Dingle Wood, a woodland near to Ridgegate Reservoir, Macclesfield, has many ancient oak trees that are hundreds of years old which were in danger of overcrowded by beech trees growing within the wood. United Utilities, however, have come to the rescue with a conservation scheme that has enabled space to be created around the oak trees giving them room to grow.
The Green Village News for the ‘Conservation and Wildlife’ Category
United Utilities Eco-Scheme Saves Ancient Oak Trees
Monday, November 29th, 2010BP Oil Leak Stopped With ‘Top Kill’ Method
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Five weeks into the oil leak caused by an explosion at a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and a number of unsuccessful attempts at plugging the holes in the pipework later, BP’s latest solution, ‘top kill’, has managed to stop the flow of oil and natural gas.
Although the mission has not yet been declared an official success, the signs are positive that this could be the solution BP has been praying for since the rig and pipework began leaking thousands of barrels of oil every day, all heading towards the coastline causing damage to eco-systems and wildlife in what is being called Barack Obama’s Hurricane Katrina.
New EU River Quality Standards Show The UK’s Rivers Are Below Par
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
A report compiled by the Environment Agency has revealed that despite improvements in quality over the past 20 years, three quarters of the rivers in the UK are not up to new EU water quality standards. The report assesses the biological and chemical quality of the rivers and has surveyed 6000 rivers across England and Wales, identifying only five as ‘pristine’.
Officials are pleased with the progress made over the past 20 years, with continued improvements having a positive impact on wildlife living in and around the UK’s waterways. Some species were believed to be in terminal decline but these findings have proven that with more work and commitments to reduce pollution and improve water quality across the rivers of Great Britain, more wildlife can be attracted to the waterside and current numbers and species’ futures secured.
Omlet’s Beehaus Could Be The Answer To Declining Bee Populations
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Britain’s declining bee numbers have been cause for concern but the new beehive by Omlet could be the answer for boosting bee populations. The beehaus, backed by Natural England, is being dubbed as the urban beehive and has been designed to make it easy to keep bees in a garden or on a rooftop, helping ensure pollination of fruit and vegetables and providing up to 50 jars of honey over the summer.
Recently there have been concerns about the effects of poor weather, varroa mites and even pesticide use having detrimental effects on the bee populations of the UK, effects which are also being felt around the world. Bees are crucial for pollinating food crops and the honey market, and although more people are becoming aware of the downturn in numbers and taking action such as planting wildlife gardens with plants that attract bees such as rosemary and lavender, more still needs to be done to secure their future and the important role they play. The beehaus could be one answer to this, making urban beekeeping an option.
British Woodlands Are Becoming Less Biodiverse
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Research undertaken by Natural England, CEH (the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) and Bournemouth University has revealed that Britain’s woodlands are losing their biodiversity in findings published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
A number of factors have been identified as contributing factors to the reduction in diversity of species. The researchers compared the results of surveys that were undertaken in the 1930s across 7000 sites in Dorset to their findings after revisiting 86 of the sites originally surveyed and found that the diversity of species of plants found within those woodlands were significantly less so than in the original data set. The overall number of species has remained the same, however the individuality of different areas of woodland has been particularly affected.
New Treeplanting Schemes Not The Answer To Deforestation
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Deforestation has long been known to be a crime against the planet and of serious detriment to the environment. Rainforests that have covered the land for thousands of years are being eaten into every day with little or no regard for the consequences once this valuable carbon sink has been destroyed in order to feed the developed world’s hunger for consumer products.
New schemes are now being put into place however to try and help launch regeneration of the lost rainforests in countries such as Ghana where the area of rainforest remaining has been significantly reduced by the uncompromising greed for the forest’s wood. Hundreds of tree seedlings are being grown and the world’s worst polluters can purchase trees to be planted where deforestation has occurred in order to offset some of their business’s carbon emissions.
Humpback Whales Under Threat From Greenland Whaling Request
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
Nearly 12 months ago a proposal to allow Greenland to increase their permitted whaling rights to include 10 humpback whales per year was rejected. Now humpback whales are back on the radar as the proposal is being resubmitted to the IWC (International Whaling Commission) for further consideration of the proposal for 10 of these beautiful mammals to be caught each year.
The request, which will be submitted by Denmark, is being proposed under the category of Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling, which is meant to enable countries to continue to hunt an agreed number of whales in order to maintain the culture and subsistence requirements of indigenous people who depend on whale products. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) is calling on people to lobby representatives on the IWC to decline the request as they do not believe the additional 10 whales are necessary for Aboriginal Subsistence
Greenpeace Take A Step In The Right Direction Against Climate Change
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009A new campaign launched by environmental campaign group Greenpeace is calling on consumers to take steps to help increase awareness about the detrimental effects that the footwear industry can have on the world’s rainforests.
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The ‘Every Step Counts’ campaign, which picks up on the issue of leather produced at the cost of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil highlighted in Greenpeace’s ‘Slaughtering the Amazon’ report published last week, calls on consumers to help put pressure on footwear manufacturers to end their contribution to the rainforest deforestation caused by the creation of ranches that supply leather to these companies. Greenpeace points the finger at companies known to source leather from suppliers such as those in Brazil that are destroying the most valuable carbon sink on the planet, such as high street shoe outlet Clarks, Timberland and sports shoe and trainer manufacturers Nike, Reebok and Adidas.
There Aren’t Plenty More Fish In The Sea According To ‘The End Of The Line’
Saturday, June 6th, 2009There have been many stories over the last couple of decades warning of fish stock depletion due to over fishing of the world’s oceans, especially with cod. But the reality is that if current practices continue to be used, and at the rate presently seen, one day there will be no fish left in the sea.
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RSPB Encourages Wildlife Lovers To ‘Make Your Nature Count’
Friday, June 5th, 2009
Next week, 8th-14th June, is the RSPB’s ‘Make Your Nature Count’ week, where nature lovers up and down the UK are being asked to monitor the wildlife visiting their garden over a one hour period during the week.
The week-long survey is a follow up to the ‘Big Garden Bird Watch’ that takes place in January and helps the RSPB monitor and identify trends among wintering bird populations. It is hoped that ‘Make Your Nature Count’ will help provide insights into the amount of wildlife passing through Britain’s gardens, and to celebrate the important role wildlife plays.
