On Sunday 10^th December 2023 at 18:20 UK time on BBC1, there’s the last in series of Planet Earth III.  The photography and filming has been just outstanding and incredible to watch. 

Tonight, the programme takes a look at people who are heroes. They are people around the world who are risking it all to save wildlife.  They travel to and work in dangerous places, and some – such as wildlife rangers – risk their lives.  Many lose their lives in the line of their conservation work.

As the programme's website points out, there are so very many people around the world making a difference for nature.  We need to hear more of their stories.   Take hedgehogs for instance.  Did you know there are 126,548 people (10th December 2023) registered as Hedgehog Champions with Hedgehog Street?  

Tonight’s Planet Earth III programme goes to South Africa, Ecuador, the Cote d’Ivoire, Austria and the Amazin rainforest to meet heroes there.

In South Africa, we see a team working to save black rhino, a species wanted for their horn.  They are saving htem by setting up new breeding populations in safe havens, and they need to sedate these huge animals first and then fly them by helicopter – or more accurately, in a sling under a helicopter – to their new home.

We meet Jaime Culebras who has devoted his life to saving frogs. Santiago is one of the very last Morona-Santiago harlequin frogs and Jaime wants to find Santiago a partner to set up a breeding colony.  He has to trek to a remote cloud forest in the Andes to find out, and explore for a mate for his beloved frog by night.

There’s Trang Nguyen who is working undercover to catch people trading in illegal ivory.  This trade is one of the main reasons why forest elephants have declined by two thirds in two decades.  Trang is incredibly courageous and she does very dangerous work to catch criminals in the act.

Katharina Huchler is working to help the Northern bald ibis, some of the rarest birds in the world who were hunted to extinction 300 years ago in Europe.  Katharina has to show them the way to bring them back to Austria – will these birds follow her over the mountains?

The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is well known.  The Munduruku is an indegeous group who live there, and the government is discussing new laws to open it up to mining and agriculture.  Leader of the Munduruku, Alessandra Korap, is organising a huge demonstration by indigenous people in Brail to get their voices heard. 

Planet Earth III accompanies the series narrated by Sir David Attenborough
Available from Foyles.co.uk

We need to save habitats to save species.  People power matter, even if they are in small numbers.  The recent Common Farm Appeal from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, launched in late September 2026, shows us from its website that when people get together and support and join in, great things happen.  As a result of 1,893 people, just over £290,000 was raised to buy 83 acres of farmland which is going to be turned into a nature reserve.  It will bring back many species.  1,893 people have made a huge difference and acted for nature. 

Enter the former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, who goes to every climate conference, doing what he can to persuade politicians and leaders to act.  He says the more the environment is an election issue, the more action there will be on climate. 

We all need to vote for the planet in future elections.

Don't miss Planet Earth III tonight!

Be a hero yourself for conservation!

The programme's website has a section on how you can be a hero for conservation.  

And there's a new initiative starting as the series comes to an end, called Be a Voice for Nature.   It points out that there are so many things we can ALL do. 

Be a voice for nature.

Grow a tree 2023!

It’s National Tree Week, and a chance to celebrate all things tree!  In 2023, National Tree Week is particularly special because it’s the 50^th anniversary of the “Plant a tree in 73” campaign – and from that event, both the National Tree Week and the Tree Council were born.

We need trees and every year, the Tree Council is in charge of National Tree Week, bringing conservationists, volunteers and tree-lovers to unite and hopefully plant thousands of trees to begin the tree planting season!

The Tree Council has a has a mission to care for our trees and our planet’s future.  It aims to champion trees in everything it does, and to encourage, inspire and persuade people of all ages and backgrounds to value and love trees.

It runs a volunteer Tree Warden scheme, and works to lead and connect organisations, to persuade decision-makers, to influence policy, and deliver local action. 

So this year, the Tree Council wants as many people as possible to have the chance to “Grow a Tree in 2023”, by taking part in an organised tree planting event or having your own National Tree Week Tree Party!

They’ve got lots of ideas, with activities for a tree tea party, for instance – mind you, you can also do the activities on your own.   Here’s the Tree Party Activity Booklet. 

You could simply find your favourite tree and give it a hug to thank it for being a tree!

 You could also think about becoming a volunteerTree Warden! 

It’s also a chance to increase your knowledge of trees and their role

The UK charity the Woodland Trust has information about:

• Why trees matter.
• 6 UK Trees to plant in small gardens for climate change
• How trees fight climate change

Starting on Thursday 2nd November 2023 on Channel 5 at 7pm, there’s a new series of Secret Life of the Forest. 

The secret cameras are back as summer ends, taking in the beauty of Forestry England’s Great Yorkshire Forest and the wonderful wildlife who live there.  Beavers, turtle doves, Exmoor ponies and very rare insect species found only in Yorkshire feature in the habitat there.  It spans over 8000 acres and it’s situated at the southern edge of the North York Moors National Park.

The Forestry Commission bought it in 1921, and as the UK was extremely short of trees after the Second World War (it still is), and Dalby was included in strategic planting schemes.  These now provide us with lots of timber and give homes to wildlife.   400,000 people visit every year.

The cameras cover the beaver  pond, also home to stunning kingfishers - and they are also waiting to capture footage of the pine-marten, too.  Forestry England staff and volunteers care for this beautiful places.  Actor Robert Lindsay is the narrator. 

The new series launches on Thursday 2nd November 2023 at 7pm on Channel 5 – and if you can’t see it, don’t worry, you can catch it on Channel 5 catch up.

Find out more from the Forestry Comission’s website

Find out about volunteering with the Forestry Commission here

By the way, it's worth taking a look at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust which is re committed "to creating a Yorkshire rich in wildlife for everyone. From saving our wildlife and wild places to bringing people closer to nature".   There are lots of ways to get involved and help them, so fly off to their website here to take a look.  

UPDATE on 18 October 2023:  GREAT NEWS!

The Archers Green Appeal in Hertfordshire has raised the £500,000 it needed to purchase Archers Green! 

This is thanks to donors from supporters and a very generous legacy.   Working together, we can all make a difference!

Now, while you're here, how about taking a look at the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust appeal?   They are trying to raise £300,000 to buy 83 acres of farmland and create a new nature reserve that will provide new territory for wildlife.  Find out more here.

Here's the background....

The Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust are trying to raise £500,000 to buy land which has vulnerable habitats.  The 20 acre site is near Welwyn Garden City and it has wildlife such as the water vole, harebell and skylark.  Water voles are the UK’s fastest declining mammals.

The funds are needed to pay back a philanthropic loan which was used to take the site off the market.  At the time, the Trust had to act very fast to save the site and stop it falling into “unsympathetic” hands.

It is vital to protect more land for wildlife and Archers Green flanks a river which is one of only 240 chalk streams in the world – the River Mimram.  The Trust says rivers like this are the UK’s equivalent to tropical rainforest.  It also has grasslands, critical habitat for wildlife. So action had to be taken really fast.

If the funds aren’t raised, it maybe that the site has to go back on the open market.

Find out more about the Appeal

The other key thing about Archers Green is that it sits between the Tewinbury Nature Reserve and Panshager Park.   Wildlife need connected landscapes because these areas enable them to move around and to breed.  So if the funds can be raised, it means that the Trust can ensure the safety of the land for wildlife.

The Trust points out that the areas has already lost crucial wildlife homes and corridors.  76 species went with that loss, leaving 1,446 under the threat of extinction.

What will the funds be used for?

• To pay back the philanthropic loans – this will mean that the site can be taken off the market.
• To cover initial establishment costs such as fencing installation, tree safety, ash die back mitigation, monitoring activities and livestock grazing.  And to cover the management of the site on a daily basis for up to 20 years.

If the funds can’t be raised, it may be that the remaining costs can be met from the financial reserves but this would mean taking key funds away from other nature reserves which also need managing and improving.

We need to save land for wildlife.
Wildlife need us to help them.

Visit the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust's website

View the Trust's You Tube videos

EXCITING NEWS October 2023 - Read on!

There's very exciting news from Reteti this October.   They are about to have their fourth release in 7 years of elephants, into the wild!  This is a huge achievement, not only for the keepers who have done so much to care for the elephants - but for the elephants themselves, who arrived with the odds stacked against them. 

13 elephants will be released into two carefully selected, Kenya Wildlife Service-approved release sites within Namunyak Conservancy – where Reteti is located too.  Not only that, the keepers will have make-shift accommodation so that they can look after the elephants as they get used to being in the wild.  And Reteti's partners, Save the Elephants, will monitor them too. 

Read all about it here. 

UPDATE April 2023 - The Borehole Project

There's good news from the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya with their borehole project.

Firstly, the drilling team have hit water in their borehole after drilling 256 metres.  This has two important results:  the Sanctuary has the start of a reliable, permanent water source for orphaned elehants, and it will enable the re-wilding of orphans directly from the sanctuary and into the Namunyak Conservancy.  Wild elephants will come to the water and that will mean the orphans can interact with them daily, leading to their slow and steady ingegration into the wild, either with new herds or as an orphan herd!   Read their blog about it here

Secondly, it's rained!  The elephants were out on a walk when the April rains arrived - hooray!

Late September 2023 Meet Naisimari, the newst and smallest member of the Reteti Foster Family! She is particularly fluffy and hairy. Reteti rescued her when she fell into a well...  Why not adopt her, and support the work of the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary? Adopt Naisimari here.

Introducing the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary's borehole project

The Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is based in Kenya and it takes in orphaned and abandoned elephant calves. The aim is to release them back into the wild herts adjoining Retiti.

The keepers caring for the elephants have all been trained in the care, rehabilitation and release of elephant calves.  They are recruited from the Namunyak Conservancy and they all have a deep respect for elephants.  You can meet some of the keepers here.

You can meet some of the elephants here – they are orphaned or abandoned because of drought, man-made wells, human-wildlife conflict and natural mortality.  It was the local community who wanted the Sanctuary.

The background...

Help the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary Build a Borehole

The Reteiti Elephant Sanctuary is trying to Build a Borehole which can give the elephants it cares for a supply of water, even during the driest of seasons.

Help Build a Borehole here

The sanctuary uses 20,000 litres of water a day and it has been acquiring this water from a spring in the Matthews Mountains through a pipeline of 16 kilometres that the Sanctuary has built.

However, with the help of hydrology experts, the Sanctuary has identified an aquifer close to the sanctuary which is suitable for a borehole.   They’ve drilled 200m already and need to drill to a depth of 250m to reach the water table.  The pipeline only has to be 1.5 km long to reach the Sanctuary from the borehole.

The cost of implementing all of this is just over $20,000 American dollars for the drilling and $18,246 for the pump and pipeline.  The Sanctuary is currently short by $6,294 dollars so it is asking for contributions so that the project can be done for the elephants.

Please help the Sanctuary give the elephants a sustainable source of water!
They are so close!  
Image ©LouAnne Brickhouse

The Sanctuary wants to establish a permanent, sustainable way to ensure the elephants have the water they need. 

You can also help by

• Adopting an elephant – adoptions are for a year.
• Gifting them a bottle of milk  - the video shows how much they adore it! Each elephant drinks about 8 bottles of milk a day, generally goats milk.  The elephants have a feed about every 3 hours and between feeds, the keepers take them on bush walks so that they can learn to browse, navigate and get used to the landscape.
• Donate
• Visiting the Sanctuary!
• As always, spreading the word about it.
  
  

Visit the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary's website here