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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. TUI Group Launch a new Global TUI Turtle Aid Programme

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 4th Jul 2018

   Travel group TUI is running a programme to protect turtles.  The travel group now has a target to save one million new-born turtles by 2020. The TUI Turtle Aid programme has been created to protect the welfare of one million new-born turtles by 2020. It is working with local organisations in Cape Verde, Turkey and Greece  -‘Project Biodiversity’ and BIOS.CV on the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, Archelon in Greece and DEKAMER in Turkey. The project is expected to expand to other countries in the months ahead. The project will pioneer innovative research and protection methods to help safeguard the endangered global sea turtle population. Experts estimate that only one in a thousand baby turtles survives to adulthood, and the projects TUI is supporting is aiming to protect turtle nests on beaches and increase hatchling survival rates. Out of the 7 species of marine turtle, 6 are considered critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. Threats to turtles: Suffocation because they’ve ingested plastic bags; poachers; irresponsible beach use which leads to the destruction of turtles nests killing of hatchlings coastal development climate change illegal trade Turtles in Cape Verde The third largest loggerhead nesting populations in the world resides here. Five of the seven existing marine turtle species are in the Cape Verdean waters.  The plan is to engage with the local community and local stakeholders.  Local tour guides are taught about best practices and they give advice to visitors to help them holiday responsibly. Hotel partner involvement is vital to foster responsible beach use and waste management, and sustainable outings for tourist. Turtles in Greece  Conservationists will work with local companies and the tourism industry on Crete anda in the Peloponnese to implement management measures on loggerhead nesting beaches.  It is hoped that 60,000 loggerhead hatchlings will be born every year. Turtles in Turkey On Turkish beaches there are efforts to involve national and regional government, local businesses and visitors in the turtle-protection activities. A rescue centre will help care for injured turtles along the coast.  The partnership will enable DEKAMER to develop international research and conservation porjects, including the satellite tracking of turtles, the sex ratio estimate of turtles under global warming and more. Well done, TUI!   Let's hope this really expands to other turtle sites.

    

3. Drones making a big difference to turtle research and conservation

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 13th Mar 2018

   Research undertaken by the University of Exeter shows that drones are rapidly becoming a key resource for scientists.  In a paper published in the Endangered Species Review, scientists noted a number of benefits drones have to turtle conservation. Drones enable scientists to track turtles over big areas and in places which are hard to reach.  And they can gather information in much greater detail.  They are cheaper than alternative ways to gather data, such as satellite systems.  The information they collect enable scientists to discover more about turtle behaviour and their movements in the water.   Drones also give an extra weapon with which to fight poaching. What’s more, stunning footage collected by the drones really increases public interest and involvement. What scientists don’t know at the moment is if the turtles can pick up drones in flight, and what impact it has on them, so the University says more research is needed to investigate these points. Visit the University of Exeter's Biosciences website Responsible Travel lists a number of turtle conservation holidays

    

4. Saved: 730 acres of habitat-rich land in Ontario by the Couchiching Conservancy

   Posted on 8:00pm Thursday 1st Mar 2018

   The Couchiching Conservancy has acquired over 700 acres of habitat-rich land.   It sits alone one of southern Ontario’s wild rivers. The property includes over 4 kilometres of shoreline along the Black River.   This area is home to a number of species which are at risk, such as the Blanging’s turtle a species threatened by the loss or fragmenting of habitat, motor vehicles, and raccoons and foxes that prey on eggs, and the eastern hog-nosed snake, threatened by habitat loss and persecution by people. It’s an important acquisition, because it creates a large corridor of wilderness which enables species to move from one area to another.   As the climate changes, this will be all the more vital for them. Hundreds of donors enabled this purchase to happen, and there was also a major contribution from Ottawa’s Natural Areas Conservation Programme.     This programme is a private-public partnership which aims to conserve land across southern Canada, and federal funds are matched by contributions raised by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and its partners who manage the program  Here's more information about the Couchichong Conservancy: