Animal welfare
The Zoological Society of London has announced the results of a survey they have carried out into wildlife in the River Thames, it was reported in the Telegraph. The survey, which utilised reports of sightings by members of the public, recorded more than 100 marine mammals in the tidal part of the River Thames (between Richmond and Southend) during the past year, which they believe to be an increase. It will be hard to see a trend until further years have been recorded for comparison – this year is only the second.
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Arts & information
Outdoor theatre is always very interesting (except when it's raining), but when you add in environmental artists NVA and some stunning Scottish landscapes you have a real treat on your hands. 'Half Life: Journey into the neolithic' is a show with a difference. It's set in Kilmartin Glen in Argyll and instead of receiving a programme you are given a map and invited to go on a series of walks which lead you to various atmospheric sites and installations based around some well known, and some rarely seen prehistoric landmarks. The routes are based on recently discovered archaeological field notes and include some new finds such as burial cairns, standing stones and ancient hill forts. The surrounding forest has been manipulated to provide natural 'scenery' for the performance and a soundtrack has been created to enhance existing environmental sounds.
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Events and happenings
A pint of real ale at the end of (or even half way through) a country walk is a Great British institution, so it's only right someone should create a festival to celebrate this marriage made in heaven. The Black Sheep Brewery are holding a 'Boots & Beer Festival' from Friday 7th September to Sunday 9th September, centred on Hawes in the heart of Wensleydale. There are other walks starting in Askrigg and Aysgarth, all with a wide choice of easy, moderate and difficult walks to suit every ability. Providing you don't tire yourself out on the hills you can enjoy some excellent evening entertainment courtesy of Black Sheep. Tickets for the festival cost £17.50 for the weekend, and this includes free shuttle bus between locations and a goodies bag containing a Boots & Beer t-shirt. The event is sponsored by Country Walking Magazine.
Animal welfare
The Thames Estuary is one of the UK’s biggest development sites at the moment with thousands of new homes planned for this stretch of marshland, but actually it is already a home to millions of creatures, albeit ones you can barely see. There are in fact 7,500 different species of insects calling this part of the UK home, including scores of rare insects. And this amazing biodiversity has, for a change, been helped by mankind’s propensity for dumping waste products. Marshes, covered with industrial waste such as ash have burst out with grassland and scrub supporting an astonishing number of species.
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Green News
It may have ended months ago, but Springwatch fever is still alive and kicking on Scottish island Islay. The special reports from the island, which featured golden eagles, choughs and hen harriers amongst other things, has meant an increase of 30% in visitor numbers to the area's RSPB reserves. As many as 100 people have been attending the weekly walks around Loch Gruinart and The Oa reserves to see the Springwatch 'characters' for themselves. Generally people are most interested in the fate of the golden eagle chick and the chough chicks being raised by their dad (all of which are doing well by the way).
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Events and happenings
As you will probably know Organic Fortnight takes place from 1st to 16th September, and to celebrate this the Wildlife Trust are putting on a number of events across the country. They have compiled a Top 5 list to get you started. You can read them all after the jump...
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Health & beauty
It's something I've been pondering a lot recently...should I take my daughter swimming? She loves it, and I think it's a very important skill to have, not just for personal safety but for general fitness. But the fact you are swimming in (& often swallowing) chemicals really bothers me. Ecosmarte are tackling this issue head on by producing a pump which cleans and filters pool water without the use of any chemicals. They use an oxygen and ionisation system which requires a fairly modest sized pump which delivers a non-chemical shock to your water when it passes through the pressure line. On a weekly basis you check your PH and copper levels and use the electronic control unit to ionize the pool for 4-8 hours. This will put harmless levels of copper into the water which eliminates algae and kills any harmful viruses. The EPA state that the water in a pool run on this system is drink safe, and the company claim if you were to swallow two gallons of the pool water you would ingest the same amount of copper as you would if you took a multi vitamin.
I would hope that commercial swimming pools consider switching to this type of filtration system so we can continue swimming and not have to be exposed to so many harmful chemicals.
[via The Alternative Consumer]
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