Our blog & news: Get involved to help wildlife

 
 

"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. Well done to everyone at Wicor Primary School in Portchester!

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    It's always great to see children getting stuck into nature and the natural world, and even better to ee them doing things to help protect it and create habitat.   

    So I was really pleased to see the efforts of the wonderful staff and pupils at Wicor Primary School in Portchester.  

    They've raised £500 which they donated to the Woodland Trust - a fantastic achievement.   They did it through the sales of sausages which they devised with a local butcher using Jack in the Hedge, a garlic mustard that grows in the school grounds. Well done to the butcher, as well, for getting stuck in! 

    The money was also raised by bake sales, sponsored events and proceeds from a blend of tea devised with a Portsmouth tea merchant.

    Headteacher Mark Wildman presented the cheque to the Woodland Trust after the children had spent a day tree planting!  The school had received 179 free hazel, whitebeam, aspen and spindle saplings from the Woodland Trust along with four larger trees – Oak, hornbeam and cherry.  Every child had helped plant a tree, and the Headteacher commented that he'd seen many a child dragging their parents across to the tree they had planted saying "I planted that!"   

    Strong winds actually blew some of the trees over after the planting - but the kids just got on with re-planting them and the school thinks this shows the children that nature needs looking after and nurturing - an important lesson in life when caring for our natural world.

    I love the ethos of this school - they also grow fruit and vegetables in their allotment as part of their Environmental Curriculum.  They sell these back to the community to promote healthy eating and to raise money for the allotment. Find out more here

    So well done to all the children and staff at Wicor Primary School!  

    Here's a video from the Woodland Trust on the Green Tree Schools Award.  Over 8,000 schools are now involved and it's free to join in.  There's a guide to the Green Tree School Award here which you can download

     

     

  2. Schools help rainforest by fundraising

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    It's always wonderful to read about schools helping with fundraising towards wildlife and environmental causes.

    Reading through my copy of the excellent "Rainforest Review 2017" from Rainforest Concern, I was really excited to see a number of schools supporting the charity.  

    Cake sales, farmer's markets, a raffle and rainforest calendars were just a few of the ways in which young people raised funds for this charity. 

    The charity reported on 10 schools who did their bit for Rainforest Concern and raised funds - it would be great to see more schools getting involved.

    One young supporter raised a very impressive £553, which saved 11 acres of rainforest!  And Angharad is only eight years old!  She ran 20 km over 4 weeks.   A big well done to her :-) 

    There some great teacher resources for schools on Rainforest Concern's website which you can find here, and there are even Amazonas Comics for the children too!

    It costs £50 to sponsor one acre of rainforest.  If you sponsor an acre, Rainforest Concern will give you a personalised certificate recording your sponsorship and regular updates on their progress.  Your sponsorship will protect many plants and animals who need rainforest to live in.  Click here for more information.

     

  3. Wild Horses of Alberta Society....

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    So yesterday I was having a canter around the BBC website and having a browse and I came across a video made by the Wild Horses of Alberta Society.

    The Society is "committed to the preservation of these magnificent animals in their natural environment" and they have a number of videos on their You Tube page which I must say I did enjoy.  

    As well as informing the public about the history of these wonderful horses, the Society  is also working with the government to establish reasonable and achievable wild horse population management solutions, and also another objective I particularly like is their work to promote the welfare of wild horses by rescuing, gentling and rehoming of wild horses providing veterinary care.

    They also have a wild horse adoption programme.

    Of course, being a horse lover I had to have a look, and the video was just wonderful!   The wilds of Alberta, the care the people took of these wild horses and the spirit of the horses was just - for me - really moving.  

    Here's one of their videos, A Year with the Wild Horses - do take a look!

     

    The organisation entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the province of Alberta back in November 2014 - a 5 year agreement.  It means WHOAS can run 2 programmes in a large area of the Sundre Equine Zone - 

    1. Firstly, a contraception program for wild horse mares - this should help manage horse populations
    2. Secondly, an adoption program so that WHOAS can rescue wild horses in trouble on private land or that are found abandoned or injured.

    It's always interesting to see how people are working to help animals and I do wish the Society well in its work.

    Click here to visit the Wild Horses of Alberta Society's website

     

     

  4. Help stop bear farming in Vietnam - your voice is needed now

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    Today I had an email from the amazing charity Four Paws asking for all our help in supporting their petition to encourage the Vietnamese government to stop bear farming once and for all.

    In just six weeks, 275,000 people have signed the charity's petition - including comedians Matt Lucas and John Bishop, MEP Jean Lambert and VietPro.  

    Will you add your voice to the petition to stop bear farming?  

    Four Paws are hoping to have half a million names on their petition.  

    Add your voice to this petition to stop bear farming in Vietnam now

    Every single signature could help encourage the Vietnamese authorities to end bear farming once and for all.   Four Paws is asking everyone to share, share, and share - and if you know any famous people who can help raise the profile of the petition, that would be great :-) 

    Please sign now

    Share now using #saddestbears

    Although the Vietnamese government has taken steps to end bear farming over the last 10 years, there are still about 1,300 bears living in tiny cages.  Bears are being used for bile extraction. So more action is needed to end bear farming once and for all. 

    The petition calls on the Vietnamese government to (and I quote):

    • Take even greater steps in ensuring that bears are not farmed for bile extraction.
    • Ensure bears currently on bear farms are strictly monitored with confiscations and penalties for noncompliance.
    • Close all bear farms by 2020 and ensure the transfer of all remaining bears to rescue centers and sanctuaries.

    Please take action and sign the petition here

  5. Give a gift which helps many

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    I read this wonderful quote recently from somebody called Charley Willey, who worked out the following:

    "Make one person happy each day and in 40 years, you will have made 14,600 human beings happy for a little time, at least." 

    That struck a chord with me, and of course as an animal lover, I came up with an alternate version:

    "Make one animal happy each day and in 40 years, you will have made 14,600 aniamls happy for a little time, at least."

    Of course, you can make your dog or cat happy every day and at the end of that time, that will just have been one animal over the length of time that you are blessed with them.  

    But then there are ways to reach out to help a vast number of animals.  

    1. Feed the birds in your garden or via a window feeder, and you feed many (or more than one, at any rate). 
    2. Grow wildlife friendly flowers in your garden with a simple packet of seeds, and you'll help butterflies and moths, bees and other insects.
    3. Put a small wildlife pond in your garden or a bird bath and watch in enjoyment as animals come to drink or take a quick dip.
    4. Plant a tree and you'll give hundreds of animals shade from the sun, shelter from the rain, and somewhere to rest and nest.
    5. Sponsor an acre, and you'll help thousands of animals and many different species by providing them or protecting their habitat - the area where they live.
    6. GIve a horse lover a virtual gift from a charity like the Brooke or Spana and you can help hundreds of horses, donkeys, mules and camels, all thirsty after working long hours in incredibly hot temperatures.   
    7. Add your name to a petition and improve the lot of animals in your country or abroad.

    Every act helps and every act has the power to improve the lives of animals and people world wide.  And every act has the potential to help not just one animal but millions of them.