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1. Land donated - Presidential Estates in Eastern USA

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 16th Jul 2019

   The West Virginia Governor, Jim Justice, and his family have made a donation to the future of Virginia. They have donated 4,500 acres in Virginia and in doing so have forfeited hundreds of development rights.   That’s about 7 square miles. The area will remain as timberland and for agriculture – but at least it won’t be full of sprawling housing developments and shopping malls.   Known as Presidential Estates, 2,657 acres of the property are ranked as having “High” or “Very High” forest conservation value, according to the Virginia Department of Forestry.   The property also has over 18 miles of watercourses.  These contribute to the aquatic habitat and public drinking water supplies of communities downstream. There are plenty of opportunities for us all to make land donations and every single square foot we can donate help.   Pledge a patch for wildlife - you don't need thousands of acres to make a difference.    Every square foot helps.   Your patch can be as big as this pot with wildlife friendly flowers in it! pic copyright to Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. Worcestershire Wildlife Trust are asking people in the area to Pledge a Patch – which means dedicating an area to wildlife.   This patch could be in your garden, school, community or work place.  It could be a window box, woodland, a bed full of wild-flowers, a tiny pond – anything that makes a difference to wildlife. The more of us who can do this, the better.  We have turned our garden over to wildlife and consider it theirs, as much as ours. Meantime, donations such as Governor Justice and his family make also help considerably, of course, so if you have a patch of land…. please consider leaving it to a local conservation charity or work out ways to make the most of for wildlife.   Keep it safe from human development.

    

2. Join 500 people who want to help fight poaching.

   Posted on 7:00am Thursday 16th May 2019

   The African Wildlife Foundation has an opportunity to match all donations made by new donors by 31 May 2019. New donors can DOUBLE THEIR IMPACT Help the charity raise $100,000 by that date and your gift will be doubled. Give $10, and will become $20.  Give $25 and it will become $50.   Double your impact with your gift – you give what you can and want to give, and it will be doubled!  The funds raised will help save elephants, rhinos, lions and other species from wildlife traffickers. So how will your donation help?  What difference will it make? The African Wildlife Foundation says that: Sniffer dogs will track poachers to their hiding places Co-ordination among wildlife authorities will deter poachers Canine detection teams will bust smugglers with 90% accuracy Law enforcement and prosecutors willuse AWF training to build cases against wildlife criminals and impose just sentences New technologies, including drones, will incrase surveillance and a new cybersecurity initiative will help identify international trafficers and disrupt online sales The charity are looking for 500 new donors by 31 May 2019  UPDATE:  THEY GOT THEM :-) But you can still donate! The email I had this morning says that Candice Bergen will kindly double your gift of any amount.  But the charity is needing these donors if that’s to happen. They are on the way to achieving that goal – so if you can donate to charity, please take a look at the African Wildlife Foundation and join 500 others (or maybe more!) in making a difference to wildlife. I'm in - will you join in as well?   DONATE TODAY

    

3. Support the PTES's Garden Wildlife Appeal

   Posted on 9:00pm Monday 13th May 2019

   The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) says that the biggest challenge for wild animals today is finding safe places to live. Cities are expanding Farming is intensifying Green spaces are rapidly disappearing And so animals have fewer places to live.  However, gardens have an important top play in providing havens for wildlife – in giving them food and shelter.  The more wildlife friendly we can make our gardens, the better a chance wildlife will have. There’s plenty we can all do to help, such as making a feeding station for hedgehogs – we’ve put a hedgehog hotel in our garden.  You can build a small pond for amphibians, or create a log pile for insects.  Pretty much all the flowers in our garden are wildlife friendly and it gives us huge pleasure to watch the wildlife enjoying them.  It’s easy to do.   And the good news is that PTES have put a kit together to help you make your garden more wildlife friendly! All you need to do is to donate £5 and you can receive your special Wildlife Friendly Garden Kit, with everything you need to turn your garden into a wildlife haven. Kits include: garden wildlife guide on the importance of your garden to wildlife and the species you’re likely to see. garden wildlife planner of monthly wildlife friendly activities all year round. garden wildlife poster with 12 top tips to make your garden more wildlife-friendly. PTES supporter booklet introducing PTES and their vital conservation work. Donate now to the PTES Garden Wildlife Appeal

    

4. Polar bears heading to unusual places as sea ice melts

   Posted on 2:00pm Thursday 9th May 2019

   I had an interesting email from Polar Bears International (PBI) today. They have noticed that polar bears are showing up in odd places.   An exhausted polar bear was seen recently in a village on Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula – and that’s 600 kilometers plus from its home range. Their Senior Director of Conservation, Geoff York, thinks this could be that the bear hitched a ride on an ice floe and drifted south, as the ice broke up earlier in the Bering and Chukchi seas this spring.  Unusual and fast ice loss this year has displaced polar bears form their preferred hunting areas.   Seals give birth to their pups in spring In snow lairs or on the sea ice surface.  This makes the polar bear’s dinner more abundant and accessible than at any other time of the year. However the Russian polar bear was far from this area. It was decided to air-lift him back north, to Chukotka in the Russian Arctic. But there have been other unusual occurrences in the region over several months.  Some have been far from the sea.   This could be because of unstable ice cover. Sustained early sea ice is bad news for polar bears Polar Bears International know from other regions that sustained early sea ice break up doesn’t do polar bears any good.  Fewer hunting opportunities Decreased body condition Impacts on reproduction which aren’t good Negative impacts on survival, especially the old and  young If there’s less sea ice in the Arctic, it gets more difficult for polar bears to make a living from the frozen ocean.  Of course people living on the Arctic rely on stable ice to get around on, and to gather food.  We all need a frozen Arctic ecosystem to regulate our climate.    So we ALL need the Arctic to be in good health. Polar Bears International works in 3 ways: Education and outreach.  As more polar bears appear onshore, the charity works to help keep polar bears and people safe, with outreach on best practices for avoiding human-polar bear conflict.   These include getting rid of things such as open garbage dumps and installing bear-proof ones.  Research – the charity is studying the effectiveness of using surveillance radar to detect approaching polar bears.  This means alerts can be given before a bear enters town.  PBI help with research on the best deterrants – and that includes putting together a  history of polar bear attacks, and their causes to help avoid future conflicts. Climate Action. PBI is one working to solve the climate crisis, sharing their knowledge of polar bears and coming up with solutions.  This includes the Climate Alliance training program for zoo staff members, outreach to motivate citizen involvement, and advocacy to policy makers on the urgent need to act. Get involved and help polar bears

    

    

5. World Leaders, Protect Half our Planet - Please sign this petition

   Posted on 9:00am Thursday 4th Apr 2019

   There’s a new Petition on Avaaz which is called World Leaders, Protect Half our Planet. The petition is calling for world leaders to forge a new agreement such that at least 50% of our lands and oceans must be protected and restored.   A global study has just found that every insect on the planet is on track to be wiped out – causing life on Earth to collapse – and that includes humans.   The petition says: To world leaders: "We global citizens are deeply concerned by scientists warning that ecosystems critical to sustaining life on Earth could collapse in our lifetimes. We call on you to meet existing targets to protect biodiversity, forge a new agreement so that at least 50% of our lands and oceans are protected and restored, and ensure our planet is completely sustainably managed. This must take into consideration the needs of human development and have the active support of indigenous peoples. This long-term goal for nature can restore harmony with our home." Nature has never needed such a strong voice and scientists are offering a way to defend nature and people too – put half the planet under protection.  At the moment, France, Germany, Canada and other countries are about to hold talks to look at the idea before a global summit on extinction.  This is all happening at the time Sir David Attenborough’s programme Our Planet streams on Netflix, hoping for an audience in 190 countries.  It could be over ONE BILLION people watch it – that’s one in seven (give or take a few) on the planet.  The petition calls on these leaders to back protection for half the earth.  Sign here