ONE of Jersey’s oldest pressure groups, Concern, is calling it a day. Unfortunately, as time marches on, its stalwarts feel that others will now have to shoulder the burden of promoting a greener, more sustainable pattern of Island life.

The organisation, dedicated to the protection of the Jersey environment, was ahead of its time when it was founded in the 1970s. It warned of the dangers of excessive immigration and development, increasing pressure on basic infrastructure and the loss of our open green spaces. It also highlighted problems associated with Islanders’ infatuation with the private car and urged a shift towards the production of energy from renewable sources.

But Concern did far more than present apocalyptic visions of a Jersey covered in tarmac and dominated by high-rise offices and residential development. All its work was underpinned by meticulous, cool-headed research. It was always the thinking man and woman’s campaigning organisation of choice.

It can be argued that this was one of Concern’s weaknesses. Its measured approach to the evils associated with unfettered development was in sharp contrast to more strident and perhaps more effective voices calling for a total reassessment of Island values.

It would, however, be wrong to gauge the group’s achievements solely in terms of tangible results achieved as a consequence of specific campaigns. The attitudes it promoted and the ‘small is beautiful’ ideals it espoused have steadily leached into the community as a whole and shifted people’s systems of belief. It should not escape our notice that we now have an Environment Minister and department and that States policies are now weighed in the balance against the harm that they might do to the quality of Island life.

Concern’s retiring members cannot claim all credit for raising awareness about environmental issues, but their voices have been an important factor in shifting politicians’ and the general public’s attention away from a single measure of prosperity – the bottom line.

The passing of Concern is a matter for regret and an occasion for thanking its unsung heroes. It also throws down the gauntlet to the present generation of environmentally conscious Islanders. That it is about to disappear as a formal organisation does not mean that others are barred from taking up the baton that its members have carried for so long but are now ready to pass on