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1. World Land Trust supporters hit their target in Ecuador!

   Posted on 8:00am Wednesday 13th Jun 2018

   In what I think is an incredibly short time, supporters of UK registered charity the World Land Trust have raised £165,000 towards the purchase of tropical forest. I think it was late March 2018 that the appeal was started, and its success was announced on 12 June 2018 on its website. This means that the World Land Trust will be able to save 400 acres of tropical forest in the Amazonian Andes of Ecuador.  The habitat is home to sloths, cats, hummingbirds, eagles, frogs and macaws. The area will be safe under the permanent protection of the World Land Trust’s  local partner, Fundación Jocotoco.  They will be able to make the purchase and protect the 400 acres of tropical rainforest in the Amazonian Andes.  This will extend the existing Narupa Reserve and connect it with nearby national protected areas.  The World Land Trust has previously supported extensions through its Action Fund. This was an urgent appeal, because there was the danger of a road being built through this ecosystem but the area is now safe.  Such was the response of the World Land Trust supporters that the first part of the area was purchased quite early on in the appeal. Getting involved gave me a wonderful feeling Rather than give me a birthday present, I asked my husband to make a donation on my behalf to this appeal, I can’t tell you how much delight and joy my husband’s present has given me.  I have a warm glow inside my heart every time I think of it. It is a gift that will truly last and be meaningful.  Thank you, my darling! I also donated myself to this appeal on behalf of my mother, my sister and I in memory of my wonderful father as an early Father’s Day gift.  This means that Dad’s presence is scattered around the world – he’s now in Ecuador!  He loved making a difference and he adored nature, so this is a great thing to do in his memory.  (He's also in Scotland, Sussex, and a few other places besides, because every Christmas and Father's Day and on his birthday, I do something in his memory - plant a tree, adopt an acre etc). It really does make you feel good to contribute to something so many others have and join in the efforts to help conservation and endangered animals. The World Land Trust has an action fund you can donate to (if you've missed this appeal above and want to do something) which means that they can respond rapidly to urgent conservation needs.

    

2. 2,500 acres of tropical rainforest saved in Guatemala

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 25th Apr 2018

   World Land Trust supporters raised a staggering £625,000 for the Treasure Chest Appeal. The appeal was raising the money to save 2500 acres of tropical rainforest in the mountains of Sierra Santa Cruz in Guatemala. The appeal got off to an amazing start in the first week of the World Land Trust’s Big Match Fortnight.  In fact, £100,000 was raised during this time.   And after that, support flew in from all over the world. One eight year old girl tripled her £100 target to help save rainforest by completing  a mini-triathlon. Artists dedicated their work of Guatemala’s wildlife, including a specially commissioned Chinamococh Stream Frog ornament by Jess Smith.  The frog is a critically endangered species that can only be found in the mountains of Sierra Santa Cruz.   There was also an oil painting of Scarlet Macaws by Glyn Macey and a watercolour of a Blackburnian Warbler by Dan Bradbury who works for the World Land Trust. The appeal also received tremendous contributions from The Body Shop and Humble Bundle. The money goes now to the World Land Trust’s local partner in Guatemala – the Foundation for Ecodevelopment and Conservation (FUNDAECO) and they work through the process of buying the land and protecting it to safeguard it for the wildlife living in the mountains. Inspired?  You can support the World Land Trust's new appeal to save 400 acres in the Amazonian Andes.

    

3. 5,000 trees planted and doing well in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

   Posted on 8:00pm Monday 26th Mar 2018

   In Brazil, 5,000 trees have been planted the Atlantic Forest

   Trees planted in the Matumbo Gap of the Atlantic Forest in 2017 are doing well!

   5,000 trees were planted, thanks to funding from the World Land Trust’s Plant a Tree programme.  The programme plants a tree for a £5 donation.   

   The trees are all grown from seeds collected from the indigenous tree species of the neighbouring Atlantic Forest.  They are cultivated in the nursery of the Reserva Ecológica e Guapiaçu (REGUA) and then planted in the slopes of the cleared area known as the Matumbo Gap.

   The Matumbo Gap has been a priority for reforestation.   It would create a wildlife corridor between two areas of forest which are under the protection of the Reserva Ecológica e Guapiaçu.  The area is funded by the World Land Trust.

   The forest is maturing; some pioneer plant species are bearing seeds and fruit, which fees the native fauna, particularly bats and birds. 

   
   

   
   The Reserva Ecológica e Guapiaçu’s mission is to protect the remaining areas of Altantic Forest and connect fragmented habitats.   These areas have been cut off from each other because of clearance for agriculture. 

   Thriving wildlife can be seen in the state of Rio de Janeiro, thanks to successes from REGUA’s work.

   You can be a part of the World Land Trust’s work to support reforestation in Brazil, Ecuador and Kenya through their Plant a Tree Programme.  

   Native tree species are planted to restore degraded habitats for £5 each.  Donate £25 or more, and you’ll receive a donation pack detailing the impact of your support. 

   BE A PART OF THIS SUCCESS STORY - PLANT A TREE HERE FOR JUST £5

   You can also make a donation to REGUA here

    

4. El Pantonoso Reserve is 100% fully funded

   Posted on 8:00pm Friday 23rd Mar 2018

   There’s good conservation news from the World Land Trust today. They’ve announced that the El Pantanoso Reserve is now 100% fully funded, which means that 10,900 acres is permanently protected through their partner Fundación Biodiversidad Argentina.  The reserve is a wildlife corridor of Yungas Forest.  It sits between the Calilegua National Park and the Estancia Urundel, and it’s Argentina’s biggest area of Jaguar habitat. This project has also been supported by a legacy which was left by a supporter of the World Land Trust, so it just shows how legacies can make a difference to causes one cares about.   Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, also supported the project.  And it was secured by supporters of the Buy an Acre Argentina programme. At the moment, the World Land Trust’s Buy an Acre programme is focusing on Mexico at the moment, where a £100 donation can buy an acre of land.  In Ecuador, land prices are going up, and it’s not possible to buy an acre for £100, hence the focus on Mexico where the World Land Trust’s partner Grupo Ecological Sierra Gorda can save habitats about £100 an acre.

    

5. Trees for Life plant record number of trees in a year!

   Posted on 9:00pm Friday 16th Mar 2018

   There’s some amazing news from Scotland. The charity Trees for Life have just totted up the number of trees they planted in 2017 and it comes to a record breaking: 156,869 trees! Of these, 133,000 were planted at the Allt Ruadh exclosure at the Dundreggan Conservation Estate, thus helping to restore the Caledonian Forest in the stunning Highlands. Volunteers spent over 5,000 planting trees, and members, donors and supporters similarly played a vital role in ensuring the trees could be planted. What’s more, Trees for Life have been invited to join the growing European Rewildling Network which puts the restoration of the Caledonian Forest in the Highalnds firmly on the European map. The network shows how re-wilding can benefit from economic development, including nature based tourism such as wildlife watching, nature-based tourism and volunteer opportunities. Trees for Life has a number of Conservation Weeks and Conservation Days throughout the year, bringing visitors to Scotland.   The Caledonian Forest is Scotland’s equivalent of the Amazonian rainforest.  Today, just 1% of the original area is left, but Trees for Life has already restored large areas in Glen Affric and at the Dundreggan Conservatoin Estate by planting over 1.3 million trees and encouraging natural restoration.  The charity’s Caledonian Pinewood Recovery Project will help to restore 50 acres of remnant pinewoods – mostly ancient 200 year old “Granny” Scots pines which are dying.  There are no young trees to succeed them, so the fragments are in danger of vanishing without action. You can find out more about Trees for Life here  and how to help here.