]

Sounds more like limestone to me mate

 

The formation being described is a massive, cross-bedded, quartzose, non-calcareous, poorly cemented, medium/fine-grained, delta-front sandstone ! A road running through part of the outcrop is called "Sandrock Road" which also gives a clue.

 

Yes the information board is correct in calling it a sandstone, its this daft idea that it is made up of fossils that I object to, There is hardly a fossil in sight (any plant or lamellibranch remains were well chewed up by the churning, shifting sands of the delta)

 

As I said, I don't care how little geology the average council official knows, EXCEPT when they are in positions to "inform", control and legislate upon environmental matters for the rest of us. Then I expect people to either know what they are talking about, or have the wit to ask - or even Google the subject.

 

....and yes, as Cory says, the "description" given would be appropriate for a limestone - but anyone writing an "information" board should be able to tell the difference - chalk and cheese is the analogy that springs to mind.

 

BTW I just hope that anyone leading a "nature walk" in the area (especially teachers with schoolkids) and stops by this board has the knowledge and confidence to point out the error.

 

Sadly, many "information" boards erected by various well-meaning conservationists do contain misleading statements. It does the cause of conservation no good at all.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Vagabond

[poledark]

Cor blimey, I bet you are a laugh a minute when out for walkies Me? I just tag along behind enjoying the scenery and flowers.

 

Den

[Vagabond]

I just tag along behind enjoying the scenery and flowers.

You are saying "Ignorance is Bliss" ? The man who can recognise a Humming-bird Hawk-moth at 200 paces ? Come off it Den, we know you better than that.

 

As for "a laugh a minute", I can't quite manage that, but when a local angling club banned eels from being weighed in for matches because they thought eels were "reptiles" I thought it was hilarious.

 

Decided to share the joke, so wrote a short story for the angling press based on a "fly on the wall" view of the committee meeting that reached that decision. The magazine liked the story so much they gave me a wodge of folding money for it. Laughed all the way to the bank.

 

...and BTW, when the local council bans angling in your local river or lake because they think anglers poison swans with lead shot, I hope you can see the funny side of it

[poledark]

Sorry Dave, just had a vision of you trying to explain that it wasn't "The formation being described is a massive, cross-bedded, quartzose, non-calcareous, poorly cemented, medium/fine-grained, delta-front sandstone " to a group of school kids perhaps the writer of the signage decided it was easier to put Sandstone, leaving further explanation to others?

 

Den

[chesters1]

sand stone is that iron stone in old speak ,few fossils as you sand as its wind or water deposit so unlike other rocks it can occur under many conditions .

my pond is what was an ironstone quarry very popular building material round here ,lots of sand quarries the only fossil i have ever heard of was a mammoth tusk but i could be fast and loose with the term fossil.

 

as you say there are noddies out there .i have issues with a small manmade brick circular dooda up in the woods the info panel nailed on the extensive fence stopping you falling in (recent H & S nonsense its been there for decades without one,) describes it as a lime kiln ,it also says that on a victorian map but i am unsure it is one.

its in an area where it has been covered in scrub heathland since the ice age ,it mostly still is so there would be few trees to use as fuel.

the nearest chalk is over two miles away .

where the chalk quarry is theres plenty of wood and has always been.

the area has always been a "poor" area (not just money but in agriculture and resourses) and quite remote even today its mostly heathland.

i cannot believe our ancestors imported chalk and wood to make lime for just a few acres of decent soil on the edge of the river when they could have more cheaply imported wagons of lime made up the road.

 

waverley abbey would have consumed great quantities of lime but this structure is on the opposite side of the river from it and to get to the abbey its up then down a very steep hill so impractical ,even if barges were used its still 2 hundred yards from the river and placed in a possible flood area wheres right by the river the land rises steeply perfect to build the thing out of a flood area.

something is not right with the purpose of the thing or my logic

 

thinking about it it is acually on the same side of the river but the intervening area that side is mostly swamp ,perhaps not then ofcourse most is down to no management of the river for a hundred years or so but even then nearer the abbey the land is wooded and ofcourse the chalk quarry much nearer so more practical closer to the abbey but saying all that its younger than the abbey and the nearby bridge being brick built its later so even more confusing

 

back to nature though i find it confusing how cows know to avoid birds nest wheres riders on horses do not ,the rspb (after promissing not to do so pre buying the land) coral horse riders and walkers along paths fenced both sides to stop dogs and horses disturbibg ground nesting birds yet have cows grazing within the fenced area to keep the scrub down and yes its in the nesting time as well ,now these idiots want to remove a bridal path and several footpaths for the same reason ,in their buying manifesto they insisted no restriction on access was going to be made.

i will foretell in the future when all existing rights of access have been removed under pretences of saving something or other from harm a small charge will be made to look at the devastation and blight on what was a nice bird infested area of peace and tranquility.

Edited August 24, 2014 by chesters1

[Vagabond]

Den, you miss the point, It was the claptrap about fossils that was the misinformation. The extended sandstone description was for Cory's benefit

 

To some "conservationists" all rocks are made up of "fossils", all species are "endangered" and any piece of countryside (especially water) is "polluted"

 

As for explaining it to schoolkids, I explained it to daughter No 1 when she was about seven years old - she is now a research geologist at the University of Texas (arguably the world leader in petroleum geological research) and writes learned papers where I have difficulty in understanding the titles, let alone the contents.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Vagabond

[Vagabond]

sand stone is that iron stone in old speak ,

Not in the context of Wealden sandstones

 

Some Wealden sandstones contain very little iron (they are white or pale yellow) Other sandstones contain various concentrations of iron and depending upon how much iron, the colour ranges from deeper yellow, through orangy -brown, to a dark red rusty colour. It takes very little iron to impart quite a deep colour - and the iron is usually not economically worth extracting.

 

In the Weald, the "ironstone" is usually a clay-ironstone - the commonest (and thickest) being in the Wadhurst Clay.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Vagabond

[corydoras]

Den, you miss the point, It was the claptrap about fossils that was the misinformation. The extended sandstone description was for Cory's benefit

 

To some "conservationists" all rocks are made up of "fossils", all species are "endangered" and any piece of countryside (especially water) is "polluted"

 

As for explaining it to schoolkids, I explained it to daughter No 1 when she was about seven years old - she is now a research geologist at the University of Texas (arguably the world leader in petroleum geological research) and writes learned papers where I have difficulty in understanding the titles, let alone the contents.

You don't need to convince me. I was a Red Sandstone boy

 

Edited August 24, 2014 by corydoras