Bristol has become the first major city to declare an ecological emergency.

They’ve done this in response to escalating threats to ecosystems and wildlife, as there’s been a worrying decline in numbers and the diveristy of wildlife in the city.

41% of UK wildlife species are in decline and 15% are at risk of extinction

In Bristol the city’s swifts and starling populations are virtually wiped out – with a 96% decline in numbers of these birds between 1994 and 2014

Marvin Rees, Major of Bristol, and the CEO of the Avon Wildlife Trust Ian Barrett, are building on the 2018 declaration of a climate emergency.

Plans to Tackle this Ecological Emergency

 Marvin Rees has asked the One City Envrionment and Sustainability Board work with the council and other city partners to look at ways in which the destruction of wildife habitats can be stopped.

He wants them to look at ways to mange land sustainably, which will create wildlife-rich spaces, not just right across Bristol but across the region as well.

Everywhere and everyone needs to support wildlife, including new developments, so that species can grow alongside people. 

It’s recognised that is not a quick thing to achieve.  Nature takes her time, but she needs a considerable amount of help now. 

She needs restoring.  Climate breakdown and ecological emergency are everywhere as wild spaces are lost and wildlife with it.

As Ian Barrett says, we can’t wait for national governments or international bodies to lead the way.  Collective action is needed so that wildlife can thrive and the natural world can flourish.

Find out more here about Bristol’s response to the ecological emergency

This includes of course people like you and me.  We can all take action to do things such as planting a single window box for pollinators, walking where possible -  and doing beach clean ups on team building days or helping a local wildlife charity.

At the moment, the Avon Wildlife Trust is working with local communities through a project called My Wild City.  It’s transforming 8 local wildlife sites across the city, so enhancing important wildlife habitats and providing opportunities for people to visit and enjoy them.

Its urban wildlife site in Stapleton has restored wildlife in the heart of the city;  people can learn practical skills in wildlife friendly planting and help fight for nature’s recovery.

Actions you can take:

Donate to the Avon Wildlife Trust and help its work

Volunteer – give your time and energy!  It’s a great way to meet like-minded people and make new friends and do something really worthwhile with your time that can make a difference. 

Take action to help wildlife – there are a number of things you can do, including

1. Build a hedgehog home
2. Create a hole for hedghogs
3. Grow a wild patch
4. Attract butterflies to your garden
5. Grow a vertical garden
6. Provide water for wildlife
7. Provide bushes for nesting birds
8. Build a bug mansion
9. Pick up litter (so wildlife don’t eat it or get harmed on it)
10. Take part in a citizen survey
11. Buy local produce
12. And there are LOTS MORE!

Become a member or give a gift membership – there’s even a business membership

As a member of the National Trust, I receive its magazine.

One of the things the Spring 2020 magazine covers was climate change and what the Trust is doing to care for the places in its care as they are affected by it.

Things like daffodils appearing earlier; rope bridges being closed to visitors more frequently because of high winds; paintings being affected by the temperatures in the summer all point to a changing climate.  Houses close because of the heat, since it affects collections and the fabric of the building.  More pests and diseases are having an impact on the plants in the garden. 

Together they make a picture that’s uneasy and that the Trust is trying to deal with.  

The National Trust itself is taking measures to tackle climate change, such as a renewable energy investment programme. It’s pledged to reduce its use of fossil fuels by 50% by 2021.  It’s creating or restoring 25,000 hectares of natural habitats because areas such as wetland and woodland can capture and store thousands of tonnes of carbon. 

And the Trust has created Fit for the Future, which brings together some of the UK’s largest charities and landowners to fight the impact of climate change and rising energy costs.

So there’s lots the National Trust is doing, but as it points out, we all need to start lowering our impact on the world and start making changes.

The National Trust says there are five easy ways to make a difference are:

1. Waste less – less food, less energy and less water
2. Turn heating down and layer up (this is something Polar Bears International ask us all to do – they even have a Thermostat Challenge)
3. Use an online carbon calculator to find out your carbon footprint and to work out how you can reduce it. 
4. Can you walk, bike, car share or use public transport?
5. Get involved in Leap for Nature on 29 February and make a promise for nature this year.
   
   

Read the National Trust's 2019 wildlife and weather review

A great and truly giving way to help them is to dig deep and be willing to make changes ourselves to help wildlife. Do it for the koalas, the polar bears, the penguins, the puffins…. your favourite wildlife...

There’s a programme on Channel 4 tonight (Monday 3 February 2020) at 8pm that I’m not sure I really want to watch, but I can’t help feeling I should.  

I am watching it and there are graphic images and footage, just to warn you.

Australia on Fire:  Climate Emergency is the story of the battle to save Australia form the bushfires.  It includes first-hand accounts from firefighters on the front line, and looks at the long-term impact of the fires on the animal population and ecology.

Drone footage show the extent of the devastation.

There’s also coverage of those who just escaped their burning properties – and we hear from those who have gone back to properties that are burnt out.

Thank you to all those everywhere who fought the fires and worked so hard and continue to work hard to help the animals in Australia.

The GoFundMe fundraiser for Port Macquarie Koala Hospital is still going (up to $7.7 million) and you can still donate to make a difference to Australian wildlife.

The lush rainforest runs along the Atlantic coast and inland in southern Brazil.  It is home to many species and plants which are not found anywhere else on earth. 

The problem for wildlife is....

Sadly, a mere 12% of this huge landscape now persists in very fragmented pockets.  Towns, pastures and intensive farming have replaced the rainforest.  

Many species living there are threatened with extinction as they are living in small fragmented areas and so are becoming increasingly isolated.  These include the black lion tamarin, the jaguar, ocelot and puma.

One way to solve this problem...

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has an Atlantic Rainforest appeal which is aiming to create wildlife corridors and so joining fragmented areas of rainforest up.

From small things do great things grow....
©Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Durrell wants to protect this ecosystem by creating wildlife corridors to join up the fragmented bits. They will do this by planting trees to connect the Morro do Diabo State Park to isolated forest fragments to the north, thus reconnecting wildlife.

In doing this project, Durrell is working with their partners at the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPE).

You can help restore this rainforest by planning 17,000 trees and in creating sustainable livelihoods for local people and neutralize about 2,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

The trees will be planted in community nurseries, planted by local people – so giving them sustainable livelihoods.  People and wildlife will win through this project.

Help wildlife such as the black lion tamarin, the jaguar, the puma, and ocelot
©Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Durrell say that:

• £25 will help the local community plant five trees and nurture them for 5 years
• £500 will run a community nursery for a week
• £15,000 will pay for a forest and community officer to oversee the pojrect for a year
• £85,000 will rebuild 1,000 metres of wildlife corridor connection forest fragments.

Every £ counts!  

Join in the appeal to create wildlife corridors to help wildlife thrive
©Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Donate here

Did you know that the National Trust is helping its partner, the National Trust of Australia, to help Australian wildlife recover after the terrible bushfires in Australia?

A lot of the animals climb trees to escape the flames below - and when they get down again, they get serious burns on their feet.  They need treatment and regular bandage changes for months, food and water.  And a big challenge facing the hospital and sanctuary is that there is no home for the animals to return to when they are better - it has been destroyed by fire.

They are helping to raise awareness of the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, which is caring for many animals with burns and dehydration.

As a result of the drought and wildfires, the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital has experienced about a 20% increase in admissions from in and around the fire zones.  They are working to treat, rehabilitate and release wildlife – wildlife who are sick, injured and orphaned.

Help Australian wildlife - Buy a Tree
©Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

In 2019, over 12,000 animals were admitted to the hospital – including 600 koalas.

You can help the hospital help wildlife by making a donation

Buy a Walkways for Wildlife
©Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Visit the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital’s website here.