» Listings for 2017

1. Ocean conservation hits the spotlight

   Posted on 5:40pm Tuesday 6th Jun 2017

   This is an important week for all of us. From 5th to 9th June in New York, the United Nations is holding its first ever high level meeting specifically to address ocean conservation.  Key discussions will take place about targets to:   Reduce pollution and debris; Protect marine eco-systems; End overfishing and destructive fishing practices;  Minimise the effects of ocean acidification  It's about time. There’s always a lot of talk about preserving the rainforests on our planet and very little about ocean conservation.  This must mean marine conservationists feel they are banging their heads against a brick wall.    To make matters worse, many people are very disconnected to ocean life.   A day at the seaside means ice-creams, sun tan lotion, swimming, trying to get all the sand out of your gear before you lug it back into your car again, lying lazily in the sun, going for a paddle, splashing about in the water, surfboarding in the sea, playing games and trying to top up your tan without ending up looking like the person a few metres away from you who is as red as a tomato.  We may fleetingly look out over the ocean so blue, and wonder what lies beyond; and equally feel quite powerless when we see this huge chunk of water drifting in and out before us. We may be indifferent to its state - what does it matter what state the ocean is in? So long as the coastline is clear for us to swim in and paddle about in, that’s fair enough.   We’ve got tuna sandwiches, the tuna having been bought from a kiosk or the supermarket, and we’re enjoying ourselves – never mind how it was caught or where it came from, or what the fish itself had eaten before it was caught. And in any case, what can we personally do to make a difference?  We may feel that on our own, we’re all too powerless to make a difference.  However.... We do however want to be sure that when we go to the beach to enjoy the sea air and the sea itself, to meet friends, to spend family time together, we don’t want to find ourselves sitting in the middle of a rubbish dump.  We don’t want to spend ages looking for a spot on the beach that’s rubbish-free – forgetting what could be under the sand.  We don’t want the food we put into our bodies to contain tiny bits of plastic that the fish we’re eating swallowed before we did.  We don’t want to sit next to other people’s wet-wipes they used in the bathroom which have ended up in our sewage systems, or discover we’ve put our picnic stuff on someone’s toothbrush, cigarette lighter or the cotton wool bud they used to clean out their ears before chucking it away.

    

   Our wildlife and marine life need a healthy environment in which to thrive, not survive.  We need a healthy, thriving marine life and ocean if we’re to thrive, as well. There are lots of good things happening around the world and I hope to bring news of more of them regularly.   The United Nations and governments around the world can have their own discussions but that’s not enough.  There are 7 billion of us on this planet.   If 1,000 people in Mumbai in India can clear a beach of its rubbish bit by bit in 85 months, imagine what 10 of us could do on a small beach somewhere else.  The more of us who get stuck in, whether we act on our own, or join others who want to make a difference, the better. One person taking one action and telling another about it can spiral a chain reaction and inspire others to do the same as well.  There is a LOT going on and tons of local initiatives and events happening on the coastlines around the world which really are making a difference.

   Ocean Info Oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface. Oceans provide about 99% of our planet’s living space Oceans absorb just over 25% of the carbon dioxide we produce every year Over 90% of the enhanced heating from the greenhouse effect & other human activities are absorbed by our oceans Two thirds of the oceans are beyond national jurisdiction

   Care for the ocean, and you care for you You’ll probably have heard the phrase, “You can’t eat an elephant in one bite”.  It’s essentially saying that the task of eating an elephant is so enormous that it’s only by breaking job down into small pieces that you can tackle it, piece by piece.  Caring for our ocean and conserving it needs the same approach.   We all need to break down caring for the ocean into lots of bits, so lots of people are doing their bits and helping out. There are two key actions we can all take:

   Help clear up the rubbish we made

   Stop producing the rubbish in the first place

   One person taking one action and telling another about it can spiral a chain reaction and inspire others to do the same as well.  There is a LOT going on and tons of local initiatives and events happening on the coastlines around the world which really are making a difference.   

2. Great news for Elephants from the World Land Trust

   Posted on 7:00pm Friday 2nd Jun 2017

   
   

   There are some charities which really do strike a chord with you and make you sit up and think, "Wow". The World Land Trust does it for me.   I think it's an amazing charity.  It protects the world's most important and threatened wildlife habitats, acre by acre. In fact, you can sponsor or give the gift of an acre, which makes for a marvellous gift because it lasts. Since it was founded in 1989 - so not that long ago compared to other charities - the World Land Trust has funded partner organisations around the world to create reserves, and thereby give permanent protection to habitats and wildlife. Habitats are vital to wildlife.  They matter.  Without a healthy habitat to live in, wildlife can't survive.  The World Land Trust has just succeeded in raising funds for a wildlife corridor in India, linking two tiger reserves.   The animal who'll probably benefit most from this corridor is the Indian elephant.  Elephants needed a safe passage to travel between two Ghats mountain ranges for food and mates.  The funding is being used for land exchange:  the landowner can continue subsistence farming, but away from the passage.   The elephants have been raiding crops as they pass between villages which of course caused conflict between people and elephants.  Hence the appeal was called the Elephant Corridor Appeal.  The success of the World Land Trust's campaign is critical because it gives safe passage to Indian elephants passing through the Mudahalli corridor between the Eastern and Western Ghats, and that can now be secured.  On this occasion, the Trust worked with the Wildlife Trust of India.  So far, Barking Deer, Black-naped Hare, Chital, Sambar Deer, Sloth Bear and Wild Boar have all been seen in the corridor forest and extension area, as well as tigers and elephants.  This is all thanks to the supporters of World Land Trust's campaign.   People (no doubt from all over the world, although the Trust is based in the UK. To me, news like this is fantastic.  This was an effort by a lot of people who were willing to put money into securing this wildlife corridor.   It reinforces what can be done by people coming together to make a difference. We can all create change by acting as individuals, but how much greater our power is when we come together! Elephants of India, enjoy your wildlife corridor.  Be safe. And thank you World Land Trust for the amazing work you and your partners do.

    

3. Plant Pots for Pollinators - help butterflies by going potty!

   Posted on 1:00pm Friday 2nd Jun 2017

   It’s great to hear about initiatives people can join in with - and better to hear that people are actually joining up and making a difference. This morning I discovered that Butterfly Conservation (who work to conserve butterflies) have an initiative called Plant Pots for Pollinators. It’s an amazing project.   Butterfly Conservation are asking people to plant a pot or pots for pollinators – butterflies and bees. Butterfly Conservation says the UK has 1,500 pollinating species – bumblebees, honeybees, hoverflies, beetles, wasps, butterflies and moths.  Changes in land use and the way it’s managed are destroying vital wildlife habitat on farms, woodlands, towns and cities.  We need to look after our pollinators.    Over 80% of EU crops and 80% of wildlflowers need insect pollination.   Pollinators can only look after us, if we look after them.   And if we provide habitat for them, they will come.   The sight of colourful butterflies fluttering around your garden thanks to your efforts is a truly lovely one.   There’s something very relaxing about listening to bees buzzing around flowers.  So the more plants we pot and grow for our pollinators, the better.  There’s a planting guide with suggestions of what butterflies like The Plant Pots for Pollinators scheme is sponsored by B&Q, so watch for Butterfly Conservation events at some B&Q stores.  And you can add your pot to Butterfly Conservation’s interactive map, which shows how many people have planted a pot and where in the country that pot is.     So far, 340 plant pots have been planted.   Go potty for pollinators this summer!

    

4. Take up the Plastic Challenge

   Posted on 3:00pm Thursday 1st Jun 2017

   Would you like plastic for dinner? What are you going to do this month?   If you’re looking for something to do that will challenge you and the members of your family, how about seeing how much plastic you can get rid of in your life? You may have seen the plastic which washed up on the beaches of Henderson Island in the Pacific.  There were an estimated 38 MILLION pieces of rubbish – and most of it was plastic.   Toothbrushes and  cigarette lighters were two of the most numerous items found on the beach.    However much plastic breaks down, it’s still there.  Seals, dolphins, orcas and turtles – they all eat the plastic in our oceans.   Fish do, too.  So we eat it as well.  Do you fancy plastic for dinner?  What do you think plastic and the toxins that come with it do to our health and wellbeing?   So why not take up the Plastic Challenge? The Marine Conservation Society is running its Plastic Challenge this month.  Right from the start, it admits that it’s practically impossible to get rid of every single bit of plastic – but it also points out that you CAN reduce your plastic footprint. Give up single-use plastic i.e. a plastic bag you use once, a plastic water bottle you use once, plastic straws etc.   Think before you use this stuff – do you really need it?  Do it for as long as you can.  The Plastic Challenge started on 1 June but never mind that date – start it today, even if you’re reading this way past that date.   They say it takes 21 days to change a habit, so a month is a good length of time to give this a go.  Don’t berate yourself if you slide back to your old ways for a day or so – just get back on track to reduced plastic usage… Make a note in your diary to join your nearest beach clean if you have one – you can find info here.  Their main Beach Clean event is in September but there are lots of others throughout the year – or why not organise your own?  Their website has information to help you do just that. Raise money for the Marine Conservation Society as you go and support their work to help marine life – you can sign up for a free fundraising pack to get you started Be inspired by others who are doing the challenge – Plastic Challengers – and get tips from the plastic community Use the month to find out more about how plastic is affecting marine life.    Reduce, reuse and recycle to prevent as much plastic as possible entering the environment.  People all over the world are working to make a difference and reduce plastic waste on beaches which will end up or come from the sea.   The more we can stop using plastic in any way to begin with, the better.  Finally, we can urge the UK government to BAN THE PLASTIC BAG completely.   In 2002, the Bangladesh government did this, and Rwanda, China, Taiwan and Macedonia have all done it too.   If they can do it, so can Britain!   #mcsuk  #plasticchallenge