» Listings for 2018

1. Seahorses get safety from boats

   Posted on 8:00am Saturday 9th Jun 2018

   Boat owners are going to have anchoring restrictions to protect rare seahorses and marine life. There are plans for 41 new marine conservation zones around the coast.   One of those that will receive protection is Studland Bay in Dorset.   It will be protected from yachts and motorboats that moor there.  In Kent, Goodwin Sands (a 10 mile sandbank) will receive similar protection. The Camel Estuary (Cornwall) and the Orford Inshore (off Suffolk) will be protected too. In 2008, the Seahorse Trust found 40 seahorses in Studland Bay.  In 2018, (last month in fact), the Seahorse Trust found 0 seahorses in Studland Bay.  That’s zero. Heavy anchors and their metal chains destroy seagrass, the normal habitat for seahorses.  And the Seahorse Trust says that seahorses should recolonise the area after the seagrass had recovered.  The charity says that while serious yachts people don’t anchor on the sea grass, plenty of boat users do. Boating enthusiasts protested but the government fortunately over-ruled them.  Needless to say, the Royal Yachting Association has said it will impose restrictions, believing that seahorses and recreational boating activities can "reasonably co-exist". "Reasonably exist" isn’t good enough.    If, over 10 years, the number of seahorses in Studland Bay has plummeted from a find of 40 to 0, there must be a very good reason. It’s high time government stepped in, did the right thing and protected wildlife habitat.  A good move by the British Government.   Now, more protection for wildlife, please! Give wildlife the space and right habitat to thrive, they will.    Visit the Seahorse Trust and find out how you can help here

    

   Seahorses get safety from boats

    

   Boat owners are going to have anchoring restrictions to protect rare seahorses and marine life.

    

   There are plans for 41 new marine conservation zones around the coast.   One of those that will receive protection is Studland Bay in Dorset.   It will be protected from yachts and motorboats that moor there.  In Kent, Goodwin Sands (a 10 mile sandbank) will receive similar protection. The Camel Estuary (Cornwall) and the Orford Inshore (off Suffolk) will be protected too.

    

   In 2008, the Seahorse Trust found 40 seahorses in Sutland Bay. 

    

   In 2018, (last month in fact), the Seahorse Trust found 0 seahorses in Studland Bay.  That’s zero.

    

   Heavy anchors and their metal chains destroy seagrass, the normal habitat for seahorses.  And the Seahorse Trust says that seahorses should recolonise the area after the seagrass had recovered. 

    

   The charity says that while serious yachts people don’t anchor on the sea grass, plenty of boat users do.

    

   Boating enthusiasts protested but the government came to their senses and took no notice of them 

    

   Needless to say, the Royal Yachting Association has said it will impose restrictions, believing that seahorses and recreational boating activities can "reasonably co-exist".

    

   "Reasonably exist" isn’t good enough.   This is yet another example of wildlife suffering from the human race and our activities.  

    

   It isn’t as if leisure boating was an essential activity.  (I should know, because we are boat owners.)  Surviving is.  

    

   If, over 10 years, the number of seahorses in Studland Bay has plummeted from a find of 40 to 0, there must be a very good reason.

    

   And with so many people just not caring at all about nature (and it’s not just boat owners, of course) or even thinking about what they are doing and the impact they are having, it’s high time government stepped in, did the right thing and protected wildlife habitat.

    

   A good move by the British Government.   Now, more protection, please!

    

   Give wildlife the space and right habitat to thrive, they will. 

    

    

    

    

2. 2,500 acres of tropical rainforest saved in Guatemala

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 25th Apr 2018

   World Land Trust supporters raised a staggering £625,000 for the Treasure Chest Appeal. The appeal was raising the money to save 2500 acres of tropical rainforest in the mountains of Sierra Santa Cruz in Guatemala. The appeal got off to an amazing start in the first week of the World Land Trust’s Big Match Fortnight.  In fact, £100,000 was raised during this time.   And after that, support flew in from all over the world. One eight year old girl tripled her £100 target to help save rainforest by completing  a mini-triathlon. Artists dedicated their work of Guatemala’s wildlife, including a specially commissioned Chinamococh Stream Frog ornament by Jess Smith.  The frog is a critically endangered species that can only be found in the mountains of Sierra Santa Cruz.   There was also an oil painting of Scarlet Macaws by Glyn Macey and a watercolour of a Blackburnian Warbler by Dan Bradbury who works for the World Land Trust. The appeal also received tremendous contributions from The Body Shop and Humble Bundle. The money goes now to the World Land Trust’s local partner in Guatemala – the Foundation for Ecodevelopment and Conservation (FUNDAECO) and they work through the process of buying the land and protecting it to safeguard it for the wildlife living in the mountains. Inspired?  You can support the World Land Trust's new appeal to save 400 acres in the Amazonian Andes.

    

3. 2,000 aluminium cans enable 40 trees to be planted!

   Posted on 8:00pm Saturday 21st Apr 2018

   There’s been a great effort in the Channel Island of Jersey by students at one of the schools there, Victoria College. The boys there have been collecting aluminium cans – 2,000 in all – for the Durrell Cans for Corridors initiative.   The 2,000 aluminium cans have provided enough for 40 trees to be planted! The scheme was set up in Jersey in 2002 and was supposed to run for a year but it's been so successful, it was continued.  The Cans for Corrridors project was founded back in 2002.  The aim was to help restore the natural habitat of endangered animals, as it had been destroyed by deforestation.  The money raised from recycling 50 cans means that the project can plant one tree in a tree corridor in Brazil! Durrell aims to restore, expand and link previously destroyed habitats.  Since the collection point at Durrell’s wildlife park was installed, islanders in Jersey have put over 1 million cans into it.  Aluminium is used over other materials because it is the most cost-effective reclaimable metal.   Recycling it is 90% more efficient than mining the raw material, according to Durrell.   And a recycled can will be back on supermarket shelves in approximately 2 months Even if you don’t live in Jersey, you can collect cans and other recyclable aluminium products.  There are a number of aluminium recycling centres around the UK and you can find your nearest and whether they can collect your cans.  Kitchencraft.co.uk even have a can crusher you can buy to make recycling easier.  The funds raised can then be sent to Durrell, marked ‘Cans for Corridors’.  There’s a poster you can download to raise awareness of the scheme for Durrell. If you’re a charity, find out how you can recycle and raise funds

    

4. Task force on human-wildlife conflict set up in Kenya

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 27th Mar 2018

   The Kenyan government has set up a task force to look into ways to deal with human-wildlife conflict and clashes between ranchers and communities. The task force is expected to make recommendations on game farming and game ranching.  It will evaluate its contribution to Kenya’s GDP, and food security. The Kenya Wildlife Service is busy dealing with cases of poaching and wildlife trafficking, but also cases of human-wildlife conflict.  Pastoral communities have invaded private ranches as they look for pasture. So the task force is expected to come up with solutions to human-wildlife conflict which will last, and also safeguard game parks, community and private land. It is aiming to create a peaceful co-existence between communities and wildlife. Visit the Kenya Wildlife Service to find out more about their work.

    

    

5. 5,000 trees planted and doing well in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

   Posted on 8:00pm Monday 26th Mar 2018

   In Brazil, 5,000 trees have been planted the Atlantic Forest

   Trees planted in the Matumbo Gap of the Atlantic Forest in 2017 are doing well!

   5,000 trees were planted, thanks to funding from the World Land Trust’s Plant a Tree programme.  The programme plants a tree for a £5 donation.   

   The trees are all grown from seeds collected from the indigenous tree species of the neighbouring Atlantic Forest.  They are cultivated in the nursery of the Reserva Ecológica e Guapiaçu (REGUA) and then planted in the slopes of the cleared area known as the Matumbo Gap.

   The Matumbo Gap has been a priority for reforestation.   It would create a wildlife corridor between two areas of forest which are under the protection of the Reserva Ecológica e Guapiaçu.  The area is funded by the World Land Trust.

   The forest is maturing; some pioneer plant species are bearing seeds and fruit, which fees the native fauna, particularly bats and birds. 

   
   

   
   The Reserva Ecológica e Guapiaçu’s mission is to protect the remaining areas of Altantic Forest and connect fragmented habitats.   These areas have been cut off from each other because of clearance for agriculture. 

   Thriving wildlife can be seen in the state of Rio de Janeiro, thanks to successes from REGUA’s work.

   You can be a part of the World Land Trust’s work to support reforestation in Brazil, Ecuador and Kenya through their Plant a Tree Programme.  

   Native tree species are planted to restore degraded habitats for £5 each.  Donate £25 or more, and you’ll receive a donation pack detailing the impact of your support. 

   BE A PART OF THIS SUCCESS STORY - PLANT A TREE HERE FOR JUST £5

   You can also make a donation to REGUA here