"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
Do you love bats and want to know how to help them?
Have you found a bat in your home?
One of the problems facing bats is that many people who find them in their homes try to kill them with poison. This is wrong – there are alternatives to dealing with bats.
Batpoison.com was set up because research showed that 400 to a thousand people in the US search for the term “bat poison” every month; even more looked for “how to kill bats”.
Batpoison.com is designed to help people discover why bat poison is bad, and to give you alternatives to removing bats from homes. It’s also got information on how bats benefit us.
Their aim was to raise £50,000 – but supporters really rallied, dug deep and showed their true support for the Foundation. The event raised a staggering £80,000!
People tuned in from all over the world and the event lasted an hour. It raised nearly £50,000 before it even started!
Amongst the stars involved in the event, is an inspirational 9 year old raising money for pangolin, to a soprano and there’s also a visit to the Elephant Orphanage.
There’s nothing like going to bed knowing you have done something really good today and made a difference.
The event was held to celebrate wildlife and to raise funds to support conservation across Africa and Asia.
The bit about with the elephant orphanage starts at 28 minutes if you're short of time.
It's not enough to care - we need to ACT
Climate change and the biodiversity crises has been forgotten in the times of the coronavirus and charities are suffering particularly badly. The more we can all do to help, the better off our wildlife will be.
The key things for us all to do are to spread the word that there are good things happening and that we can all make a difference to wildlife.
We can turn this around if we all pull together and help nature.
World Lions’ Day is ROARING towards us (it’s on 10th August 2020) and in doing some research for this website to put up something about it, I have as always found myself getting very immersed in some of the fantastic work that charities are doing.
One of the amazing programmes I found out about today was about a very special dog called Kura and Kura’s Pride.
Kura lives with the team working with the charity Ewaso Lions, who promote wildlife-human co-existence. They believe "the long-term survival of lions and other carnivores depends on finding ways people can coexist with them".
Kura turned up in the charity’s camp on the day of the Kenyan National Elections back in 2013. He was lost and lame and looking for somewhere safe to stay. And 7 years on, he is still with the camp!
And now Kura is heading the Kura Pride initiative, which is working to improve domestic dog welfare in Northern Kenya.
During the period October 2019 and June 2020, Kura’s Pride and partners managed to vaccinate over 2,600 animals against rabies and distemper. These two disease harm people and wildlife so it’s a wonderful thing to get the jabs done.
This video tells you more about it. I was struck by how happy everyone looks, dogs and people.
Kura is the Director of Emotional Stability for the charity Ewaso Lions. As such, he warns everyone of poisonous snakes and leopards nearby, and of course he loudly announces any visitor to camp.
Help #WorldOceansDay grow the movement to protect our blue planet, using #ProtectOurHome
The 2020 Focus – or theme – is all about uniting conservation action to grow a global movement calling on world leaders to protect 30% of our blue planet by 2030. This essential need is called 30x30. If we can safeguard at least 30% of our ocean through a network of well protected areas, then we can ensure a healthy home for everyone!
Two things you can do:
First, sign the petition calling on world leaders to protect 30% of our blue planet by 2030. Today, only 15% of land and 7% of our ocean are protected – and the aim is to protect 17% of land and 10% of ocean by the end of 2020.
Many of our world leaders however need a really good kick up the backside if these are to increase. They don’t quite seem to understand that the natural world provides critical resources which sustain life on earth. We need clean air to breathe. We need clean water to drink. We need good food to eat. We need medicines. We need the resources the natural world provides. Animals need it too.
So let’s give them a good kick up the backside and campaign for nature: Sign the petition here
Secondly, take a good look around the World Oceans Day website and see what is happening. There are resources you can download and use to spread the word. Some of these are for specific marine species such as sharks, rays, seals, hammerheads, turtles, dolphins and penguins. Others are for areas such as corals. And they come in different languages, too.
The 5th June is World Environment Day It’s time #ForNature
Colombia is the host nation
This year, the global host is Colombia. The country is home to 51,000 species with the largest variety of birds and orchids in the world. It ranks second in diversity of plants, butterflies, freshwater fish and amphibians and they flourish in over 300 types of ecosystems, some of which are in protected areas. Find out more about Colombia here.
We need nature
As the website points out, our food, air and water all come from nature. And clearly we are living in times when nature is sending us a very strong message:
To care for ourselves, we must care for nature. Or, as I like to put it, look after earth, and she will look after us.
We need to build back better for People and Planet.
Visit the website – there’s a lot to get involved with including a biodiversity quiz,
There’s a practical guide for individuals, faith groups, businesses, cities, governments, schools, universities, youth groups and civil society. You can access it here.
Please at the very least, take time to read this tool kit. Amongst other things, it explains that the five main drivers for biodiversity loss are:
Land-use change – our demand for food and resoruces are driving deforestation and destroying natural habitats world-wide.
Over-explotation of plants and animals, from the large to the tiny, with fishing, logging and poaching threatening many speicies from the pangolin to the beluga sturgeon
Climate Emergency – our warming seas are melting sea ice, so affecting polar bears, seals and fishing birds. Our coral reefs are in trouble. One in six speices could be threatened with extinction by 2050 if warming trends continue.
How to help World Environment Day
Learn – this is a great chance to find out about the wild species nad habitats we share the planet with.
Share – why is it time #ForNature? Share why you love our natural world.
Act – Act on what you’ve learn to help end biodiversity loss and th climate crisis. Then we can give nature the chance to heal and ensure a better and healthier future for everyone.
There are plenty of ways we can all act as indivdiuals to save nature, from chainging our diet to travelling less, from leaving wild green spaces in our gardens so that pollinators and ground dwelling insects can thrive. We can stop using single-use plastics, and recycle as much as we can. Grow your own (herbs on a window sill for instance, fruit bushes on a patio) and buy locally produced products and foods.
This report has steps groups can take to make a difference and they are worth exploring to see what you can do as a group.
There’s lots of help for schools as well.
Let's all stand up for nature
Some people will may drag their feet and complain. Let them. We cannot afford passengers now on this drive to look after nature. We need to have the courage of our convictions and really start making a difference #ForNature.