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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." 
Margaret Mead, American anthropologist, 1901-1978
 


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  1.   

    In Victoria, Australia, the Koala Leaders Unite rally was held on 18 November at the state Premier’s Office.  

    It was held a week before the state election there, and it took place at the then Premier Dan Andrew's office.  It was attended by almost 50 people and the Koala Clancy Foundation  and Ballarat Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation are co-hosted the event in the hope that voters will consider koalas when they vote, and that the public rally will make the next government sit up and take action.

    The Koala Leaders Unite rally was held just before the election in Victoria, Australia

    The Koala Leaders Unite rally was held just before
    the election in Victoria, Australia outside the Premier's office.
    Image © Danielle Judd

    Koala Leaders gave 6 speeches stories about koala deaths and declines in the region – all driven by state government policies of neglect and contempt.and they included:

    The Koala Leaders Unite rally sent a strong message - koala habitat needs urgent protection
    The Koala Leaders Unite rally sent a strong message
    - koala habitat needs urgent protection
    Image © Danielle Judd

    Koala Commandments for the next state Premier

    Advocates for koalas have compiled urgent demands to save Victorian koalas.  They will be delivered to the next state Premier. 

    Here are the Koala Commandments

    The Commandments have been signed by a conservation groups

    The Koala Commandments have been signed by 16 groups including: 

    Koala Clancy Foundation

    Ballarat Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation

    Friends of Alberton West Forest / Mel & the Menagerie

    International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

    Wombat Forestcare

    Blessings of the Bush Koala Shelter

    Australian Forests & Climate Alliance (AFCA)

    Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation

    Fair Go For Wildlife Shelter

    Reach Out Wildlife Australia

    Victorian Forest Alliance

    Animalia Wildlife Shelter

    Wombat Action Group

    Environment East Gippsland 

    Southern Koala SKAT Project 

     

    Koalas need habitat to survive and thrive - too many have lost their habitats because of bushfires, logging and development
    Koalas need habitat to survive and thrive -
    too many have lost their habitats
    because of bushfires, logging and development
    Images ©  Koala Clancy Foundation

    For like any species, koalas need habitat to survive and thrive, and nearly 50,000 koalas are about to die in Blue Gum plantations.  State owned logging operations are causing the death of the rare, genetically distinct Strzelecki koalas in the area of South Gippsland.  People are telling the Koala Clancy Foundation that koalas have disappeared.

    Coming up to the election...

    Despite the deaths of thousands of koalas in bush fires fuelled by climate change, the Dan Andrews government was pushing ahead with plans to drill for gas near the Twelve Apostles.  If this happens, unless koala lovers speak up, the Victorian koalas will soon be endangered.

    Koalas need us to stretch out and give our support
    Koalas need us to stretch out and give our support
    Images ©  Koala Clancy Foundation

    The state government hasn’t even updated its Koala Management Strategy since the last one was written in 2004.  The state government says that nearly 50,000 koalas are living in the Blue Gum plantations in south west Victoria – these plantations are all due to be logged.

    Where will those koalas go?

    What will they eat?

    Doesn’t the state government even care?

    And if it does say it cares, why is it destroying koala habitat, when it says there are about 50,000 koalas in the area it is going to log?

    What will this koala do for somewhere to live now?  What will the koala eat?

    Please visit the websites above and see if there is anything you can do to get involved, wherever you are.  Wildlife need us and the more people who join in to help in whatever way they can, the better.

    Wildlife need habitat to survive and thrive.



  2.  

    Well, there’s never been a more important time to stand up for nature and make a real noise about it.

    Friends of the Earth emailed this morning.  Essentially, the UK is planning what they describe as a bonfire of the laws protecting our environment.

    Even in national parks, the UK government’s investment zones could concrete the countryside.  Developers would have a field day. Rules which limit river protection could go.  So could those protecting us from toxic pesticides.  If the Retained EU Law Bill goes ahead, Friends of the Earth say that hundreds of environmental laws could be torn up.

    Friends of the Earth have a petition urging us all to stand up for nature.

    Prime Minister Liz Truss is going all out for deregulation on a scale never seen before. 

    We all need to unite like never before and stand up for nature.  Over 70 organisations – including Friends of the Earth – have written to the government demanding a change of direction.

    Please join with them by signing and sharing the petition today.  

    I am quoting from the petition page:

    "To: the UK government 

    • Don’t axe the laws that protect our environment – commit to making them stronger instead. 
    • Protect nature in “investment zones”. Don’t let them turn into concrete jungles bereft of wildlife. 
    • Make planning rules work for people and nature - especially communities with limited access to nature."

    As Friends of the Earth point out, a recent YouGov poll found that 81% of UK adults believe that wildlife and the environment are under threat.  We need to stand up for nature.  Just over 80,000 people voted Liz Truss in as PM.  That’s a tiny amount compared to the number of nature lovers in the UK.

    Please sign the petition here

    Find out more about #DefendNature here

    Please take the 5 steps outlined by the Wildlife Trusts and contact your local MP and councillor.  We need to make some serious noise for nature.

    Please join in the conversation about conservation and the People's Plan for Nature... find out more and join in (by 30th October 2022)

    We need to protect nature.

    The Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust 
    have an appeal to save nature, including chalk streams.
    Find out more here

     

  3.  

    350.org have a petition about a proposed new and enormous oil field called Rosebank. 

    350.org say that if this Rosebank oil field goes ahead, the annual CO2 emissions would be more than those of the 28 lowest-income countries in the world put together.

    350.org say that the Government should help tackle the cost-of-living crisis and our climate by kick-starting a fair transition to renewables and mass-insulating UK homes.

    It says that the only way the Government will reject those Rosebank oil and gas field is if they see HUGE public opposition to new North Sea oil and gas.

    Here’s the Conservative party manifesto for 2019, when they won the general election.  Check out their promises on climate change and fossil fuels.

    The UK Government could be:

    • Investing money into renewables for everyone
    • Help fossil fuel workers transition to other jobs
    • Take insulation and energy-saving measures to help us through the cost-of-living crisis.

    (Personally, I think it could also remove VAT off all products which mean we use more energy from renewables from washing lines for the garden and clothes horses (use the sun and wind to dry clothes) to solar power and wind power.)

    Add your name now: Demand that Liz Truss rejects Rosebank and ALL new North Sea oil and gas!

     

  4. There’s good news for giraffe in Kenya.

    The Giraffe Conservation Foundation reports that they have made efforts to make sure that giraffe numbers in Kenya receive better protection. 

    The charity has given financial support to the Kenya Wildlife Service and other conservation partners to undertake aerial surveys in northern Kenya.

    And good news!  The surveys are showing a 30% increase in reticulated giraffe numbers on communal land and private conservancies in the last 6 years.

    Meantime, in the south of Kenya, the charity has held the first ever Masai Giraffe Working Group meeting to bring conservation partners together with the Kenya Wildlife Service.  The aim was to identify current threats to Masai giraffe and pinpoint measures to protect them.

    And there’s more – the charity’s year long surveys in Mwea National Reserve and Ruma National Park show there are double the numbers of Nubian giraffe than previously thought, so this is a great boost to Nubian giraffe there.

    There are renewed efforts to update and complete a National Recovery and Action Plan for giraffe in Kenya, held over a two day workshop.  The plan will be launched later this year.

    Don’t forget – a date for your diary – the 21st June is World Giraffe Day.  Why not adopt a giraffe as a gift for someone or for yourself?

     

     Click here for wildlife holiday ideas in Kenya listed on Responsible Travel

     

  5. This blog was first published on 20 June 2019 and then again with John Bishop's Great Whale Rescue programme in October 2020  - and now there's more news!

    Hot on the news that the Greeks have created the world’s first dolphin sanctuary, two Beluga Whales from an aquarium in Shanghai have just arrived in Iceland 6,000 miles away to go to a whale sanctuary there.

    The whales – Little Grey & Little White – are 12 years old.  They’ve been in captivity since they were about 2 years old and performed in font of crowds as “entertainment”. 

    The British Firm that runs the aquarium – Merlin Entertainment – bought the Changfeng Ocean World Zoo in 2012.  And it started to look for a home for Little Grey & Little White.

    Head of the British Conservation Charity, Sea Life Trust, explained that preparations have been on-going for about 18 months to prepare the whales for their journey.


    They travelled by plane on a Cargolux freighter to Iceland, then, truck and a ferry from the mainland to the island where they will live.  Teams monoitored the whales to ensure they were safe and comfortable during the flight.  A Cargolux engineer and a team of global veterinary experts with experience in transporting marine mammals were also on board to check on the whales’ welfare.

    Their new home is the world’s first open water Beluga sanctuary – it will provide a more natural sub-Arctic environment for them, with wilder habitat.  The bay will be protected to protect the two female whites as it is thought they won’t survive on their own in the wild.  The Sanctuary is in a natural and beautiful sea inlet, in Klettsvik Bay.  There’s a landside care facility, and a visitor centre minutes away – so you can visit!

    The sanctuary was created in partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation.  It’s run by the SEA LIFE Trust with a donation from Merlin Entertainments.   

    Scientists are going to study Little Grey & Little White to see how they adapt to their new natural home.  And depending on how they get on, the sanctuary could become home to other Belugas as well.

    So here's the update:  May 2022

    Little White and Little Gray are released into an open sea sanctuary, where they can adapt and explore.  They will then be released further into the open sea - and monitored to ensure they can live in peace.

    Find out more about the two Beluga Whales here

    Good luck in your new home, Little Grey & Little White and a big thank you to Cargolux Airlines for your help and role in moving Little Grey & Little White to sanctuary.  

    And if you're in the UK, why not check out The Cornish Seal Sanctuary, which rescues and rehabilitates grey seals pup from around the Cornish Coastline.