Is Black leadership strong enough in the outdoors?

          Do “black peoples “ – peoples from non-European ethnic groups – do good for the environment? Yes. Do these deeds get enough recognition. No. Children & Nature Network discusses this…   Black leadership is, and always has been, a powerful force in the environmental, climate justice, and nature connection movements. This leadership takes many forms, from the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, formed in 1995 to end discriminatory wastewater treatment practices in West Atlanta – to...

A global convention to stand together against pandemics

Some thoughts and responses to the current pandemic – from IUCN   The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 5.7 million people worldwide. As its devastating impacts continue to unfold, economic recovery is marking time, extreme poverty is rising, the labour market is being damaged, essential health services have been interrupted, natural resources are being depleted, access to energy, water and sanitation is hampered, plastic pollution is proliferating, and biodiversity is declining. With the combined effects of...

Creature feature: Hippos – fascinating, actually world’s large land mammal

It’s  World Hippo Day …… Five fast facts about hippos… some may surprise you …but look out below Hippo’s Cannot Swim – We Know, It’s Shocking! … They Have Incredibly Sensitive Skin. … They Cannot Breathe Underwater. … Hippos Are Territorial – But Only In Water. … They Are Not Big Eaters. … Hippos Have A British Connection. Hippo’s Cannot Swim – We Know, It’s Shocking! Hippos spend pretty much their whole lives in water, so it really doesn’t sound...

Australia conservation: iconic Koala becomes ‘endangered’

  Very interesting news today in The Guardian Australia edition…. No recovery plan for the Australian marsupial was in place despite it being identified as a requirement nine years ago * Today – 2022 : The Australian government has officially listed the koala as ‘endangered’  after a decline in its numbers due to land clearing and catastrophic bushfires shrinking its habitat.   * back in 2019 ….. A report claims koalas are ‘functionally extinct’ – but what does that mean?  In THE...

Sowing Roots project focus on Caribbean people

This free exhibition is part of the Garden Museum’s Sowing Rootsproject, a first of its kind journey into the history of the gardening cultures and traditions that Caribbean people carried with them when they moved to the UK after World War II: from breadfruit, provision grounds, and botanical gardens, to chocho, ackee and the green spaces of South London. How did the horticultural knowledge and traditions of the Windrush generation shape their experiences of migration and community building in the...

All about tigers

Common name: Tiger Scientific name: Panthera tigris Distribution: Asia and Far-east Russia CITES listing: Appendix I (22/10/1987) Tigers are the largest cat on earth. They are agile, with flexible bodies designed for running, jumping and climbing. Heavily-muscled forelimbs, retractable claws, powerful jaws, sharp teeth and acute senses make them awesome hunters. Their distinctive markings blend in to the colours and shadows of their habitat, having a reddish-orange to yellow-ochre coat with a white belly and black stripes. Tigers are generally...