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1. There’s good news in Northumberland, thanks to nature lovers.

   Posted on 5:00pm Monday 15th Jul 2019

   There’s good news in Northumberland, thanks to nature lovers. Nature lovers there have got together to help buy and protect a tract of land there.  It’s a 600 acre site called Benshaw Moor in Redesdale, with heather habitat, peatland and limestone waterfall and springs. Birdlife at Benshaw include curlew, snipe, skylark, meadow pipit and short-eared owls. It’s now Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s 63rd nature reserve. ©Duncan Hutt Thanks to a united effort, 600 acres at Benshaw Moor in Northumberland is safe. The Trust was concerned that the land be used for business such as a commercial conifer forestry, or windfarm.  Shooting will not be allowed there any longer. £570,000 was raised from charitable trusts, businesses and a significant bequest.   The public donated £75,000.  The bequest came from the late George Swan, who wrote the Flora of Northumberland which was a record of the county’s plant species.  Mr Swan specified that the bequest be used to buy a site of botanical importance. Nature lovers will still be involved:   the wildlife charity’s team and volunteers will do surveys to better understand the site to help guide its future management.  Possible options include areas of native woodland, and conservation grazing, with Exmoor ponies or cattle. It just shows what can happen if we all get involved and unite for wildlife.   Find out how you can get involved in and help the Northumberland Wildlife Trust – even if you don’t live in this beautiful area! Get involved  - volunteer, visit nature reserves, go to events etc Support the Northumberland Wildlife Trust – donate, become a member, leave a legacy. There are 46 Wildlife Trusts around the UK and in Alderney and the Isle of Man – find your local here

    

2. Good news for Rainforests from the Sumatran Orangutan Society

   Posted on 6:00pm Thursday 13th Jun 2019

   We need all the good news we can get for rainforests at the moment, and there's two sets of good news from the Sumatran Orangutan Society today! Temporary Moratorium set to become a Permanent one! In an email, SOS sent a link to Mongabay which report that a temporary moratorium which prohibits the issuing of new permits to clear primary and peat forests is set to become permanent later this year.   There is more that can be done to strengthen this action, such as including secondary forests, say environmental activists.   When it was first introduced back in 2011, the moratorium was largely ineffective in stemming deforestation;  but since 2016, it has been shored up by peat-protection regularions which have helped to slow the loss of forest cover.  And fears that the move would harm the economy have been unfounded.  There's also a need to close a loophole which allows primary and peat forests to be razed for rice, sugarcane and other crop planatations.   But the move to make the moratorium permanent is a start.  Indonesia has pledged to slash its carbon dioxide emissions by at least 29% by 2030.   Although it is one of the top emitters world-wide, most of the emissions come from deforestation and not the burning of fossil fuels. Swing over to Mongabay for more information.  And there's more! Palm oil plantations to be cleared ready for new forest From 2018 to 2019, SOS ran an urgent appeal - the Rainforest Home Appeal.   They needed to raise £870,000 to buy 890 acres.    Visit SOS, the Sumatran Orangutan Society The public did it and the money was raised - and on 17th June 2019, a restoration team will start to clear the oil palm trees using chainsaws.   Once the oil palms have gone, the next phrase of restoration will start, bringing the land closer to being forest again!

    

3. Save land, save species

   Posted on 5:00pm Thursday 13th Jun 2019

   The World Land Trust has just launched its new appeal, to protect forest in Kenya on the coastline. Dakatcha has been identified as a Key Biodiversity Area and an Important Bird Area.  It has no official protection – but the future of this habitat could be secured under the ownership of Nature Kenya. The World Land Trust partners with Nature Kenya and their current project is to protect 810 acres before the threats of illegal charcoal production, hunting, controlled pineapple farming and the persistent threat of deforestation see this rare area burn. Save land by sponsoring an acre – or even quarter of an acre, and you can help save a species. You can get involved by sponsoring an acre for £100, half an acre for £50, or a quarter of an acre for £25.00 So why save Dakatcha? The You Tube video below shows the reasons why we should all help save the area.    It’s a vital area for people and animals locally, but it also is the case that every single healthy intact forest we can save will help us in the fight against climate change.  New species are still to be found here, as little is known about the forest – but it is known that endangered species such as the Clarke’s Weaver, the Sokoko Scops Owl and the Golden Oriole need this area.  Donate £25 to save a quarter of an acre of Dakatcha. Donate £50 to save half an acre of Dakatcha. Donate £100 to save an acre of Dakatcha. The World Land Trust are looking to save 810 acres and people have started to donate to save these acres already :-)  I’m making a donation in memory of my wonderful father on this Father’s Day.   He loved his feathered friends and his trees – and he enjoyed a family holiday to Kenya many years ago.  So the ties are there, and I can’t think of a better way to remember my father than save an acre of forest in his memory. Save land, save species here.

    

4. African Parks sets its goals for 2019

   Posted on 10:00pm Tuesday 1st Jan 2019

   What do you want to achieve in 2019?  What would you think if you were able to play a part in delivering anti-poaching techniques, protecting wild landscapes and helping to expand a ranger force to protect wildlife? Well, I’ve had an email from African Parks, a non-profit conservation organisation.  It takes on the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. In their email, they share their goals to make an impact for people and wildlife in Africa. And they need supporters to help them achieve their targets. Here are African Parks’ goals: To expand their ranger force by recruiting 200 new Rangers and growing their force to 1,200.  The rangers come from local communities so this is a great way to involve local people in conservation – it gives locals a chance to take charge of their futures To grow and deliver successful anti-poaching techniques.  Its K9 anti-poaching unit in Akagera, Rwanda, is helping to bring poaching to an all-time low in the park.  New puppies are training to join the unit next year, and the plan is to deploy a new K9 unit in Garamba in the DRC where parks have been hard hit by militarised elephant poaching These are the latest members of the K9 anti-poaching team ©African Parks To restore and protect more wild landscapes.  At the moment, African Parks manages 15 parks in 9 countries, conserving 10.5 million hectares in Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Zambia.  Its aim is to manage 20 parks by 2020.  Several parks are in the pipeline already. You can be a part of this journey with a few simple clicks to follow African Parks'  progress….If you make a donation, it all goes directly to the parks.  Go to African Parks' website here

    

5. Canada invests £8.5 million to save land for wildlife conservation in the Rocky Mountains

   Posted on 8:00pm Monday 19th Nov 2018

   Canada is investing C$14.7 million – that’s the equivalent of about £8.5 million – to put aside 7,900 hectares for wildlife conservation in the Rocky Mountains. They are beautiful – I visited there far too long ago – and I’m delighted to hear of this move. The funding will expand a tract of land in the south-east of British Columbia.   The initiative will help protect about 40 species.  Grizzly bears, wolverines, peregrine falcons and mountain caribou will benefit. from Lonely Planet Publications The investment comes from federal and provincial governments.  It will add 14% more land to the existing Darkwoods Conservation Area, which has valleys, mountains and lakes and which connects to an existing network of wildlife management areas and parkland. The investment means that both wildlife and plant life will have improved protection in an area which lies within the world’s only inland temperate rainforest. Find out more about why the Darkwoods Conservation Area matters