Inspired by the phenomenal response to our Zero Footprint project where every photo over a 5 year period was taken from the same location, Morag and I (Morag Paterson & Ted Leeming) have recently launched a not-for-profit web community, Zero Footprints, to act as a voice and hub for photographers across the globe exploring any theme relating to climate change. Continue reading
Category Archives: Environment
Exploring the most splendid playground in the world! Recording UK marine wildlife.
“The seashore is the most splendid playground in the world. There is so much to do and so much to see that we never grow tired of being there. No matter how long a time we may spend at the seaside, there are always new treasures to seek, fresh discoveries to make – always something more to interest or amuse us.”
The Sea Shore by F. Martin Duncan
Those words were written over a hundred years ago in a book for children but they are still true today, and just as true for adults as for kids – in my case anyway! You will find me exploring the marine environment at every possible opportunity, snorkelling, diving, turning over boulders on the seashore and peering into rockpools. Continue reading
Beetles, flies, bugs, bees, wasps and ants!
Here’s a bit about myself and how my passion for insects developed. My interest was sparked more than 60 years ago at primary school. Our house in Uckfield backed on to a flowery meadow occasionally cut by hand for hay. I was aged about 10 when I noticed the variety of insects present, including many different butterflies and, with the aid of an Observer’s book, I soon learnt to recognise them. Continue reading
Spectacled Bears protected in the Páramo
Páramo’s long-term carbon-balancing and conservation partner, World Land Trust (WLT), has announced that the Ministry of Environment of Peru has recognised a private conservation area (ACP) that will protect a large Páramo vegetation zone of the South American Andes. The community of San Juan de Sallique has pledged to protect approximately 8,650 acres (3,500 hectares) of Montane Forest and Páramo.
This reflects three years of work by the communities and WLT’s partner Naturaleza y Cultura Peru (NCP), securing the protection of this important habitat in perpetuity – an important step for wildlife such as Spectacled Bears and endangered Mountain Tapirs, but also a triumph for the communities dedicated to preserving their water sources through conservation and sustainable agricultural practices. Continue reading
If it’s good enough for an otter…
I have been living and working in the Lake District for over 17 years. I teach wilderness bushcraft and expedition skills, instructing on everything from wild foods and tracking to axemanship and woodcraft, spending well over one hundred nights a year living outdoors under canvas in the UK, and travelling overseas to lead expeditions in the colder months, from dry desert to coastal tropical, and from steaming jungles to frozen sub-Arctic environments. Continue reading
Jumping the midnight sun
So here I am, an Adventure Leader for British Exploring, fresh back from the land of fire and ice. It was three awesome weeks of inspirational landscapes and people. I’ve always loved geography, and one of the reasons I entered the world of outdoor education was to immerse myself in the geography of the world.
Iceland is about as amazing as it gets when you are looking for a few geography topics to bring into the day. We spent one evening jumping the sun at about 11pm! It was a memorable way to grasp the concept of the midnight sun! Continue reading
Páramo now carbon-balanced with World Land Trust since its foundation
Since 2007, we’ve worked with World Land Trust to offset our primary carbon emissions at our UK sites – and following 10 years of double donations to balance 20 years of emissions, Páramo has now made an additional contribution to offset all primary carbon emissions for the whole 25 years since the company’s foundation. Through donations to both Carbon Balanced and to other World Land Trust projects, Páramo’s contributions are invested to protect, conserve and restore forests across the globe in Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Kenya and Borneo, benefitting significant numbers of threatened and endemic species, including charismatic species such as jaguar or minute frogs. Continue reading
Do you record wildlife? Read on…..
Nominations have opened for the 2017 UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing!
Developed in 2015 by the National Biodiversity Network, the National Forum for Biological Recording and the Biological Records Centre, these annual Awards celebrate the individuals, the newcomers and the groups of people or organisations that are making outstanding contributions to biological recording and improving our understanding of the natural world in the UK. Continue reading
