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1. Save orangutans - Tell Governments to crackdown on palm oil fires

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 8th Apr 2020

   Did you know that the food you and I eat could be killing the last endangered orangutans in Borneo?                               Orangutans are being burnt to death and starved as the forests they live in are razed to the ground.  Why are these forests being destroyed?  Well, the forests are being cleared so that farmers can make room for thousands of miles of oil palm trees. A UN report discovered that palm oil is in about half of all products sold in supermarkets – it is in everything from cooking oils and margarine, pizza and ice-cream and soap. It is often used as an “eco-friendly” alternative to fossil fuels – but every time a farmer sets fire to the rainforest and underlying peatlands in Borneo, it destroys one of the world’s largest natural carbon sinks.   And it kills orangutans. Borneo, an island located in Southeast Asia, is split between the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Sign the petition to tell governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei to crack down on palm oil fires, and save the orangutans before it's too late! Borneo orangutans cannot be found anywhere else on earth.  If we don’t act, they won’t be found in Borneo, either. Governments are fighting back.  The EU is very worried about this deforestation and it is phasing out palm-oil based biofuels for now.  Indonesia is contesting this decision at the World Trade Organisation, and hoping it will make the EU back down and change its mind. Luckily, some governments are fighting back. The European Union is particularly concerned about this deadly and rampant deforestation, and it is phasing out palm-oil based biofuels for the time being. Indonesia has responded by contesting this decision at the World Trade Organization, hoping to force the EU to back down and change its mind. Sign the petition to tell governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei to crack down on palm oil fires, and save the orangutans before it's too late! If you’re looking for products which don’t have palm oil in them, take a look at Natural Collection who have over 2,400 products which are palm oil free on their online shop.     Visit Natural Collection’s website here.

2. Buy organic beauty products today and help the World Land Trust help forests!

   Posted on 9:00am Saturday 21st Mar 2020

   Spend £40 today, 21 March 2020, on organic beauty products with Green People and they will plant a tree for you with the World Land Trust  Just use the code GIFTATREE All you have to do is to spend £40 or more, and Green People will plant a tree.  The World Land Trust know what they are doing.  Since they were founded, they have planted over 2.3 million trees worldwide.  And they work with local conservation groups to help save land for wildlife;  their current appeal is to save forest and a wildlife corridor in Colombia.   You can find out more here. ©Lucas Leuzinger-Shutterstock The lowland tapir is one animal in the Barbacoas in South America Now, this is only available on 21 March 2020 - but Green People are doing this sustainability offer one Saturday a month in 2020.  Sign up for their newsletter and you can discover more about them and their offers and how they work.   The 21st March is International Day of Forests, so that's even more reason to give your support to the World Land Trust! Oh, by the way.... did I mention Green People have an Organic Children Hand Sanitiser?  And a Manuka and Lemon Tea Tree Antibacterial Hand Wash??? Head to Green People's website anyway, and go shopping!  I use their products myself and I just LOVE them!

    

3. Health, Koalas and Forests

   Posted on 10:00pm Thursday 19th Mar 2020

   Deborah Tabart OAM is Chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation And today, she sent out the most beautiful picture of an adorable koala, thinking it’s what we need right now.  Deborah, thank you.  It certainly cheered me up.   Save the Koala - Join the Koala Army One of the things Deborah said in the email she’d sent us was that she thinks the issues we are facing – the wildfires around the world and the coronavirus – stem in part from our lack of respect for the natural world, our lack of care for animals and our need to develop at all costs. I agree.  I remember once reading a phrase, Look after the earth and she will look after you.  Well, we have not looked after the world and she is finding it increasingly difficult to look after us.  We reap what we sow.  As Deborah says, we do not respect our planet, our forests, our rivers, our oceans.  We exploit them and abuse them far too much. My hope is that this virus will give us all the chance to reflect on what really matters and that it will give the planet a chance to do some healing.  We need to look at how we are living and what we are doing, and really start thinking about what we want going forward. The 21st March is International Day of Forests.   We need to love our forests around the world and to care for them like never before.   We are dependent on them.  Without forests that are in good health, we cannot be healthy.  They are the lungs of our planet. Without oceans and rivers that are in good health, we cannot be healthy.  They are our blood supply. Without air that is clean, we cannot be healthy. Without biodiversity, the right balance of species across the planet – I include humans in that – we cannot be healthy.  Every species has its place in nature – she has planned things pretty carefully and we are destroying that balance through activities dedicated to our own ends. So back to our Koalas.   Will you help put pressure on the Australian government to nudge them in the right direction and protect the koala, with the Koala Protection Act?  Protect one species and you protect far more.  Save the Koala - find out more about the Koala Protection Act Find out more here. And keep safe   Images above ©Australian Koala Foundation

    

4. Help wildlife and people in Columbia

   Posted on 8:25pm Sunday 23rd Feb 2020

   MAY 2020:   SUCCESS:   The target has been reached! I’m a big fan of the World Land Trust and I always thinking it’s very exciting to see where they are going to work to save land next and follow the appeals. The new appeal they have just launched (end February 2020) is in Columbia and here it is: ©World Land Trust WLT are working with Fundacion Biodiversa Colombia to save 260ha of lowland forest and wetlands.  They need to raise £295,000 to ensure these habitats are safe.  The area has already suffered from extreme deforestation and degradation – a whopping 90% of the original forests have been lost, so it’s vital to protect the remaining 10%. ©World Land Trust Many endangered species live there, from the American Manatee and Magdalena River Turtle to the Lowland Tapir and Jaguar.  There are a lot of monkeys there – the White-footed Tamarin, the Brown Spider Monkey and the Varied White-fronted Capuchin. The World Land Trust works closely with local conservation organisations and it speaks very well of FBC’s track record of conservation. Your donation and mine will make a difference. If you can't donate, please please spread the word Our support will mean that this area is immediately protected – either that, or the logging industry will get it. Support land purchase for conservation and help ensure that healthy, biodiverse habitats survive.

    

5. One Minute Action : Help save the animals in the rainforests of Madagascar

   Posted on 1:00pm Sunday 16th Feb 2020

    

   The rainforests in Madgascar and the animals living there needs our help. The rainforests there are affected by two things:  climate change – and deforestation on a large scale. The thing is, that these rainforests are home to wildlife that isn’t found anywhere else on earth. It’s got 101 different lemur species, for example.  Losing Madagascar’s rainforests would lead to an enormous and irreversible loss of biodiversity. But it doesn’t have to be that way.   The key is for those in power to do something now to prevent the destruction f their homeland forever. Sign the petition to urge officials in Madagascar to impose strict protections to save their rainforest.