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How bad is palm oil?

Exactly how ‘bad ‘ is palm oil? Whilst groups have for a long time said ‘very bad’ , it seems not so simple …. according to the IUCN. A lack of data on the environmental and social impacts of vegetable oil crops stands in the way of informed discussions about their relative sustainability, a new study by members of the IUCN’s Palm Oil Task Force finds. More accurate, high-resolution maps and data on a range of vegetable oils are needed...

Soils vitally important

Soil is one of the building blocks of life – vitally important – Advances in watershed, natural resource, and environmental sciences have shown that soil is the foundation of basic ecosystem function. Soil filters our water, provides essential nutrients to our forests and crops, and helps regulate the Earth’s temperature as well as many of the important greenhouse gases. Here are a list of resources that readers might find useful : Australia article https://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/7039160/political-heavyweights-doing-dirty-work-to-push-healthy-soils/ Soils USA – https://www.soils.org Soil Association UK https://www.soilassociation.org/ Soils 4 Teachers https://www.soils4teachers.org/...

Our world’s fisheries … are in trouble!

The world’s appetite for fish and fish products shows no sign of slowing. This report demonstrates the significant and growing role of fisheries and aquaculture in providing food, nutrition and employment. The fisheries and aquaculture sector significantly expanded in the past decades and total production, trade and consumption reached an all-time record in 2018. However since early 1990s, most growth in production from the sector as a whole has been from aquaculture, while capture fisheries production has been relatively stable, with some growth...

Planet Earth in your hands – thats geography!

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they develop and change over time.  ( so...

World Heritage celebrates 48th anniversary

The 16th of November marks the 48th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. This Convention protects the world’s most outstanding places, belonging to us all. Where it all began The idea of creating an international movement for protecting heritage emerged after World War I. The 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage developed from the merging of two separate movements: the first focusing on the preservation of cultural sites, and the other dealing with the conservation of nature. The...

Counting frogs

From 6-15 November 2020, you’re invited to take part in FrogID Week, Australia’s biggest frog count! Our frogs are under threat from habitat loss, disease and climate change. Taking part in FrogID Week will help provide our scientists with valuable data for the protection and conservation of frogs.Download the free app and register now. Remember, every call counts! To learn more about frogs of Australia- https://frogs.org.au/frogs/ More information and to download the app – visit https://www.frogid.net.au...

Sports & Nature in cities

While sports and nature often occupy and compete for the same green spaces in cities, well-planned sports infrastructure can make positive contributions to urban biodiversity. A new guide published today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), identifies key ecological criteria that city officials and sports venue developers can apply to incorporate the needs of nature in their planning. The new guide, published...

Outdoor classroom day

WE’RE ON A MISSION …TO CHANGE THE WORLD AND TO GIVE CHILDREN BACK THEIR CHILDHOOD! We want to make people understand that spending time outdoors is as important for children’s development as learning to read and write. We want to show how learning outside of the classroom engages and excites children in spectacular ways. We want everyone to understand that outdoor play is the key to improving children’s health, wellbeing and happiness. We want to make it clear that outdoor...