World Wildlife Day – Do your bit where you are
Do you know that today is celebrated as the UN World Wildlife Day and is designed to raise awareness of endangered animals and plants around the globe. It also highlights the plight of the estimated 200 – 350 million people who live, manage and rely on forests for their existence. According to https://www.wildlifeday.org/ around 28% of the worlds forests are managed by indigenous people.
This year’s theme is Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet but as with all events has been forced to go virtual due to Covid 19. There are numerous ways to get involved and show support, all of which are listed on the page, and there are things you can do locally.
As individuals we often feel powerless to do anything or have any impact but if every individual was able to #DoOneThingToday the results would be enormous.
Think closer to home, are there wild spaces near where you live that could be home to small animals, insects and flowers? If you have a garden or space for flower pots we have seed gift boxes with seeds designed specifically to attract and sustain wildlife, such as hedgehogs, butterflies and bees.
Do you have time to organise a volunteer group to perform a clean-up in your local wild spaces. Rubbish and plastics are a huge problem the world over, and we are all now well aware of how long plastic takes to degrade. That is why ooh-box offers a range of gift boxes that contain sustainable and eco-friendly products, by reusing where possible and reducing plastic waste we can make a difference. We can also make our meadows and woodland safer for the wildlife and domestic animals that rely on it by clearing waste that is dangerous but tempting for animals. No-one wants to see animals suffering especially as we are a nation of animal lovers. We have collated a fun playtime gift box for cats and a pampering dog goody box, a purrfect or pawfect way to show your pets that you care about them too!
If you live near the coast, then a beach clean-up is the best way to do good, get fresh air and meet new friends, and you know that your efforts are immediate by either preventing discarded waste from entering the sea or collecting waste that has washed up, either way it is a step in the right direction. It is also a fact that when people see others cleaning up, the subliminal messaging means that they might be tempted to join in or at the very least will be mindful of their own waste.
As a nation the government has pledged to plant more trees over the coming decades and have new land management schemes for farmers. It is businesses and individuals who have a greater impact on the environment and it is businesses and individuals who should be held to account. In the 70’s there were lots of public message advertising on TV such as Keep Britain Tidy, these are no longer shown but maybe it would be a good thing to re-release them, after all advertising works.
In this year, where things are starting to look better, let’s be mindful about our waste, take care of our local environment and wildlife and enjoy the fruits of our labours for years to come.
