Interesting about the black cherry shrubs. Of course this invasive species would be from America, true to our pattern of obliterating nature & converting to something unsightly. I envy you the Dutch nature conversation experts who keep everything in check & protect the balance of nature. Very interesting about the sheep & their role in assisting biodiversity. In nature everything plays a part.
Once again the pandemic has disrupted the essential work at this critical juncture & increases the risk of cloning itself by forcing species into unnatural habitats. Urging countries at the biodiversity conference to follow the recommendations is heartening but, if it goes like the Paris Agreement, it may be disappointing. Now that climate change & environment have finally reached the headlines, let’s hope it will give biodiversity more attention & countries can see they share equal significance.
The fight agains invasive species is a difficult one but is being done in my area also. Goats are being used here to combat poison ivy and other plants but good to know that they can also distribute seeds of plants. Quail are used too to combat ticks. So much better to use these animals than pesticides which have contributed to insect loss.
Disturbing to learn so little of the land and seas are protected. That needs to change. It seems too often that developers have the upper hand and wetlands are lost. Loved the photo of the dunes.
Thanks, Lilly. It reminds me to post some pictures of the local wetlands here. I don't know any other area in the world where we have so many wetlands and so few mosquitoes. I suppose the salty conditions and many birds may play a helpful role (I am all for biodiversity but happy to make an exception for mosquitoes ;-).
I think this is my favorite sentence in this article: "It’s a bit like postponing COP26 on climate action because of extreme weather in Glasgow." Very well put!
It was very interesting to read about the sheep in the forest and how they help protect the dunes and also help in the fight against biodiversity loss. I bookmarked that boswachtersblog. And thank you for adding those pictures. They are beautiful and certainly help understand what is happing in those dunes.
I was surprised to read that only 17% of land and 7% of the seas are protected. Those numbers are incredibly low. Especially given the vastness of our oceans. 7% is almost no protection at all. Feels a bit like that total of 24% is about how much people care about a planet they are dependent on - that's pretty sad. Although if I think about it that way around, it also seems pretty accurate and that's even sadder.
Yes, these are sad numbers. It gets even worse if you realize that we have seen that protecting specific parts of the oceans leads to more economic gain. So if even that argument fails, I don't understand why we do more.
Thank you for brining back the respect for Biodiversity and more . . . 🌻 🌱
Amerikaanse Vogelkers (Mostly) a useful shrub for birds and people, growing in a undesirable place. Do not eat the pits or leaves, the reading says. I have eaten the (ripe) black fruit, spitting out the pit. I'm still here to write about it.
The American bird cherry ( Amerikaanse Vogelkers - Prunus serotina, in this case I think) has many subspecies around the Globe.
Beautiful photo of the sheep walking around being weed whackers and pollinators. I love sheep, hoping that it is perhaps an Heirloom breed?
I liked reading your added articles links. Waiting for GOP26. (-:
I just forwarded your newsletter to 50 people on my email list hopefully some will subscribe - a few of them have many farms in their yards many are gardeners all of them are concerned about climate!
Several years ago while visiting friends living in Costa Rica everyone in their community was involved in treeplanting everyone had saplings in their yards attended until they were ready for replanting. There is a huge grassroots movement in almost every community on earth -what will it take to get politicians involved in the reality of climate issues?
Interesting about the black cherry shrubs. Of course this invasive species would be from America, true to our pattern of obliterating nature & converting to something unsightly. I envy you the Dutch nature conversation experts who keep everything in check & protect the balance of nature. Very interesting about the sheep & their role in assisting biodiversity. In nature everything plays a part.
Once again the pandemic has disrupted the essential work at this critical juncture & increases the risk of cloning itself by forcing species into unnatural habitats. Urging countries at the biodiversity conference to follow the recommendations is heartening but, if it goes like the Paris Agreement, it may be disappointing. Now that climate change & environment have finally reached the headlines, let’s hope it will give biodiversity more attention & countries can see they share equal significance.
The photos are amazing! Thank you!
* that would be Dutch nature conservative experts although I’m sure they’re also wonderful at conversation! 😉
Thank you, I hope to post more soon :-)
The fight agains invasive species is a difficult one but is being done in my area also. Goats are being used here to combat poison ivy and other plants but good to know that they can also distribute seeds of plants. Quail are used too to combat ticks. So much better to use these animals than pesticides which have contributed to insect loss.
Disturbing to learn so little of the land and seas are protected. That needs to change. It seems too often that developers have the upper hand and wetlands are lost. Loved the photo of the dunes.
Thanks, Lilly. It reminds me to post some pictures of the local wetlands here. I don't know any other area in the world where we have so many wetlands and so few mosquitoes. I suppose the salty conditions and many birds may play a helpful role (I am all for biodiversity but happy to make an exception for mosquitoes ;-).
You are lucky. We have salty wetlands and mosquitoes .
I think this is my favorite sentence in this article: "It’s a bit like postponing COP26 on climate action because of extreme weather in Glasgow." Very well put!
It was very interesting to read about the sheep in the forest and how they help protect the dunes and also help in the fight against biodiversity loss. I bookmarked that boswachtersblog. And thank you for adding those pictures. They are beautiful and certainly help understand what is happing in those dunes.
I was surprised to read that only 17% of land and 7% of the seas are protected. Those numbers are incredibly low. Especially given the vastness of our oceans. 7% is almost no protection at all. Feels a bit like that total of 24% is about how much people care about a planet they are dependent on - that's pretty sad. Although if I think about it that way around, it also seems pretty accurate and that's even sadder.
Yes, these are sad numbers. It gets even worse if you realize that we have seen that protecting specific parts of the oceans leads to more economic gain. So if even that argument fails, I don't understand why we do more.
Thank you for brining back the respect for Biodiversity and more . . . 🌻 🌱
Amerikaanse Vogelkers (Mostly) a useful shrub for birds and people, growing in a undesirable place. Do not eat the pits or leaves, the reading says. I have eaten the (ripe) black fruit, spitting out the pit. I'm still here to write about it.
The American bird cherry ( Amerikaanse Vogelkers - Prunus serotina, in this case I think) has many subspecies around the Globe.
Beautiful photo of the sheep walking around being weed whackers and pollinators. I love sheep, hoping that it is perhaps an Heirloom breed?
I liked reading your added articles links. Waiting for GOP26. (-:
I never ate them, and I wasn't planning to either :-). A friend informed me that Prunus Serotina should be translated as black cherry.
I just forwarded your newsletter to 50 people on my email list hopefully some will subscribe - a few of them have many farms in their yards many are gardeners all of them are concerned about climate!
Thank you, Sharon, That is so kind of you! I hope some will subscribe.
Mini farms!
Several years ago while visiting friends living in Costa Rica everyone in their community was involved in treeplanting everyone had saplings in their yards attended until they were ready for replanting. There is a huge grassroots movement in almost every community on earth -what will it take to get politicians involved in the reality of climate issues?
Costa Rica may well be the world champion in reforestation. Very impressive what they have achieved!