» Listings for 2019

1. Make a bird feeder at home to help wildlife

   Posted on 9:00pm Tuesday 29th Jan 2019

   If you're looking for activities for the kids to do which get them closer to wildlife, take a look at the Woodland Trust's blog. They have three wonderful ways you can help wildlife, including making your own bird feeder.  No baking is required, either!    ©Woodland Trust As well as listing the ingredients to include, the blog helpfully includes things to avoid, and also the method of making your feeder. As well as getting messy and making your own homemade bird feeder, you can then watch the visitors coming to your garden to enjoy the feast you've left them!   Get the kids to see how many they can spot and identify - it's a great way to get them close to nature. Also on the blog you'll find a way to turn used carton into seed holders.  Visit the Woodland Trust's blog here

    

2. Fill your garden with 20% off plants, seeds and bulbs from Thompson & Morgan on this special offer

   Posted on 9:00am Friday 18th Jan 2019

   If you've been wanting to fill your garden with colour or fill gaps which haven't got anything in them, then this could be a good time to do it. Online retailers Thompson & Morgan have a great offer on this weekend with 20% off their plants, bulbs and seeds.    From Friday 18th January 2019 at 00:00:01 ending on Monday 21st January 2019 at 23:59:59, you can enjoy 20% off your order from them.   You just click through to activate your discount. If that doesn't work, apply TM_TN510W into the promotion order code box within your shopping basket. This offer excludes all products within their Tool Shed, Outdoor Living, Buildings & Fencing and Wild Birdfood categories.  And it cannot be used in conjunction with promotional vouchers or any other offer including all reader & advert offers. Plus it's applicable to UK postcodes only. Go shopping at Thompson & Morgan and fill your garden with beauty!

    

3. Great news for forest in Tanzania

   Posted on 8:00pm Thursday 17th Jan 2019

   A forest teeming with wildlife in Tanzania has been placed under protection, supported by the World Land Trust and other partners. The Magombera Nature Reserve protects 6,425 acres of tropical forest.   It’s managed by the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group.  The land would otherwise been threatened by conversation  to a sugar planatation. The Magombera Forest is internationally recognised for its diverse landscapes and unique wildlife.   It has African megafauna such as African Elephants and Hippos and it’s been identified as one of the top 20 Priority Prmate areas in Tanzania  and up to now, it’s been the only one without protected status. It’s also got over 500 plant species with a number of rare and endemic trees. Unique Tanzanian Wildlife Protected by new 6,425 acre nature reserve ©Andrew Marshall   It’s home to at least 5 primate species, including Udzungwa Red Colobus, found only in this valley and the neighbouring Udzungwa Mountains, Angolan Black and White Colobus, Sykes’s Monkey, Greater Bushbaby and Udzungwa Galago. Local communities have shown strong support for the conservation of the Magombera Forest.   It helps regulate climate, present flooding and maintains soil fertility for crops. But villagers are benefiting from entrance fees paid by tourists to visit the forests. The TFCG was able to buy 3,030 acres of the reserve from a sugar company, thanks to the joint support of the World Land Trust, Flamingo Land, Aage V.Jensen Charity Foundation and Rainforest Trust.  The other 3,395 acres belong to the Tanzanian government already and will now be protected as the Magombera Nature Reserve which is the highest level of protection available under the Tanzania Forest Service. Back in 2008, it had been predicted that the forest understory be gone by 2018 if the rates of logging young straight trees had continued without intervention. There had been drastic deforestation since the 1950s – some 988,420 acres had been lost in the Kilombero Valley and the Magombera Forest was all that had remained. Visit the World Land Trust here to find out more

   Support the World Land Trust's Plant a Tree Appeal

    

    

4. Good News on Rhinos and Zebras from the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

   Posted on 9:00pm Tuesday 8th Jan 2019

   The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy had much to celebrate at the end of 2018 so I thought I'd pick out two things which they are celebrating to tell you about :-)  The Conservancy is located at the foothills of Mount Kenya, and it works to protect and manage of species, initiate and support  community conservation and development programmes, and educate neighbouring areas in the value of wildlife. So here are a couple of successes Lewa had in 2018 17 Rhino Births and ZERO poaching With their landscape partner Boran Conservancy, Lewa is now home to over 170 rhinos!  They are looking forward to reaching the 200 rhino milestone!    The rhinos moved from Lewa to the Sera Community Conservancy are also thriving with rhino birds and no poaching. There were 17 rhino births in 2018 © Lewa Wildlife Conservancy The plan is to remove fences between Lewa, Borana and Il Ngwesi Community Conservancy so that there's a secure space for their growing population.   Increase in the survival rate of Grevy's zebra foals Previoulsy, predation lessened the number of foals who survived into adulthood.   This slowed population growth.   The good rains in 2018 provided healthy pasture needed for the foals and other wildlife to survive and thrive.  There are just 2,800 Grevy Zebra left in the world, and 11% are found on Lewa, so this increase is important. Lewa recorded an increase in the survival rate of Grevy's zebra foals ©Lewa Wildlife Conservancy Lewa has also been busy educating 400 Northern Kenya students, teaching them about land degradation and human-wildlife conflict and what they can do to address these challenges.   In 2018, 400 students and their teachers visited Lewa and they received lessons on things such as reforestation, water harvesting and wildlife protection.

   Find out more about the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and how you can help

5. Good news for tiger conservation in Satpuda in central India from Born Free

   Posted on 9:00pm Tuesday 8th Jan 2019

   Today there’s good news from Born Free. 100 years ago, there were about 100,000 tigers across Asia.   Today, there are just 4,000 and the tiger is officially classified a Endangered by the IUCN (that’s the International Union for Conservation of Nature). Threats to tigers include Human-wildlife conflict Poaching for body parts for traditional “medicine” Habitat loss because of deforestation and development, which people are driving Born Free have an initiative called Living with Tigers.  It’s a network of Indian NGOs working across central India in the Satpuda area.      The network does a number of things, namely to: Tackle the poaching crisis Safeguard tiger habitats Find compassionate solutions so that communities and wildlife can live together There’s a dedicated teams of Tiger Ambassadors.  These are local villagers who are trained to identify signs of tigers being present in their area and to help if conflict arises. There’s also a Mobile Education Unit which teachers local school children about wildlife conservation. So the good news for tiger conservation is.... Tiger numbers have increased to 500 across the Satpuda landscape in the last 10 years.  This is great news but Born Free wants to go further.   It wants to:  Safeguard wild tiger populations in central India Work with more local communities to reduce human-wildlife conflict Create more protected areas so that wildlife can flourish Educate more people on the importance of conservation and approaches to co-existence.

   Help Born Free protect tigers here by donating to their work