Sod’s law: what can two turf swaps 40 years apart tell us about Britain’s biodiversity crisis?

‘When you make work outside, things happen’ … the results of Reverse Sod Swap in Springfield Park, London, in 2025. Photograph: Mike Perry ‘When you make work outside, things happen’ … the results of Reverse Sod Swap in Springfield Park, London, in 2025. Photograph: Mike Perry Art and design Sod’s law: what can two turf swaps 40 years apart tell us about Britain’s biodiversity crisis? In 1983, David Nash dug up a section of Kensington Gardens and swapped it with Welsh grassland. Four decades later, Mike Perry’s reverse swap revealed a striking reversal in the fortunes of urban and rural nature