Geography | Iceberg!

What is an iceberg? The iceberg is a famous natural phenomenon- made ‘famous by such films as Titanic An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice is floating freely in open (salt) water. To be an iceberg, the height of the ice must be greater than 5 m (16 ft) above sea level and the thickness must be greater than 30 m (100 ft) and the ice must cover an area of at least 500 square m (5400 sq...

Bushfires | Natural and devastating as people, wildlife all suffer

    https://youtu.be/3AWp7ULODJ4 Bushfires – especially in Perth – making headlines again for being both “devastating as well as foreseeable “ – are, painfully, part of the ‘normal Australia’ .  Yet, it begs the question- are they becoming more voracious, or more reported? From Geoscience Australia: “Bushfires and grassfires are common throughout Australia. Bushfires are an intrinsic part of Australia’s environment. Natural ecosystems have evolved (with fire, and the landscape, along with its biological diversity, has been shaped by both...

Are plants really important? What about illegal trade?

Animals are exciting because they move, come with a sense of danger ( some can eat you etc ) ,  some make great pets, and so on. Plants are, well, not as exciting? even boring? Certainly overlooked. Question: What was last animal you saw? Can you remember its colour, size and shape? Could you ID it? What about the last plant? A phenomenon called ‘plant blindness’ means we tend to underappreciate the flora around us. That , suggests research including...

Celebrating 50 years of RAMSAR

The year 2021 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. In 1974 we also designated the world’s first Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar wetland) – the Cobourg Peninsula, in the Northern Territory.     More information at https://www.ramsar.org/resources     LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...

Habitats graphic | Wetlands and RAMSAR

  A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO, which came into force in 1975.   LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...

Water, Wetlands, life!

“Wetlands are the star of the ( habitats ) show“ …. Some of the benefits of wetlands include: * providing food and habitat for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species * providing water quality improvement * key mechanism in flood storage * shoreline erosion control * economically beneficial natural products for human use * many opportunities for recreation, education, and research       Less than 1% of water on Earth is usable freshwater and it is mostly stored...

Nature and people | Swimmers and sharks get closer

  Sharks – an ‘apex’ predator are found ‘in just about every kind of ocean habitat, including the deep sea, open ocean, coral reefs, and under the Arctic ice ( according to Smithsonian ). With summer in full swing, with more families enjoying the beach and sea, unsurprisingly more likely contact between people and sharks…. Only yesterday, the Department of Conservation in New Zealand issued this warning – “Please be extra vigilant. There are always sharks around our coastline and...

Birds | which bird are you most like?

As its Big Garden Birdwatch in the UK , I came across this resource. Whilst I’m not normally into ‘online games’ this is typical of one thats  ‘fun and educational’.   Take the quiz and discover which bird most closely relates to your own personality…. play here LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...

Birdwatching | some resources

In the UK, it’s Big Garden Birdwatch… so here is a collection of great websites   The event, which was held over the weekend of 25-27 January, revealed that House Sparrow retained its number one spot in 2020 – 64% of partaking gardens recorded the species, a slight rise of 2% on 2019. Although registering a slight decrease on 2019, Common Starling was again in second place. Bird guides Discover Wildlife- the website behind BBC Wildlife magazine   RSPB –...

Cities hot topic at Davos Conference

  As Davos conference comes to an end, let’s look at an #DavosAgenda item – life and economics of life in the city. The city – where more and more of us live, and where children in particular grow up with both opportunities of resources as well as the blunt realities of being separated from nature.  Those blunt realities come (and from ) with huge emissions…. see ‘Decarbonising Cities’ below…. Sometimes seen, often invisible, always arguably deadly long term. As...

Are there enough women in science? Does it really matter?

The election in the United States of America of the first woman Vice President has been applauded as historic.  While it begins to re-balance the gender  imbalance, it also highlights the gender issue – women , or the absence of, in high office – in the first place. In the field of nature conservation/ science/ etc , the high profile women are certainly there – Dr Jane Goodall  Dr Sylvia Earle  Susan Goldberg  Audrey Azoulay Mechtild Rosser Christine Lagarde However...

Greta Thunberg: reminders of the promises made to your grandchildren

Greta calls for urgent action to address the climate and ecological crisis. She reminds the world of the promises made to children and grandchildren – a promise they expect to be kept.   Let’s remind ourselves what Greta stated 1 year ago at Davos…     Followed by her latest message… My name is Greta Thunberg and I’m not here to make deals. You see, I don’t belong to any financial interest or political party. So I can’t bargain or...

The unseen but very real problem…Plastics!

  Plastic – a family of polymers that is cheap, lightweight, strong, durable and very versatile, making it a primary choice for a variety of applications – has for the exact become same reasons become an environmental burden and a human health concern. Up to 14 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year.  It takes years….. to degrade! Here are some updates – good news of positive actions, and ‘reality checks’ from the United Kingdom. Some good...

Australia is unique. Why?

Australia Day – January 26th – when we consider all things Australian, the country and its people, is an ideal opportunity to check in on … the ‘nature of Australia’. Some key facts that together answer ‘how is Australia so very different’ ? * Australia is an ‘island’ – fully surrounded by water ; it’s also a ‘continent’ * Being an island, Australia tropical or sun-tropical, its long coastline hosting vast rainforests. These tropical rainforests are home to massive biodiversity...

Trees poem

Trees   Fingers down to meet green earth or grey brown Earth holding all together tapping Nature’s foundations   Arms outstretched, brimming with pride to home wild things, wild plants, wild creatures floating butterflies irresistible breaks in the foliage   Strong limbs grasp the thick embers of a burning sunset layer upon layer of fire in unreal heavens marching to the top of the world the unseen ancients   Planet Earth continues through space trees the silent messengers of time...

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