» Listings for 2020

1. Please see this video from Gravitas - how nature is reclaiming its spaces due to the Coronavirus

   Posted on 2:00pm Friday 10th Apr 2020

   Sometimes you see something on the internet or on television that really hits you hard and makes a point extremely well. I saw this video, this afternoon, and I wanted to share it with you.  Please share it with everyone you can. The ultimate message is that we SHARE this planet.  It demonstrates how dominant the human race has become - and how selfish.   I am not going to tell you anymore about it - please just watch it for yourself.   Here it is: Thank you, Gravitas. Please vow to make a difference today.  Find out how to reduce your impact on the earth's resources here.

2. Road verges - a silver lining? says Plantlife

   Posted on 5:00pm Thursday 9th Apr 2020

   If I’m driving along in my car, I always find the wildlife flowers on our verges to be very uplifting to see. And whilst I’ve been having my daily one walk during the lockdown because of the coronavirus, I’ve really enjoyed seeing all the wild flowers which are about. Please give Plantlife your support with their Road Verge Campaign Plantlife is a charity that works nationally and internationally to raise the profile of our wild flowers, plants and our fungi.  They support our wildlife and they are vital.  Their colour and character give us cheer and brighten up our day and journeys. It’s really important to protect our wild flowers, our plants and our fungi.  And our roadsides have been much quieter of late, as lockdown is observed.  The drone of many councils’ mowers have also fall silent as councils may have reduced grass cutting down to the minimum required to maintain visibility and make sure our roads are safe. Plantlife hope that reduced cutting frequencies may help verge wildflowers to grow, flower and set seed.  Flowers such as the white campion, betony, greater knapweed and harebell, the chance to grow, flower and set seed.  The good news is that a more wildlife-friendly management regime will help tackle climate change. Over 300 local authorities have now declared a climate emergency.   Reducing their cutting regimes, as recommended in Plantlife’s management guidelines, will also help councils bring down carbon emissions.  Hopefully it won’t be long before we can all get outside and enjoy the wild flowers along our roadside.  Meantime, please visit Plantlife’s website to see how you can support their “Support the road verge campaign.”

    

3. 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.

4. Help Four Paws rescue the President Bears

   Posted on 9:00pm Monday 23rd Mar 2020

   Can you help Four Paws rescue the President Bears, Leo and Melanka? They were found when they were three months old in 2006 and they've been kept in barren enclosures since they were small cubs.  They live in the president residence of Syniogora, in the south east of Lviv, Ukraine. The conditions around them is awful. They are kept separated. They are in two small enclosures, with concrete floors, and no natural vegetation or enrichment at all!  There's no protection from the sun or rain.  The bears receive food just chucked over the fence.  Their water and food containers are dirty.  And the bears show stereotypical behaviour.   Four Paws want to move the President Bears to the Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr in Ukraine as soon as possible.  Here they can enjoy a new life, full of care and freedom.    The good news is that Four Paws addressed the Ukrainian authorities after the recent change of presidency, and they've given Four Paws the thumbs up to relocate the bears and look after them.   Will you help Leo and Malenka enjoy freedom and the grass between their paws? Make a donation here and make a difference to Leo and Melanka!

    

5. 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!