somethingswearegettingright

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WELCOME to Number #6 somethingswearegettingright

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Welcome to our?Sixth Edition of the?somthingswearegettingright newsletter. Here, we offer a brief digest of?5 or 6 inspirational posts from the recent environmental news. So much that is positive is taking place – so some things we are (clearly) getting right!

In this week's edition:

• One Man's Quest to Heal the Oceans—And Maybe Save the World
• Butterfly numbers in the UK increased this summer!
• Saving the Oceans?
• Wilding – The film – tickets go on sale for London screening
• The St Helena Cloud Forest Project / RSPB / running to 2025
• Conservationists calling for help to save London’s glowworms
• A first draft of The Plastic Treaty
• Leaving every place better than we find it!

So much amazing work is taking place and needs to be celebrated. It is great to remember all the thousands of projects and successes, large and small. It may be wilding a hedge, or planting a pond. It might be a more ambitious re-introduction of a lost species...

Whatever it is, it is part of the momentum that we are creating, with thousands upon thousands of committed individuals all over the world. This weekly space is to serve two goals. One is highlighting a handful of amazing projects that I have found inspiring. And the other is helping to remind us that we are making progress together in this collective endeavor for our planet.

Please take action by subscribing to #somethingswearegettingright.?

There is so much amazing environmental work going on out there that deserves to be celebrated! This week. Next week. And every week!

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Saturday 16th September

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One Man's Quest to Heal the Oceans — And Maybe Save the World

Enric Sala—marine ecologist, conservationist, and ocean advocate —is standing under a life-size replica of a Northern Atlantic Right Whale at the Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C., and the air outside is smudged with wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada. It’s not surprising that Sala wants to talk about the smoke, or about whales . Their poop, however, is an unexpected twist. According to Sala, whale excrement, or, more precisely, the lack of it, has a role to play in the choking miasma that has forced my interview with one of the world’s foremost ocean explorers indoors instead of out on a boat.

It may seem like a stretch, the kind that relegates environmentalists deep into woo-woo territory, but as our conversation unfolds, it starts making sense. Whale poop fertilizes ocean plankton. The plankton reproduces rapidly, absorbing carbon dioxide as it photosynthesizes sunlight. Eventually, it sinks to the seafloor, trapping the planet-warming gas in layers of sediment. Fewer whales means less plankton sequestering CO, leaving more in the atmosphere. That means more of the heat driving the wildfires that have smoked out much of North America.

More than advocacy, more than science, Sala’s key sales point for ocean protection is hope. As fish stocks dwindle and ocean temperatures rise, Sala offers a solution that doesn’t even require a sacrifice, just an adjustment. It’s a potent antidote to the endless parade of doomsday scenarios that dominate today’s climate conversations, says Lubchenco. “Offering an option to protect and restore the vibrancy of ocean ecosystems is very attractive because people can actually see there’s something they can do.”

Could such a policy be applied to the whole of the Mediterranean? Sala pauses in front of the exhibit of sea fan coral, a species that is all but gone from his old snorkeling grounds off the coast of Spain. His face flickers with emotion as he imagines what a protected Mediterranean would look like. “Before you get in the water, you will see monk seals on the beach,” he says. “[There would be kelp] forests 60 meters deep. Lots of fish, including very large groupers, starfish, and shrimp, and lots of lobsters. And octopuses, more of everything,” he whispers, before anchoring himself back into reality.

“The Mediterranean of the future is not going to be like the Mediterranean of the past.” For one, it’s warmer than it used to be, and invasive species have made it a permanent home. “But we can still make sure it’s better than it is now. We just have to leave enough of it alone.”

You can find the entire article here:

https://time.com/6307205/enric-sala-ocean-conservation/

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Friday 15th September

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Butterfly numbers in the UK increased this summer!

Some excellent news! Butterfly numbers in the UK increased this summer. Results of Butterfly Conservation’s?Big Butterfly Count 2023?have been released this past week, revealing a better picture for butterflies than had been feared.

Overall, participants of the Big Butterfly Count enjoyed seeing more butterflies this year than in the previous four summers. In total, over 1.5 million butterflies and day-flying moths were recorded from 14 July - 6 August. After an all-time low in 2022 of just nine individual butterflies spotted per Count, this year saw an increase to 12 butterflies recorded on average per Count. This good news is however in contrast with what the long-term trends are revealing. Released for the first time this year, these show that since the Big Butterfly Count started 13 years ago, many species have significantly decreased.

https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/butterfly-numbers-increased-this-summer

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Wednesday 13th September

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Wilding.

Film directed by David Allen, with Isabella Tree, Rhiannon Neads, Matthew Collyer

Many will have read "Wilding" by Isabella Tree, and the more recent "The Book of Wilding". These books have been inspirational for so many of us in recent years. Now, apparently, there is a film which is screening in London, on Friday 6th October and Saturday 7th October. Tickets went on sale Tuesday 12 September 2023 10:00, so if you want to see this film, probably a good idea to book soon.?

Writing of the film, Sophie Brown writes: "Knepp is a beacon of hope for England’s wildlife. When Isabella and her husband inherited the estate to farm, they recognised how sick the land was. But a groundbreaking radical experiment has been nothing short of transformative. Now it’s a place where mussel-diving pigs, storks and butterflies find sanctuary, and where thriving flora and a vast array of animals have taken back the land. This is a charming, hopeful and necessary story of ecological regeneration".

The film was directed by David Allen, with Isabella Tree, Rhiannon Neads, Matthew Collyer. / UK 2023. 75min

#wilding #wildingfilm #knepp

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=wilding-lff23

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Tuesday 12th September

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St Helena Cloud Forest Project / RSPB

The UK overseas territory of St Helena Island lies 1200 miles off the coast of West Africa in the subtropical Atlantic Ocean. It is home to more than 500 species found nowhere else on the planet, but threats such as climate change, invasive species and habitat fragmentation, mean many of these could disappear without urgent action.

St Helena is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world and is just 10 miles long and 5 miles wide. St Helena’s waters welcome humpback whales, dolphins and whale sharks, seabirds nest along its coasts, offshore islands and even inland trees and the island is home to one of the rarest birds on the planet – the St Helena Plover or Wirebird as it is known locally.??

Clinging to its mist-shrouded highest peaks are ancient remnants of the UK’s last natural cloud forest. These small but globally significant pieces of habitat are home to approximately 250 unique species found only within the?St Helena Peaks National Park , including daisies that have evolved into trees, and a woodlouse that glows under UV light.?? Although St Helena’s cloud forest once covered an estimated 600 hectares these have tragically been reduced to just 16 hectares. These 16 hectares hold one-sixth of the endemic biodiversity for which the UK is currently responsible.?? People have been working tirelessly to turn things around for decades learning how to propagate endemic trees from those that survive, creating genebanks (to protect genetic diversity for future populations), removing invasive non-native threats and planting trees back into the landscape to slowly restore and join up fragments. However, despite these monumental efforts the St Helena Olive became extinct in the wild in 2003 and in cultivation a year later. More needed to be done.??

The good news is that in 2018 the RSPB began co-ordinating a new a new partnership led by the St Helena Government working with St Helena National Trust, Connect Saint Helena, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Arctium, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, and independent experts, to develop a new management and restoration plan for the cloud forests.?

In 2021, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provided ￡900,000 for the first year of a long-term restoration project with match funding from the Darwin+ initiative. Further funding from the FCDO of ￡2.8m has been secured until 2025. Whilst progress is delicate, it is wonderful that some support is coming through to restore this unique habitat.?

https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/st-helena-cloud-forest-project/

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Monday 11th September

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Conservationists calling for help to save London’s glowworms.?

London Wildlife Trust asks volunteers to seek out endangered beetles’ strongholds.

They were celebrated as “ye country comets” by the poet Andrew Marvell but glowworms are defying light pollution to still shine their lights in the city of?London. Now volunteers and enthusiasts are being sought to?count and save?the much-celebrated but?declining beetles, whose females emit a remarkable bright green bioluminescent beam to attract males. London Wildlife Trust?is launching a project to better understand where glowworms (Lampyris noctiluca) endure in the capital, alongside a captive-breeding trial that could boost numbers at sites where they are found. Its conservationists were surprised when initial research revealed unexpected glowworm strongholds in all corners of the city. Hotspots include a railway embankment in Hornchurch in east London, the chalk downland of Hutchinson’s Bank in the south, and other sites in the western borough of Hillingdon.

The Trust points out that the glowworms' survival is at risk with the spread of LED lights and the development of brownfield land within the capital. “Seeing bioluminescence in London is quite bizarre, it’s almost otherworldly,” said Matthew Frith of London Wildlife Trust. “The fact that there is a small but diverse group of animals sharing our world that have the ability to generate light – it’s like magic. It’s a chemical reaction that’s strange and wonderful.”

Ecologically friendly lighting can easily be installed. As always, small gestures can help our animal and insect cousins thrive.

#conservation ?#rewilding ?#glowworms ?#london ?#ecology ?#insects

https://lnkd.in/ebA59_wV

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Sunday 10th September

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Reposting with kind permission this important post from Rosie Howell,?

Here’s the TLDR for The Plastic Treaty: Draft 0.*

For those who aren’t sure, the 0 Draft is the first version of a global agreement to tackle plastic pollution.

?? What does it cover? ??

This draft provides some options of actions countries could agree to take on the following topics:

?? Damage to health and the environment caused by making new plastic from fossil fuels

?? Controlling chemicals and worrying polymers

?? Problematic and avoidable plastic products (incl. single-use plastics and added microplastics)

?? Improving the design and performance of products

?? Reducing, reusing, refilling and repairing products

?? Using recycled plastic to make products

???? Alternative plastics (and non-plastic substitutes)

?? Extended producer responsibility (so brands and producers would be responsible for the plastic they put into the world across its whole life)

?? Emissions and the plastic released by plastic items

?? ?Managing waste and fishing gear

?? Trading chemicals, polymers and plastic waste

?? Dealing with existing plastic pollution

?? Making sure the transition is fair

?? Ensuring transparency and tracking efforts

?? Financing, capacity-building and sharing technology

? The potentially good:

It’s very good that there are potential plastic production limitations. We need to turn the tap off at the source before we can hope to clean up the mess that’s left.

It’s also encouraging to see:

+ A focus on eliminating polymers, worrying chemicals, single-use and avoidable plastics

+ A shift towards redesigning, reusing, and repairing products instead

+ A recognised need for transparency and fairness when it comes to the transition

+ Attention to problems like dumped fishing gear and released microplastics

? The possibly bad:

Petrostates, fossil fuel and plastic companies don’t want the money-making production of plastic reduced. Instead, they’d like to see our focus shifted to recycling plastic instead. This way, they can keep pumping out new plastic (while blaming others for any damage caused).

This means we’ll need to see:

- Global, mandatory rules that limit the creation and use of plastics and chemicals, not national, optional measures

- A much higher focus on communities suffering from the flood of plastic and the effects of plastic production. Justice and transparency shouldn’t be a single topic. We need to consider vulnerable people at every step

- Strong standards for using recycled plastic, extended producer responsibility and managing waste

?? So, what’s next? ??

This draft will be negotiated at INC-3 in Nairobi in November.

I've popped a link to it in the comment section for those who are curious.

#globalplastictreaty ?#stopplasticpollution ?#beatplasticpollution ?#humanhealth ?#environmentalpollution ?#breakfreefromplastic

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/rosiehendry_globalplastictreaty-stopplasticpollution-activity-7105550321786966016-jb4V ?

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Saturday 9th September

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"Leave every place better than you found it."

I am reposting this wonderful thought with kind permission from Evan Chi

+++ "Leave every place better than you found it." This simple yet profound mantra is the driving force behind one individual's tireless efforts to clean our beaches and innovate waste management solutions. ????

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In a world where our oceans are under siege from pollution and waste, his commitment serves as a beacon of hope.

Through his hard work, he's not just restoring the natural beauty of our coastlines; he's proving that every small effort makes a big difference. ??

?? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ???????? ???? ???????? ??

His dedication is a vivid reminder that we all have a part to play in safeguarding our planet.

Whether it's reducing, reusing, or recycling, every action counts.

?? ?????????????? ?? ?????????????? ???????????? ??

Let's celebrate his outstanding work and let it inspire us to contribute in our own ways. Together, we can build a cleaner, greener future for generations to come.

?????????? ??????'?? ?????????? ?????????? ???? ?????????? ????. ??

Feel free to share your thoughts and/or reshare this post to spread the message. ??

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/evan-chi_leadership-sustainability-leadershipskills-activity-7104221447149015040-ZqVl ?

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THANK YOU FOR READING OUR SIXTH EDITION! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is our 6th?newsletter.?All my thanks to the 131 wonderful souls who have subscribed! If you have enjoyed these brief notes, please let me know in the comments, and please share the newsletter. We can build a positive impact through this newsletter, sending encouragement to all those wonderful people who are already doing so much to protect our planet and support the plants and animals with whom we share our earth. If you are involved in positive impact projects that you would like to see highlighted and shared here, please reach out and DM me. My goal is to remind us that SOMETHINGSWEAREGETTINGRIGHT

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WITH MY WELL-WISHES UNTIL NEXT WEEK AND EDITION #7

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Thanks so much for reading!

Please subscribe, share and support!

Wishing you a fantastic day! Aho!