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River will take decades to recover from ‘vandalism’
John Price has land and property worth £25 million. He felt entitled to destroy a river. He is not fit to own any land. I first reported on this two years ago, a local resident was quoted as saying the river is much better. She knew no better. Her house had been flooded before. It will again this time with John Prices help as his land will not flood which used to ease the pressure further downstream. There is an arrogance that persists in our farming community that farmers are guardians of the countryside. That is a misconception which we will help to put right.
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Natural bridges to reconnect the last Javan gibbons
JAVA — Indonesia. Throughout the misty mountains of central Java, the call of the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) once echoed throughout the forest. Today, their voices are fading. Java is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, and decades of logging, agriculture and infrastructure development have fragmented the forest, while rampant hunting and the illegal pet trade have also taken their toll.With only an estimated 4,000 Javan gibbons left in the wild, they are now listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Many of the remaining populations have been left stranded in disconnected patches of forest, unable to move without uninterrupted canopy cover. Conservationists warn this isolation…
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How Do You Grow Trees in a Treeless Land
The stark and austere landscape of Iceland is iconic and one of the most noticeable traits is a lack of trees. The Icelandic ecosystem is classified as one of the most degraded in Europe, having experienced one of the worst cases of deforestation in the world. When viking settlers first arrived in Iceland, the land was covered in birch forest. But after hundreds of years of sheep-grazing, soil erosion and eruptions, Iceland was left with just 0.5% forest cover and a big problem: how do you grow trees in one of Europe’s largest deserts? Gabrielle Lawrence heads to the remote corners of south Iceland to meet Samson Harðarson and Hrefna…
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Rewilding a Quarry – with Rewilding Portugal
We've been given a chance by our friends at Rewilding Portugal to help restore an old quarry and help transform it into a thriving wetland sanctuary. This is a project that will have many stories to tell as it is one of those very interesting examples of how we can accelerate rewilding.
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The Amazons Biggest Trees are Dying
As tropical forests worldwide degrade and decline at increasing rates, the fate of their largest trees remains unknown. Big trees store a huge amount of carbon, so assessing their current mortality rates and causes of death (especially due to escalating climate change) is vital to calculating how much tropical forest carbon sinks could decline in the future. The Gigante project, which started in the Brazilian Amazon in June 2024, is initiating an innovative new protocol utilizing detailed drone surveys combined with ground truthing to evaluate tropical big tree mortality. The project has begun an identical survey in Panama and will conduct others in Malaysia, Cameroon, and another Amazon location. Knowledge…
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A Reforestation Corridor – A Future for Lemurs and Locals
Earth and Leaf Editorial – Madagascan Reforestation Corridor This shows just what can be done. What a great story. View of the landscape where the reforestation corridor project is located in eastern Madagascar. Image courtesy of TDARFAC. Excerpt A reforestation corridor project aims to reconnect 150 hectares of fragmented forest between Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and the Analamazoatra Special Reserve, home to a dozen lemur species and many other animals and plants that are found nowhere else on Earth. Led by the Mad Dog Initiative in partnership with The Dr. Abigail Ross Foundation for Applied Conservation, Association Mitsinjo and Ecovision Village, the project represents a unique convergence of science, private…
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200 species at risk of extinction, UK study finds
Earth and Leaf Editorial – Title The Merlin could disappear in worst-case scenario, with British isles facing ecological ‘point of no return’ This is the very bleak picture the UK faces. Agriculture must change. This starts at the top in two distinct ways; With our moorlands and uplands and our politicians. The way our uplands are managed is one of the last remaining examples of feudal heritage. Large estates with tenant farmers scraping a living, whilst the land is managed for sport privilege for a few wealthy individuals. Grouse shooting must end and our politicians must drive this. Researchers warn of 20-year window for decisions on climate and land use,…
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Biodiversity loss ‘threat to security’
Earth and Leaf Editorial – Biodiversity Loss This Biodiversity Loss article from the Ecologist is terrifying. Such is the impact of this article we are making it pillar content. The government didnt want you, the public, or us, to see this report. The government must act. We must work with the European Union very closely on this. In fact we need to rejoin the EU as a matter or urgency and national security. Read on. The science and fact behind this is absolutely solid. © Creative Commons Extract The British government’s own security experts join the dots between nature loss, security and the wellbeing of society. Global ecosystem degradation and…
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The Guardian view on risks from biodiversity collapse: warnings must be heeded before it’s too late
Earth and Leaf Editorial – Risks from Biodiversity Collapse Inadequate food supplies and biodiversity collapse in rainforests must be recognised as national security threats – not pigeonholed as green issues. This bears repeating from the full text. One of our biggest hurdles is getting past politicians that dismiss the disasters we are trying to address as “green issues” or “Con Jobs”. Biodiversity collapse is a far bigger global problem than the war in Ukraine or any perceived threat from Iran. Read on, absorb the stark conclusions and join Earth and Leaf if you want to help. ‘Global progress on nature restoration is nowhere near where it needs to be,…
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The Cost of Community Conservation in the Amazon
Earth and Leaf Editorial – Community Conservation Community Conservation in the Amazon. Mongabay is such a great source of information. This is a great project which in time we would love to help support financially. The world needs to look at just transition for these fishermen. Read on…. Community Conservation in action on the Jurua Extract In Brazil’s western Amazon, community-led efforts to protect the pirarucu, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, bring conservation benefits that extend into upland ecosystems. A study in Nature Sustainability found that by patrolling oxbow lakes along the Juruá River, communities effectively protect a mean area 86 times larger than the lakes…
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Toby Carvery restaurant facing eviction over felling of ancient oak tree
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Deer herds need to be culled
Earth and Leaf Editorial – Deer Herds need to be Culled We revisit the topic that deer herds need to be culled time and again. There are up to 64 deer per square kilometre. The maximum recommended is ten. That is far too many with sheep there too. It needs to be less than three. Generally we are anti hunting, not in this case. Deer Herds need to be Culled, some carcases left on the fell. Deer herds need to be culled if mountain forest is to return (Image: PA) Extract Scotland’s lost mountain woodlands could make a comeback — but only if deer populations are brought under control, according…
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Amol Rajan talks to Chris Packham – Radical
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The Argyll Street Ash
A Dazzling Victory – Argyle Street Ash in Glasgow wins tree of the year competition Earth and Leaf Editorial This is the story of the Argyll Street Ash. It is interesting to note that noone is complaining about subsidence or damage to foundations in this case, yet the tree could not be closer to the buildings. Too often we see homeowners complaining that a tree is damaging their property and an often mature tree unnecessarily loses its life. The Argyll Street Ash appears to be causing no such problems. This surprises me a little as Ash trees are shallow rooted. Having said that most trees are shallow rooted, constrained by…
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The Appalling Effects of Bottom Trawling
The Appalling Effects of Bottom Trawling Bycatch Up to 75% of the total catch, known as by-catch is discarded, dumped back at sea, dead for the most part. This might even include sharks, certainly the smaller ones such as young Tope or Dogfish, mammals, dolphins and turtles. Vegetation destruction Coral destruction Coral is found all around the world, much is still undiscovered. All coral is already under threat from global warming. The “white sand” beaches of Western Scotland are coral. It takes tens of years to grow and is smashed and destroyed in seconds by bottom trawling. Carbon release Watch the video again. Sediment disturbance is one of the appalling…
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Ban Driven Grouse Shooting
Ban Driven Grouse Shooting Ban Driven Grouse Shooting Ban Driven Grouse Shooting – End the Gaslighting Earth and Leaf Editorial This is the story of the Focus Keyword Links to Other Relevant Stories 1 2 3 Extract The Focus Key Word A much-loved Focus Key Word Thankyou for reading. There are many more articles in the Earth and Leaf Library. More . . . . . First Climate Tipping Point Reached The Argyll Street Ash Japan has opened its first osmotic power plant The Appalling Effects of Bottom Trawling Ban Driven Grouse Shooting Would you eat a Cockroach Randy Borman Scotland feeds people, England feeds birds Worlds Hottest Year Regenerative…
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Randy Borman
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Remembering Gerald Durrell at 100
I will be remembering Gerald Durrell at 100 which is what he would have been yesterday. I devoured Gerald Durrell's books as a child. I read the lot, several times over. I fell in love with nature and our environment long before I fell in love with farming. Our family farm was pretty unintensively managed. My life has gone full circle and now I am fighting for nature and farming.
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Why grouse moors deliver more nature – opinion from the hunters
Tim Bonner on "Why grouse moors, not the RSPB, deliver more nature". This is a persuasively written piece of rank propaganda and is factually and massively incorrect. We have put this in the library in the hope that our members and subscribers will read this drivel and realise the enormity of our task. We have to educate and change hearts and minds. The article is a shocking propaganda piece for some of the wealthiest people in our country and an outdated and antiquated land management system. It also is taking a very unfair and unjustified pot shot at the RSPB. We need to ban driven gamebird shooting across the board.
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Brazil has written to the EU to ask it hold off on implementing deforestation law
“Brazil has asked the European Union to hold back on implementing its deforestation law. The EU must get on with implementing the deforestation law, but in return we need to have talks about supporting Brazil to rehabilitate the rainforest and look at just transition for legitimate local Brazilian farmers but not huge agri-businesses like Cargill. The UK must also implement the same law and should also put tariffs on Soya from the USA.” {Earth and Leaf Editorial} Brazil has written to the EU to ask it hold off on implementing deforestation law REMOVED PHOTO (280) epa10180074 View of the fire in a farm the Brazilian Amazon,…
