A bald eagle chick inside a nest in Rutland, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
A bald eagle nest with eggs has been discovered in Cape Cod for the first time in 115 years, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass Wildlife), as Newsweek reported.
<p><br/></p>
<p>That nest is part of a dramatic uptick in the number of active nests, with more than 70 spotted this spring, according to a post on the Mass Wildlife website, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. While spotting active nests is not rare, one with eggs is. Also, for the first time, there is a documented case of eagles nesting on nearby Martha's Vineyard.</p><p>The 1905 nest with eggs was in the town of Sandwich.</p><p>On its website, Mass Wildlife said the population of bald eagles is soaring this season. The birds are currently in the middle of their nesting season, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p>
<p>The return of bald eagles is a testament to the strength of the Endangered Species Act, since the birds have recovered from the brink of extinction. Bald eagles recently improved from threatened to special concern on the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list thanks to successful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> measures. Mass Wildlife embarked on an eagle reintroduction program in the 1980s that has led to an uptick in the population of bald eagles in the New England area, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>A bald eagle that hatched in Massachusetts holds the record for the oldest bald eagle in New Hampshire. The eagle, which was photographed in New Hampshire this spring, was identified by banding records as a 23-year-old male that hatched in Ware, Massachusetts, in 1997, according to <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/bald-eagle-nest-with-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-massachusetts-for-first-time-in-105-years-officials-say/32692454" target="_blank">WCVB</a>, Boston's ABC News affiliate.</p>
<p>While bald eagles are no longer on the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> list, they are still <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/protections.html" target="_blank">protected under multiple federal laws</a>, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.</p><p>However, their new found strength could spell trouble for other birds.</p><p>In one example, Mass Wildlife said, "[a]n eagle pair took over an osprey nest and were incubating eggs when the ospreys returned from their wintering grounds. The osprey pair that most likely built the nest harassed the incubating eagle who would flip upside down with its talons in the air in defense. Eventually the eagle cracked the eggs doing this, and this historic nesting attempt failed."</p>
<p>In another example, "[t]wo other eagle nests on the mainland have also failed as a result of an intruding eagle invading the territory and killing the chicks in the nest."</p><p>"Although difficult for observers to witness, these events are all signs of a thriving eagle population in Massachusetts," MassWildlife said, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported. "On the upside, more and more people across the Commonwealth are experiencing the thrill of seeing eagles in their own neighborhoods as these birds continue to expand their range to urban and suburban landscapes."</p><p>Bald eagles build the largest nests of any bird in North America. Mating pairs build their nests in winter months and then return to them every year to add to the nest.</p><p>The species holds the record for the largest nest ever recorded, with a nest spotted near St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1963 that measured nine feet, six inches wide and 20 feet deep, and was estimated to weigh more than 4,400 pounds, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/bald-eagle-nest-cape-cod-first-time-century-1507010" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>.</p>
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M_a_y_a / iStock / Getty Images Plus
By Tonya Russell
A few years ago, my fiance and I got into an argument on our way to spend Christmas with my family.
As we drove through unfamiliar territory, we began to notice a lot of people who appeared to be without a home. This started to break up the tension as we turned our thoughts to this bigger issue.
<p>It made us realize that what we were fighting about was simply petty.</p><p>When we returned home, we decided to get cooking. We prepared some hot soup and ham sandwiches, then circled back to the men and women hovering over manholes to stay warm.</p><p>It became a ritual of ours after fights, and then on a weekly basis. Planning and preparing those meals brought us closer and allowed us to bond over a desire to work together to help others.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><a href="https://www.healthline.com/" target="_blank"><em>Healthline</em></a><em>. For detailed source information, please view the original article on </em><em><a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/8-ways-to-volunteer-virtually-in-quarantine" target="_blank">Healthline</a></em><em>.</em></p>
<p>We've expanded over the last seven years, and our passion projects have been mostly geared toward helping veterans and children experiencing homelessness.</p><p>Shutdowns and physical distancing have prevented us from giving back the way we'd like, so we've searched for other ways to volunteer without risking exposure to <a href="https://www.healthline.com/coronavirus" target="_blank">COVID-19</a>.</p><p>Physical distancing doesn't have to prevent us from keeping up our ritual and making a difference for those who need it most.</p>
Shifting Priorities
<p>Many have trouble volunteering because of hectic schedules. With virtual volunteering, it's easy to find opportunities that fit your terms.</p><p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0164027504271349" target="_blank">Studies show</a> that those who volunteer report higher levels of happiness, likely due to an increase in empathy and a resulting sense of gratitude for what you have.</p><p>It can also boost self-confidence and give individuals a <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-helping-people-affects-your-brain" target="_blank">sense of belonging</a> and purpose. I've personally felt idle sitting at home, and a sense of purpose is just what I need.</p>Ways to Give
<p>Whether you want to take the lead on a project or jump in and help, here are tips to find the right volunteer opportunity for you while physical distancing:</p><p><strong>Find Virtual Opportunities</strong></p><p>Databases are a great first step in finding the perfect volunteer opportunity. You can filter by categories, hours, and locations. That way, you can pick somewhere nearby in case you want to volunteer in person later.</p><p><a href="https://www.volunteermatch.org/virtual-volunteering" target="_blank">VolunteerMatch</a> and <a href="https://www.justserve.org/" target="_blank">JustServe</a> offer virtual opportunities to volunteer for nonprofit organizations, charities, and businesses with heart.</p><p><strong>Grant a Wish</strong></p><p>If you have extra cash or a way to raise funds, you can fulfill <a href="https://gooddler.com/Landing" target="_blank">charity wish lists</a>. Many organizations accept items year-round.</p><p>You can choose from different categories like animal welfare, environmental organizations, health services, and the arts. Whatever moves you, you'll find a cause to give to.</p><p>Items range in price from low cost to high ticket, so you'll still have something to offer if you're on a budget.</p><p><strong>Network on Social</strong></p><p>
Quite a few organizations are asking for help via their social pages. For instance, <a href="https://www.cathedralkitchen.org/" target="_blank">Cathedral Kitchen</a> in Camden, New Jersey, asked for sandwiches to be dropped on their doorstep so they could continue their efforts of feeding the homeless, even after quarantine.
</p><p>
Network on your town's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BuyNothingProject/" target="_blank">Buy Nothing</a> page on Facebook and ask about opportunities. If there's interest, you can start a community drive. You can set up a giving box for people to donate canned goods, or collect cat food and feed the local stray colony.
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/215433826365119/?ref=share" target="_blank">A group in New Jersey</a>, with the help of local restaurants, used crowdfunding to have meals delivered to COVID-19 wards in hospitals. These efforts not only generated income for local businesses, it showed appreciation to frontline workers, too.
</p><p><strong>Remember Older Adults</strong></p><p>
Considering that their age group is the most vulnerable, many older adults are inside their homes or in nursing facilities by themselves, unable to see their families.
</p><p>
Many are craving connection and appreciate volunteer efforts.
</p><p>
Luckily, some facilities are connected. You can take <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/matthew-mcconaughey-plays-virtual-bingo-seniors-t177815" target="_blank">Matthew McConaughey's lead</a> and play Bingo. Other options are reading, playing virtual chess, or giving a musical performance.
</p><p>
To find out about these opportunities, reach out to a local assisted living facility or nursing home to learn what their needs are.
</p>
<p><strong>Use Your Talents</strong></p><p>
Create opportunities with your skills and hobbies. A New Jersey-based runner, Patrick Rodio, <a href="https://www.collscares.org/2020-fund" target="_blank">organized a fundraiser</a> to honor the class of 2020 who won't be attending their graduations.
</p><p>
The money will go to buying the student's yearbooks. Any extra will go toward college scholarship funds. Rodio has already far surpassed his goal of $3,000.
</p><p>
If fitness is your thing but you don't want to fundraise, providing low cost or free online fitness classes can be a rewarding way to give back.
</p><p>
If you're a musician, share it! You can play an instrument or sing to individuals who live alone over video, or offer free live virtual jam sessions for anyone to join in.
</p><p><strong>Be a Caregiver</strong></p><p>
Virtual babysitting is another great way to help. Occupying someone's children for an hour may be just the break <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/its-not-just-you-working-from-home-with-kids-is-impossible" target="_blank">homeschooling parents</a> need.
</p><p>
As a certified trauma-focused kids yoga teacher, I enjoy offering meditation or kid-friendly yoga sessions. Creative individuals can offer art lessons, Lego building sessions, or even puppet shows.
</p>
<p><strong>Teach Your Favorite Subject</strong></p><p>
Tutor students on subjects that are your strong suit. If your job requires a lot of writing, offer to proofread papers for middle and high schoolers.
</p><p>
If you're a math whiz, walk some students through word problems. Engineer? Offer coding classes for those looking to expand their job skills.
</p><p><strong>Find Shared Language</strong></p><p>
If you speak another language, now is a great time to flex that muscle.
</p><p>
Have Zoom conversations in French or offer translation services. This could mean helping a high schooler pass a class, or it could mean helping an exchange student practice their English.
</p><p>
You can also reach out to local hospitals and organizations in case they're in need of translators for patients and their families.
</p>
Adapting to Our New Day to Day
<p>We aren't quite certain when things will go back to normal, or if quarantine <em>is</em> the new normal. While we may be limited in what we can do, that doesn't need to stop our ability to give.</p><p>So many — from those experiencing homelessness to the neighborhood kids — depend on our generosity right now.</p><p>My fiancé and I look forward to seeing familiar faces when we can return to volunteering in shelters.</p><p>Until then, we've partnered with an assisted living facility to offer virtual art classes and music hours to keep their residents entertained.</p><p>Our hope is to inspire others to step outside their situations and look after someone to connect with anyone who has also been affected by COVID-19.</p><p>We're grateful that technology has made altruism easier, so we can continue our ritual of giving back.</p>
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Avantium, a biochemical company in the Netherlands, is fundraising for a new project that will turn sustainably grown crops into a plant-based plastic. Avantium
While some are trying to clean up the plastic pollution in the oceans, and others are removing it from beaches, one company is looking to end the need for plastic bottles that last hundreds of years and are rarely recycled. A Dutch company is looking to fight the plastic crisis with a plant-based alternative that degrades in one year, as The Guardian reported.
<p>Avantium, a biochemical company in the Netherlands, is fundraising for a new project that will turn sustainably grown crops into a plant-based plastic. The technology has gained the attention of beer maker Carlsberg, beverage giant Coca-Cola and Danone. All three companies have signaled that they plant to use Avantium's technology in the future, according to <a href="https://www.ubergizmo.com/2020/05/plant-based-plastic-bottles-degrade-in-a-year/" target="_blank">Ubergizmo</a>.</p><p>Carlsberg, for example, hopes to sell its pilsner in a cardboard bottle lined with an inner layer of plant plastic, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/16/the-end-of-plastic-new-plant-based-bottles-will-degrade-in-a-year" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. Avantium posted a picture of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3d1_qDAZyD/?utm_source=ig_embed" target="_blank">Carlsberg's paper bottle on Instagram</a>.</p>
<p>"It is a milestone in the development of high-value applications such as specialty bottles," said Marcel Lubben, Avantium's Managing Director, as <a href="https://www.ladbible.com/news/news-coca-cola-and-carlsberg-back-plant-based-bottles-project-20200518" target="_blank">LADbible</a> reported. "The Paper Bottle shows how we, together with partners, can use innovation to help shape packaging for a circular and sustainable future."</p><p>The move towards a plant-based plastic from a sustainable source would mark a major step forward for Coca-Cola, which has consistently ranked as the world's worst plastic polluter, according to the advocacy-group <a href="https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/2019/10/23/brand-audit-report-2019-press-release/" target="_blank">Break Free From Plastic</a>, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coke-pepsi-plastic-polluters-2641090767.html" target="_self">EcoWatch</a> reported.</p>
<p>The millions of plastic products in the world are almost entirely derived from oils, which offer a complex arrangement of atoms that can be manipulated and rearranged to make plastics of varying strength, rigidity and opacity. They are cheap to produce, too, meaning it is often much more expensive to recycle them than it is to produce new ones. Of course, all that plastic made from oils takes hundreds of years to decompose, as <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2020/05/17/plant-based-bottles-could-degrade-in-one-year/" target="_blank">CleanTechnica</a> reported.</p><p>Around 300 million tons of plastic is made from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a> every year, which is a major contributor to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p>
<p>Beverage makers have been loath to leave behind profits, even if it means investing in a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel-derived plastic. That may change with Avantium's new technology. The company says it "has found ways to start with plant sugars and transform them into a plastic capable of standing up to carbonated beverages like soda and beer but which will also break down in as little as a year in a composter or three years if left exposed to the elements," as <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2020/05/17/plant-based-bottles-could-degrade-in-one-year/" target="_blank">CleanTechnica</a> reported.</p><p>"This plastic has very attractive sustainability credentials because it uses no fossil fuels, and can be recycled – but would also degrade in nature much faster than normal plastics do," said Tom van Aken, Avantium's chief executive, to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/16/the-end-of-plastic-new-plant-based-bottles-will-degrade-in-a-year" target="_blank">The Guardian.</a></p>
<p>Van Aken told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/16/the-end-of-plastic-new-plant-based-bottles-will-degrade-in-a-year" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> that he hopes to have a major investment in the bioplastics plant by the end of 2020. The project, which has continued and remains on track despite the coronavirus lockdown, will reveal partnerships with other food and drink companies later in the summer. The hope is to have the product on store shelves by 2023.</p><p>The initial project will make about 5,000 tons of plastic every year using sugars from corn, wheat or beets. It will assess how customers respond to the new bottles. Then, Avantium expects its production and scale to grow considerably as demand for the sustainable plastics increases, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/16/the-end-of-plastic-new-plant-based-bottles-will-degrade-in-a-year" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
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A blue bee on a firebush in Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 10, 2016. Bob Peterson / CC BY 2.0
Scientists have "rediscovered" a rare blue bee that they feared was extinct.
<p>Until this spring, the "ultra-rare" blue calamintha bee (<em>Osmia calaminthae</em>) had only been observed in four locations in central Florida, and it hadn't been seen at all since 2016. So when <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/" target="_blank">Florida Museum of Natural History</a> research team Chase Kimmel and Jaret Daniels set out to document the bee's population status and habits, they weren't sure what they would find.</p><p>"I was open to the possibility that we may not find the bee at all so that first moment when we spotted it in the field was really exciting," Kimmel, a postdoctoral researcher, said in a museum <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/floridas-rare-blue-calamintha-bee-rediscovered/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
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<p>Kimmel first spotted the bee March 9, he told <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/16/rare-blue-calamintha-bees-spotted-lake-wales-ridge-florida/5207086002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY in an email</a>. Since then, he has spotted the elusive pollinator in three of its previous locations and six additiona locations, according to the museum.</p><p>The research could have important implications for the bee's chances of survival. Florida's State Wildlife Action Plan lists the bee as a species of greatest <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> need, and the study will help determine if it warrants <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections.</p><p>The bee is so vulnerable in part because it is thought to rely on a threatened plant called Ashe's calamint and live only in Florida's Lake Wales Ridge region, a hotspot of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> that the museum calls "one of the nation's fastest-disappearing ecosystems."</p>
<p>The ridge hosts so much unique life because, when most of Florida was underwater, it was raised above the waves in high sand dunes that acted like islands, giving isolated ecosystems a chance to flourish. Now, these habitats are islands of pine scrub in a sea of orange groves.</p><p>"It's one thing to read about habitat loss and development and another to be driving for 30-40 minutes through miles of orange groves just to get to a really small conservation site," Kimmel said. "It puts into perspective how much habitat loss affects all the animals that live in this area."</p>
<p>The bee also exhibits unique behaviors. It gathers pollen by bobbing its head side to side to collect it on its facial hairs. The very first time he saw the bee, Kimmel got a chance to see this in action.</p><p>"We observed a shiny little blue bee grabbing the flower and rubbing its head on the top portion of the flower two or three times before moving on to another flower," <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/16/us/florida-blue-calamintha-bee-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">Kimmel told CNN</a>. "In reading about this unique behavior we were pretty shocked to see it."</p><p>Kimmel and Daniels' research is set to last two years and determine the bee's feeding and nesting habits. So far, the team has found another plant the bee will use if it can't find Ashe's calamint.</p>
<p>The research has been hampered somewhat by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic, since travel restrictions mean Kimmel is in the field alone during the bee's flight season from mid-March to early May.</p><p>"It's a very time-limited flight. Now is when the bulk of that activity has to take place," Daniels, who is acting as Kimmel's adviser and is also the director of the museum's <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/index.php/mcguire/home/" target="_blank">McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity</a>, said in the press release. "Chase is doing a fantastic job and we're getting a lot of great data, but if it wasn't for the COVID-19 virus we would have had more people in the field, so it has definitely scaled back what we're able to do."</p>
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The North Carolina Zoo announced the birth of five critically endangered American red wolves as part of its American red wolf breeding program. North Carolina Zoo
The population of the most endangered canid in the world just got a little bit bigger.
<p>The North Carolina Zoo <a href="https://www.nczoo.org/news/north-carolina-zoo-announces-birth-five-critically-endangered-american-red-wolves-0" target="_blank">announced</a> the birth of five American <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/red-wolves" target="_self">red wolf</a> pups on Friday. This is an especially big deal because there are only 15 to 20 red wolves left in the wild, in eastern North Carolina.</p><p>"Congratulations to the North Carolina Zoo for playing an essential part toward helping this critically endangered species recover," North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources secretary Susi H. Hamilton said in the birth announcement. "It's yet another example of the Zoo doing amazing work to conserve <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> and wild places."</p>
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<p>The pups were born April 21 to a mother named Piglet and a father named Jewell. This is the couple's first litter.</p><p>"The pups and their mother are all healthy and doing well," the zoo said.</p><p>The new babies were all named for plants found in North Carolina, the zoo explained:</p><blockquote>The names for the males are Oak (Appalachian Oak), Cedar (Red Cedar) and Sage (Azure Sage). The females are named Lily (Carolina Lily, the state's wildflower) and Aster (Piedmont Aster).</blockquote><p>American red wolves have struggled in the wild in recent years, as <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com/news/state/north-carolina/article242592926.html" target="_blank">The Herald-Sun reported</a>. They were declared extinct in the wild in 1980 due to hunting and habitat loss, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) began efforts to reintroduce them to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge as part of the American Red Wolf Recovery Program. Their numbers swelled to more than 130 by 2006, but then began to decline between 2013 and 2015 after FWS introduced a policy allowing landowners to shoot and kill wolves, as EcoWatch <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/red-wolves-extinction-fws-judge-2618251132.html" target="_self">previously reported</a>.<br></p><p>In 2018, a federal judge ruled that the killing violated the endangered species act and had to stop.</p><p>In zoos, however, the species has fared better. There are around 240 red wolves in breeding programs across the U.S., the zoo said.</p>
<p>The North Carolina Zoo has been part of the American Red Wolf Recovery Program since 1994 and has bred 34 wolves since the program started. The birth of the new pups brings the zoo's wolf population up to 25, meaning it has the second-biggest red wolf pack in U.S. after the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington.</p><p>Six red wolf babies were also born at the The Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina in April 2019, The Herald-Sun reported. However, most of the museum's red wolves were moved to Virginia in January, and no babies were born there this spring, <a href="https://www.wral.com/baby-news-nc-zoo-welcomes-five-red-wolf-pups/19090065/?fbclid=IwAR0mA9K6ZKRXwUZKMB0uM4HpB8qQiGU4t91XkNBi9qUyt4J50K-luh80d1Q" target="_blank">WRAL reported</a>.</p><p>The North Carolina Zoo is currently closed to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, though you can still <a href="https://www.nczoo.org/virtual-visit" target="_blank">visit</a> virtually. However, the new arrivals won't know the difference right now.</p><p>"The pups are being kept in a quiet, non-public viewing area of the Zoo and have minimal contact with staff and keepers," the zoo said. "This allows their mother to raise the pups with the least amount of stress in a natural habitat."</p>
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A newly hatched baby leatherback sea turtle makes its way into a sea for the first time at a beach in Phanga Nga district, Thailand on March 28, 2020. REUTERS / Mongkhonsawat Leungvorapan
By Jiraporn Kuhakan
Thailand has found the largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades on beaches bereft of tourists because of the coronavirus pandemic, environmentalists say.
<p>From wild boars patrolling the Israeli city of Haifa to deer venturing into London suburbs, virus closures are drawing wildlife into the abandoned streets of many cities.</p><p>In Thailand, with 2,765 infections and 47 deaths, travel curbs ranging from a ban on international flights to an appeal to citizens to stay home have brought a collapse in tourist numbers, but freed up the beaches for wildlife.</p><p>The 11 turtle nests authorities have found since last November were the highest number in 20 years, said Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, the director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE4MTkxNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODE4ODQyMH0.9ujdaGOiYruYspVLQ8T1haQ2cmCBT7mpaziV8bmVmdY/img.jpg?width=980" id="f1c56" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5932bc4474ccccc670382bafc6e86df9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Staff at a national park in the southern province of Phanga Nga bordering the Andaman Sea found 84 hatchlings after monitoring eggs for two months. REUTERS / Mongkhonsawat Leungvorapan
<p>"This is a very good sign for us because many areas for spawning have been destroyed by humans," he told Reuters. No such nests had been found for the previous five years.</p><p>"If we compare to the year before, we didn't have this many spawn, because turtles have a high risk of getting killed by fishing gear and humans disturbing the beach."</p><p>Leatherbacks are the world's largest sea turtles. They are considered endangered in Thailand, and listed as a vulnerable species globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.</p><p>They lay their eggs in dark and quiet areas, scarce when tourists thronged the beaches. People have also been known to dig into their nests and steal eggs. </p><p>Late in March, staff at a national park in the southern province of Phanga Nga bordering the Andaman Sea found 84 hatchlings after monitoring eggs for two months.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE4MTkyMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTQ0MDU2NX0.PIFHc6O-pgJmlTUaGyvTdY-4LQLs3k-ycUCKVxnQE2M/img.jpg?width=980" id="0476a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0c79c362b3e386dfb2312a67adf1a2fb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p><em><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-thailand-turtles/deserted-thai-beaches-lure-rare-turtles-to-build-most-nests-in-20-years-idUSKBN22207G" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</em></p>Leatherbacks are the world's largest sea turtles and considered endangered in Thailand. REUTERS / Mongkhonsawat Leungvorapan
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The Denver Zoo may be closed to visitors to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, but, for the animals inside, life goes on.
<p>This is especially the case for the zoo's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lions" target="_self">lion</a> pride, which welcomed two new members Thursday, April 23, the zoo <a href="https://denverzoo.org/zootales/a-new-pair-in-the-pride/?CMPID=?utm_source=_FB_&utm_medium=_SOCIAL_&utm_campaign=_AC" target="_blank">announced Tuesday</a>. The new cubs were born to mother and father Kamara and Tobias, who are both four years old.</p><p>"We're seeing a lot of positive signs that things are going well, and will continue to keep a close eye on [Kamara] and the cubs in these critical first days and weeks," Assistant Curator of Predators Matt Lenyo said.</p>
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<p>The births come little less than a year after the zoo welcomed another lion cub named Tatu, <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/04/28/denver-zoo-lion-cubs-video/" target="_blank">The Denver Post reported</a>. Tatu is also the child of Tobias, meaning he now has two half-siblings. (Their sexes are still unknown.) His mother is Kamara's mother, Neliah, and his birth is now helping the new mom care for her own cubs.</p><p>"We are watching Kamara closely to make sure she's showing appropriate maternal behaviors, like nursing and grooming," Lenyo said. "She learned a lot by watching Neliah and interacting with Tatu last year, which really prepared her to be a mom."</p><p>The cubs' birth is good news for lion <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a>. African lions have decreased by fifty percent since 1994, <a href="https://wildnet.org/" target="_blank">Wildlife Conservation Network</a> (WCN) told <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2019/07/where-lions-once-ruled-they-are-now-quietly-disappearing" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>. While they once roamed almost the entire African continent, they are now absent from 94 percent of their historic range and are considered <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15951/115130419" target="_blank">vulnerable</a> by the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/" target="_blank">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a>. The primary threats to their survival are loss of prey and habitat, as well as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/poaching" target="_self">poaching</a>.</p>
<p>"Lions are truly one of the world's universal icons, and they are quietly slipping away," WCN director of conservation programs Paul Thomson told National Geographic.</p><p>The new cubs' birth is part of an effort to combat this trend. Tobias, their father, was moved to the Denver Zoo in 2018 from Buffalo in the hope that he would mate with Kamara and Neliah, the zoo said. The move was recommended by the Lion Species Survival Plan, a plan for ensuring healthy, genetically diverse lion populations in zoos belonging to the <a href="https://www.aza.org/" target="_blank">Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a> (AZA).</p><p>"Kamara and Tobias were a very genetically valuable match," General Curator Emily Insalaco said in the birth announcement. "And these cubs are an important contribution to the species' population in AZA facilities, and will help inspire visitors to learn more about their wild cousins."</p>
<p>While the zoo isn't receiving visitors right now, the cubs won't know the difference. They will be secluded with their mother for two months to give them time to connect with her and meet the rest of the pack, which also includes an unrelated seven-year-old female named Sabi.</p><p>You can still follow the cubs remotely via the zoo's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DenverZoo/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DenverZoo" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlJHwWxz2INhrSbLlK4xRQ" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/denverzoo/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram</a> accounts.</p>
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A recipient carries a box of food as others wait in line for food bank distribution for those in need during the coronavirus pandemic on April 9, 2020 in Van Nuys, California. Mario Tama / Getty Images
By Aaron Mok
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has upended nearly every aspect of modern society, but especially the food system. Farmers are being forced to discard unprecedented amounts of food surplus because of the closure of schools, restaurants, and hotels. And, because of the complex logistics of the food supply chain, diverting food supply away from wholesalers directly into the hands of consumers can be costly. Experts like Dana Gunders from ReFED are concerned that more food waste will be produced in 2020 than in previous years.
Despite these challenges, organizations around the world are working to reduce food waste. In honor of Stop Food Waste Day on the 29th of April, Food Tank is highlighting 23 organizations and companies trying to eliminate pandemic-fueled food waste.
<p>1. <a href="http://agrimax-project.eu/" target="_blank">AgriMax</a> (Europe)</p><p>Funded by the European Union, AgriMax is a food waste recovery project that converts crop and food processing waste into organic compounds through biorefinery. These compounds can be used in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=83&v=mf9KZA630IQ&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">food packaging</a>, food ingredients, and agricultural chemicals. Additionally, AgriMax recently launched an <a href="http://agrimax-project.eu/2020/03/03/new-online-platform-connects-crop-and-food-producers-to-biorefineries/" target="_blank">online platform</a> that connects crop producers to biorefineries in Spain and Italy to generate profits from waste. AgriMax <a href="https://twitter.com/Agrimax_EU" target="_blank">also promotes</a> educational webinars on the bioeconomy, and offers <a href="https://twitter.com/biovoices/status/1246029927918469121" target="_blank">tips</a> to help people recycle household food waste.</p><p>2. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/binghamtonfoodrescue/" target="_blank">Binghamton Food Rescue (BFR)</a> (United States)</p><p>Binghamton Food Rescue (BFR) collects perishable food waste and redistributes it as packaged meals and groceries to food-insecure communities in the city of Binghamton, New York. Over 21,319 kilograms (47,000 pounds) of food have been rescued since the organization's inception. The organization is encouraging community members to report local food waste so they can pick up and re-purpose it. BFR also collects food donations and delivers them to around 100 households per week.</p><p>3. <a href="https://brothersproduce.com/" target="_blank">Brothers Produce</a> (United States)</p><p>Brothers Produce is the largest Texas-based food and beverage distributor, supplying goods to retailers in Texas and Louisiana. In response to the pandemic, Brothers Produce has developed a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/us-coronavirus-outbreak-agriculture-food-supply-waste" target="_blank">new business model</a> where boxes of fresh produce are sold directly to customers instead of companies. This ensures that food surplus that would otherwise be thrown away is redistributed and helps to keep the business afloat.</p><p>4. <a href="https://www.cityharvest.org/" target="_blank">City Harvest</a> (United States)</p><p>As the world's first food rescue program, New York-based City Harvest is responding to COVID-19 by rescuing perishable produce. The organization aims to feed New York City's food insecure communities by redistributing food waste and providing educational programming. Despite <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/neediest-cases/feeding-america-food-banks-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">the closure of over 85 of its food programs</a>, City Harvest is still committed to feeding those in need. The organization has opened <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/neediest-cases/feeding-america-food-banks-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">seven</a> emergency relief sites for New York's food insecure communities, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/neediest-cases/feeding-america-food-banks-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">22</a> more relief sites are on their way.</p>
<p>5. <a href="https://www.caff.org/" target="_blank">Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and Farmers Guild</a> (United States)</p><p>Based in California, The Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and Farmers Guild is a nonprofit striving to build a more sustainable food system. To do so, they engage in political advocacy and develop grassroots programs to empower farmers and local communities. To eliminate the food surplus in California's food system, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/us-coronavirus-outbreak-agriculture-food-supply-waste" target="_blank">CAFF works with farmers</a> to redirect their food supply away from their usual commercial customers and into the hands of consumers. Additionally, CAFF created a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-4FlXtRfi0_44NeX8O5jtxIZV67pkhdOGS1l9yAAMJs/edit#gid=1791026450" target="_blank">spreadsheet</a> designed to connect the state's food surplus to consumers.</p><p>6. <a href="http://www.compass-group.com/" target="_blank">Compass Group</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Operating in over 50 countries, Compass Group is the biggest food service company globally. In response to COVID-19, Compass Group UK partnered with food recovery organizations and food safety experts to <a href="https://www.compass-group.co.uk/media/blog/compass-group-uk-ireland-donates-over-25-tonnes-of-surplus-food-to-help-feed-people-in-need/" target="_blank">create a plan</a> to distribute food surplus to nonprofit organizations across the United Kingdom. Within 3 weeks of the plan's inception, around <a href="https://www.compass-group.co.uk/media/blog/compass-group-uk-ireland-donates-over-25-tonnes-of-surplus-food-to-help-feed-people-in-need/" target="_blank">60,000 meals</a> were donated to more than 30 national nonprofits and local relief organizations.</p><p>7. <a href="http://www.divertinc.com/" target="_blank">Divert</a> (United States)</p><p>Divert is a technology company that uses data to inform solutions to minimize food waste from the retail supply chain. Divert currently <a href="https://www.supermarketperimeter.com/articles/4953-loss-prevention-putting-food-in-stomachs-not-landfills" target="_blank">partners</a> with supermarket chain Giant to recycle perishable foods. Perishable food is removed from the supply chain and repurposed to generate clean energy. Divert also recycles all food waste that cannot go to food banks.</p><p>8. <a href="http://www.edibleyork.org.uk/edibleinitiatives/abundance/?fbclid=IwAR0ICnxKXVteXwwLse0oLPyAOwWQXcdVz4dAI1hPLDgjxQc_oEfHun3GaMw" target="_blank">Edible York: The Abundance Project</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Located in the United Kingdom, Edible York is an NGO that aims to build a healthier York community through edible gardening and horticultural workshops. The organization runs a program titled "Abundance" that collects surplus fruit that would inevitably end up in a landfill. Volunteers then redistribute the fruit to the York community. Volunteers also rescue potatoes and deliver them to the most vulnerable people and families impacted by pandemic. Additionally, Edible York is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/AbundanceYork/posts/" target="_blank">providing information</a> on farms that have remained open for business.</p>
<p>9. <a href="https://thefelixproject.org/" target="_blank">The Felix Project</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Based in London, The Felix Project is a nonprofit that collects fresh food thrown away by wholesalers, and delivers it to charities and schools. As the pandemic creates a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-london-26406400/sharp-rise-in-demand-for-food-banks-in-london" target="_blank">spike in the demand from food banks</a> in London, The Felix Project is expanding their deliveries to emergency food hubs, homeless shelters, churches and hospitals. Through these steps, they ensure that London's most vulnerable communities are fed.</p><p>10. <a href="https://www.foodaidfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Food Aid Foundation</a> (Malaysia)</p><p>Malaysia-based food recovery nonprofit Food Aid Foundation distributes supply chain food surplus among the country's most vulnerable populations. They have carried out emergency food relief efforts in Malaysian neighborhoods such as Alor, Setar, Ipoh, and Penang. The organization receives <a href="https://www.facebook.com/foodaidfoundation/posts/2917501141621147" target="_blank">donations from renowned Asian chefs</a> such as Alex Chong, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/foodaidfoundation/posts/2893397927364802" target="_blank">partners with major food conglomerates</a> like Captain Oats and Indofood to fund their initiatives.</p><p>11. <a href="https://www.foodforsoul.it/" target="_blank">Food for Soul</a> (Italy)</p><p>Based in Italy, Food for Soul is a <a href="https://twitter.com/FoodforSoul_it" target="_blank">self-proclaimed cultural project</a> that recovers imperfect foods from landfills in countries ranging from France to Brazil, and repurposes them into meals for the homeless, refugees, and other vulnerable communities. Seeking creative ways to encourage food waste reduction, Founder and Italian chef <a href="https://osteriafrancescana.it/massimo-bottura/" target="_blank">Massimo Bottura</a> hosts a family-friendly <a href="https://www.instagram.com/massimobottura/?utm_source=ig_embed" target="_blank">Instagram cooking show</a> that teaches viewers how to repurpose household food waste into meals.</p><p>12. <a href="https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/" target="_blank">Food Recovery Network (FRN)</a> (United States)</p><p>Food Recovery Network (FRN) is a nonprofit led by college students who collect campus food waste and donate it to local nonprofits, churches, and other community organizations. FRN operates on <a href="https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/chapters" target="_blank">230 college campuses</a> across America. Despite <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/everyone-s-losing-college-campus-closures-stark-reality-students-n1155841" target="_blank">mass college campus</a> closures, <a href="https://twitter.com/FoodRecovery/status/1240667007206313985" target="_blank">over 30 student chapters</a> continue to rescue food waste. And since the beginning of the pandemic, several companies have donated their food surplus left by business closures and event cancellations. FRN also created a <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/555b5cf1e4b0864ccf1a0156/t/5e74d5c47fdc5c0278ef1491/1584715204429/Food+Recovery+Guide+for+Businesses_COVID19.pdf" target="_blank">logistical resource guide</a> that includes information on ways individuals and businesses can reduce their food waste.</p>
<p>13. <a href="https://www.frupro.com/" target="_blank">FruPro</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Launched in response to the pandemic, FruPro is a London-based online platform that connects major foodservice and catering suppliers to independent retailers to eliminate losses in the food supply chain. Since FruPro's launch, <a href="http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/181356/frupro-saves-251-pallets-and-counting" target="_blank">36,741 packages of fresh produce</a> have been delivered, feeding around 500,000 people. FruPro is also developing a plan to distribute food to local nonprofits and food banks.</p><p>14. <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/food-law-and-policy/covid-19-response/" target="_blank">The Harvard Law School Food Law And Policy Clinic (FLPC)</a> (United States)</p><p>Directed by <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/03/emily-broad-leib-talks-food-law-and-covid-19/" target="_blank">Emily Broad Lieb</a>, Harvard Law Schools' Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) is leading an emergency COVID-19 response effort to inform the public the pandemic's impact on food systems. The response includes informational resources analyzing opportunities for <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/food-law-and-policy/covid-19-response/promoting-food-donation-during-covid-19/" target="_blank">low-cost home food delivery</a>. It also includes <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/actions-for-congress-and-usda-to-support-local-and-regional-food-systems-during-covid-19/" target="_blank">policy briefings</a> urging Congress and the USDA to take legislative action to mitigate the pandemic's burden on the food system and its workers.</p><p>15. <a href="https://www.imperfectfoods.com/" target="_blank">Imperfect Foods</a> (United States)</p><p>Operating in 43 states, the San-Francisco based company, Imperfect Foods, aims to eliminate food waste by collecting blemished food rejected by grocery stores. They then redistribute it in customizable boxes to customers. As a result of COVID-19, delivery services face delays due to an increase in demand and a decrease in staff. Nonetheless, Imperfect Foods' <a href="https://twitter.com/imperfect_foods" target="_blank">Twitter</a> offers daily tips on how to lower household food waste.</p><p>16. <a href="http://www.sesc.com.br/portal/site/mesabrasilsesc/home/" target="_blank">Mesa Brasil SESC</a> (Brazil)</p><p>Mesa Brasil SESC is a Brazilian food bank network whose objective is to reduce national food waste by redistributing food surplus to food insecure Brazilian communities. Mesa Brasil's network contains <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mesabrasilsescsp/posts/1073962859646046" target="_blank">over 1100 companies</a> that include supermarkets, restaurants, and food service distributors. According to their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mesabrasilsescsp/posts/1073962859646046" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, "Mesa Brazil is acting with full force to combat the effects of the pandemic among the most vulnerable populations." As of April 1st, they had donated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mesabrasilsescsp/" target="_blank"><u>over 23,500 kilograms (52,000 pounds) of food</u></a> to 148 charity organizations across the country.</p>
<p>17. <a href="https://moveforhunger.org/" target="_blank">Move for Hunger</a> (United States)</p><p>If food is discarded during one's relocation process, Move for Hunger is available to collect and donate it to food banks. The organization connects people who are moving with a moving company to coordinate a pick up time for non-perishable food items. The service operates across the United States and parts of Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Move for Hunger has <a href="https://moveforhunger.org/donate/covid-19-relief?utm_expid=.RiwSp-RLQMeAN-yay1CRUQ.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fmoveforhunger.org%2F" target="_blank">expanded its operational efforts</a>, delivering food to food banks faster than ever before.</p><p>18. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetfoodyork/" target="_blank">Planet Food: The Real Junk Food Project York</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Based in the United Kingdom, Planet Food York is a nonprofit that recovers food that would end up in a landfill. The food is then sold at their "pay-as-you-feel" food store. In the face of COVID-19, Planet Food York is partnering with local churches and food banks to deliver bags of food to the community. The food ranges from fresh produce to chocolate Easter eggs.</p><p>19. <a href="https://www.refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton" target="_blank">ReFED</a> (United States)</p><p>ReFED is a U.S.- based consortium that seeks to discover policy solutions to end food waste. The organization has published <a href="https://www.refed.com/news" target="_blank">numerous educational resources</a> on the ways people can get involved to combat food waste. ReFED also hosts a weekly interactive webinar series titled <a href="https://refed.zoom.us/meeting/register/uJErcu6qrTMv7z4vuaZPgm2ELyMJ2oHi4Q?mc_cid=841a053162&mc_eid=e4c0794709" target="_blank">"Better Together: Food System Best Practices for Navigating COVID-19"</a> every Wednesday at 3PM EST which focuses on specific food system challenges and potential solutions.</p><p>20. <a href="https://www.replate.org/" target="_blank">Replate</a> (United States)</p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/replateyourmeal/about/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">Operating in more than 300 U.S. cities</a>, Replate is a nonprofit comprised of professional drivers known as "food rescuers" who collect surplus meals from businesses and distribute them to vulnerable communities. By <a href="https://www.facebook.com/replateyourmeal/photos/a.229902510710545/1092297217804399/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">partnering with Beyond Meat and DoorDash</a> during the pandemic, Replate is able to provide fresh, nutritious meals to frontline workers and food insecure communities.</p>
<p>21. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RockandWrap/" target="_blank">Rock and Wrap It Up</a> (United States)</p><p>Rock and Wrap It Up is a New York-based anti-poverty organization that works to divert excess food from stadiums, companies, and other commercial enterprises towards food banks and veterans. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Rock and Wrap it Up has collected <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RockandWrap/photos/a.256934234350790/3155459214498263/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">thousands of pounds worth of food</a> from Madison Square Garden and MetLife Stadium. As of early April, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RockandWrap/posts/3151560644888120" target="_blank">film and TV partners</a> have donated over 2,000 additional pounds of food.</p><p>22. <a href="https://secondharvest.ca/" target="_blank">Second Harvest</a> (Canada)</p><p>Second Harvest is Canada's largest food rescue organization. Second Harvest recently committed <a href="https://www.waste360.com/financials/foodrescueca-launches-45m-new-funding-communities?utm_source=Bibblio&utm_campaign=Related" target="_blank">CAD$4.5 million dollars</a> (USD $3.2 million) towards local charities and nonprofits that distribute surplus food to food insecure Canadians. The organization currently accepts food donations from companies such as <a href="https://www.waste360.com/financials/foodrescueca-launches-45m-new-funding-communities?utm_source=Bibblio&utm_campaign=Related" target="_blank">Loblaw, Starbucks, and Sysco</a>, and is working to partner with farms and smaller community stores</p><p>23. <a href="https://www.winnowsolutions.com/" target="_blank">Winnow</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Winnow is a technology company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce food waste in commercial kitchens. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX1F5T_eyfQ" target="_blank">Winnow's Waste Monitor System</a>, a food waste tracker, is used by chefs in <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/how-winnow-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-help-kitchens-end-food-waste/" target="_blank">more than 40 countries</a>. Additionally, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD4i7ZrmGoU" target="_blank">Winnow Vision</a> is a system of cameras pointed at garbage bins that collects data on food waste. Through AI, Winnow has saved <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/how-winnow-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-help-kitchens-end-food-waste/" target="_blank">over USD $42 million dollars</a> in food purchasing costs.</p><a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=In+honor+of+%23StopFoodWasteDay%2C+here+are+23+organizations+rescuing+food+waste+during+%23covid19.+&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoodtank.com%2Fnews%2F2020%2F04%2F23-organizations-eliminating-food-waste-during-covid-19%2F&via=foodtank"><span></span></a>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from </em><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/23-organizations-eliminating-food-waste-during-covid-19/" target="_blank"><em>Food Tank.</em></a></p>From Your Site Articles
- Reducing Food Waste Is Good for Economy and Climate, Report Says ›
- 20 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste - EcoWatch ›
- How to Make a Change for Stop Food Waste Day - EcoWatch ›
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Nature is viewed on a computer screen in NYC. Tetra Images / Getty Images
By Cris Brack and Aini Jasmin Ghazalli
Are you feeling anxious or irritated during the coronavirus lockdown? Do you constantly want to get up and move? Maybe you need a moment to engage with nature.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Getting into the great outdoors is difficult at right now. But our research soon to be published in <em>Australian Forestry</em> shows you can improve your mood by experiencing nature indoors. This could mean placing a few pot plants in the corner of your home office, or even just looking at photos of plants.</p><p>Our work adds to <a href="https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-and-our-brains-how-ecology-and-mental-health-go-together-in-our-cities-126760" target="_blank">a compelling body of research</a> that shows being around nature directly benefits our mental health.</p><p>Public gardens and parks, street verges with trees and bushes, and even rooftop gardens bring us a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10630732.2019.1637694" target="_blank">broad range of benefits</a> – boosting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(00)00317-2" target="_blank">physical health</a>, reducing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.12.011" target="_blank">air pollution</a>, and even <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs4040394" target="_blank">lowering crime rates</a>.</p>
Biophilia
<p>But inside, in your hastily constructed home office or home school room, you may be unable to take full advantage of <a href="https://theconversation.com/green-for-wellbeing-science-tells-us-how-to-design-urban-spaces-that-heal-us-82437" target="_blank">urban nature</a>.<br></p><p>Embracing the notion of "biophilia" – the innate human affinity with nature – while locked down inside may improve your productivity and even your health.</p><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-a-second-nature-into-our-cities-wildness-art-and-biophilic-design-88642" target="_blank">biophilia hypothesis</a> argues modern day humans evolved from hundreds of generations of ancestors whose survival required them to study, understand and rely on nature. So a disconnection from nature today can cause <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1010043827986" target="_blank">significant issues for humans</a>, such as a decline in psychological health.</p><p>In practice at home, connecting with nature might mean having large windows overlooking the garden. You can also <a href="https://makeitwood.org/documents/doc-1624-pollinate-health-report---february-2018.pdf" target="_blank">improve working conditions</a> by having natural materials in your office or school room, such as wooden furniture, natural stones and pot plants.</p>Indoor Plants
<p>Our research has demonstrated that even a small number of plants hanging in pockets on along a busy corridor provide enough nature to influence our physiological and psychological perceptions.</p><p>These plants even caused behavioral differences, where people would <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866717306763" target="_blank">change their route</a> through a building to come into contact with the indoor plants.</p><p>We surveyed 104 people, and 40% of the respondents reported their mood and emotions improved in the presence of indoor plants.</p><p>They felt "relaxed and grounded" and "more interested". The presence of indoor greenery provides a place to "relax from routine" and it made the space "significantly more pleasant to work in".<span></span></p><p>As one person reported:</p><blockquote>When I first saw the plants up on the wall brought a smile to my face.<br><br>Whenever I walk down the stairs or walk past I mostly always feel compelled to look at the plants on the wall. Not with any anxiety or negative thoughts, rather, at how pleasant and what a great idea it is.</blockquote>Looking at Wildlife Photography
<p>Our research also explored whether viewing images, posters or paintings of nature would make a difference.</p><p>We photographed the plants from viewpoints similar to those the corridor users experienced. Survey responses from those who only viewed these digital images were almost the same as those who experienced them in real life.</p><p>While we can't say for sure, we can hypothesise that given the importance of vision in modern humans, an image that "looks" like nature might be enough to trigger a biophilic response.</p><p>However, physically being in the presence of plants did have some stronger behavioral effects. For example corridor users wanted to linger longer looking at the plants than those who viewed the photographs, and were more likely to want to visit the plants again. Maybe the other senses - touch, smell, even sound - created a stronger biophilic response than just sight alone.</p><p>So the good news is if you can't get to a nursery – or if you have a serious inability to keep plants alive – you can still benefit from looking at photographs of them.</p><p>If you haven't been taking your own photos, search the plethora of images from wildlife photographers such as <a href="http://gimesy.com/" target="_blank">Doug Gimesy</a>, <a href="http://lanting.com/" target="_blank">Frans Lanting</a> and <a href="https://www.tanyastollznow.com/" target="_blank">Tanya Stollznow</a>.</p><p>Or check out live camera feeds of a wide range of environments, and travel to far-flung places without leaving the safety of home.</p><p>While we haven't tested the mood-boosting effects of live videos, we hypothesise their physiological and psychological effects will be no different than digital photographs.</p><p>Here are seven places to help you get started.</p><ul><li>The <a href="https://bushblitz.org.au/" target="_blank">Bush Blitz</a> citizen science app launched a new online tool today. The species recovery program encourages children to explore their backyard to identify different species.</li><li>"From the bottom of the sea direct to your screen": watch this <a href="https://www.natureaustralia.org.au/what-we-do/our-priorities/oceans/ocean-stories/reef-cam-underwater/" target="_blank">underwater live stream</a> of Victoria's rocky reef off Port Phillip Bay</li><li>The Coastal Watch website offers <a href="https://www.coastalwatch.com/surf-cams-surf-reports" target="_blank">live camera feeds on beaches</a> around Australia.</li><li>Watch the running water, trees and occasional fauna in California's <a href="https://explore.org/livecams/zen-den/live-redwood-cam-1" target="_blank">Redwood Forest River</a>.</li><li>In pastoral Australia, go on a <a href="https://youtu.be/qqYFgqN_q-w" target="_blank">four-hour drive through the country side</a> along tree-lined roads.</li><li><a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/animal-house/" target="_blank">Zoos Victoria</a> has set up live cameras that show its animals in natural (and nature-like) environments from Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo.</li><li>Yellowstone National Park may be closed right now, but <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm?sf174893829=1" target="_blank">webcams are stationed</a> in various locations throughout the park.</li></ul>
<p class=""><em></em></p><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cris-brack-98407" target="_blank">Cris Brack</a> is an</em><strong> </strong><em>Associate Professor at Fenner School of Environment and Society at Australian National University.</em></p><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aini-jasmin-ghazalli-117052" target="_blank">Aini Jasmin Ghazalli</a> is a </em>g<em>raduate student.</em></p><p><em>Disclosure statement: Cris Brack has received funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a Member of the Institute of Foresters of Australia and the ACT Climate Change Council as well as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.</em></p><p><em>Aini Jasmin works as a tutor in Universiti Putra Malaysia. She has received funding from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for her PhD.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/cant-go-outside-even-seeing-nature-on-a-screen-can-improve-your-mood-135320" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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The Radcliffe Camera at the University of Oxford, England on Nov. 30, 2014. Pablo Fernández / Flickr
At the behest of student activist raising awareness about the climate crisis, universities around the world have recently been pulling their investments from the fossil fuel industry.
<p>The University of California <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/university-of-california-to-ditch-fossil-fuel-investments-2640417734.html" target="_self">pulled all $84 billion</a> in its pension and endowment funds from gas, coal and oil in the fall. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/university-of-california-to-ditch-fossil-fuel-investments-2640417734.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">Sustained pressure from Georgetown University Fossil Free</a> successfully persuaded the school to divest from fossil fuels and boost its investments in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> earlier this year.</p><p>The latest school to commit to a fossil-free future is the renowned British institution the University of Oxford, which also asked its fund managers to show evidence of net-zero business plans, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-52454439" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported. The school, which has more than $3.7 billion in its endowment fund, made the announcement on Monday.</p>
<p>The Oxford Climate Justice Campaign (OCJC) said the resolution was of "historic importance," as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-52454439" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p><p>Vice-chancellor Professor Louise Richardson said it would make the university a "world leader in reducing carbon emissions and tackling climate change before it is too late."</p><p>However, the University of Oxford is late to the party. In 2015, the university said it would stop investing in the worst polluting fuels, but it stopped short of a total divestment, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-52454439" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p><p>Since 2012, student campaigns have sought to marginalize companies like Shell and BP, which profit from actions that contribute to the climate crisis. As of January, the National Union of Students, People & Planet and Students Organizing for Sustainability UK had successfully lobbied 77 universities in the UK to end their investments in fossil fuels, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jan/13/universities-divesting-from-fossil-fuels-have-made-history-but-the-fight-isnt-over" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-04-27-oxford-announces-historic-commitment-fossil-fuel-divestment" target="_blank">press release</a>, Oxford announced that it would follow the guidelines set forth in the <a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/briefings/Principles_For_Climate_Conscious_Investment_Feb2018.pdf" target="_blank">Oxford Martin Principles for Climate-Conscious Investment</a>. That framework helps connect climate-conscious investors with companies around the world working to create a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability">sustainable</a> future. It also helps assess whether an investment will foster the goals of the Paris agreement.</p><p>"Their work is just part of the sector-leading environmental research across Oxford in such areas as climate economics, biodiversity, resource security, transition in energy use and climate change modeling," the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-04-27-oxford-announces-historic-commitment-fossil-fuel-divestment" target="_blank">press release</a> said.</p><p>Professor Cameron Hepburn, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, added: "This is not mere divestment; this is a commitment to divestment plus engagement, according to the Oxford Martin Principles, to help accelerate progress towards net zero emissions. It is right that Oxford's leadership on the science, economics and finance of the transition to net zero emissions should be consistent with how we invest our endowment."</p>
<p>Of course, while the goals of a net zero future are admirable, the reasoning behind the divestment is not necessarily altruistic. Coal has been a losing investment for years and the energy sector has not produced favorable returns for institutional investors.</p><p>Writing in <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-16/divestment-fossil-fuel-university-of-california-climate-change" target="_blank">The Los Angeles Times</a> when the University of California divested from fossil fuels, investors said, "We believe hanging on to fossil fuel assets is a financial risk." They went on to say that renewable energy sector is a growth opportunity.</p><p>"We have been looking years, decades and centuries ahead as we place our bets that clean energy will fuel the world's future. That means we believe there is money to be made. We have chosen to invest for a better planet, and reap the financial rewards for UC, rather than simply divest for a headline."</p><p>Activists have looked to spur similar action at some of the most prestigious schools in the U.S. They have lobbied to get Yale, with over $30 billion in its endowment, and Harvard, with over $40 billion in its fund, to end its investments in fossil fuels.</p>
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media at a press conference ahead of a nationwide lockdown to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at Parliament on March 25, 2020 in Wellington, New Zealand. Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
By Julia Conley
Five weeks after launching an aggressive nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic—coupled with one of the most robust economic relief packages of any country—New Zealand's government on Monday announced that the new coronavirus is currently "eliminated" in the nation.
<p>The country's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/asia/new-zealand-elimination-coronavirus-jacinda-ardern-intl/index.html" target="_blank">said </a>Monday that while cases are not at zero, new cases have been in the single digits for the past several days—an "incredible" statistic, said Ardern, as other countries face thousands of new cases per day.</p><p>"We have done what very few countries have been able to do," Ardern<a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/20-04-2020/ardern-announces-alert-level-four-alert-level-three/" target="_blank"> said</a> last week as the country was preparing to move from a Level 4 restrictions to Level 3, allowing some businesses to reopen. "We have stopped a wave of devastation."</p><p>One new case was reported Monday, as well as four "probable cases" and one new death. </p><p> "We've achieved our goal of elimination... That never meant zero but it does mean we know where our cases are coming from," Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/asia/new-zealand-elimination-coronavirus-jacinda-ardern-intl/index.html" target="_blank"> said.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/asia/new-zealand-elimination-coronavirus-jacinda-ardern-intl/index.html" target="_blank"></a>As the country reduces restrictions to Level 3, businesses that reopen will be required to maintain physical distancing rules. Schools will reopen with limited capacity, and workers will still be encouraged to work from home if they are able to. Events such as weddings and funerals will only be able to take place with up to 10 people in attendance, and public buildings such as museums, libraries, and gyms will remain shuttered for the time being.</p><p>New Zealand has confirmed a total of 1,469 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, since the first case there was detected on February 28.</p><p>In New Zealand, home to 4.8 million, the disease has infected about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-coronavirus&variant=show&region=TOP_BANNER&context=storyline_menu" target="_blank">30 in every 100,000 people</a> and has killed 19 people—fewer than one in every 100,000 people.</p><p>The numbers in the island nation contrast sharply with those in the U.S., where nearly one million people have been sickened—nearly 300 in every 100,000—and more than 50,000 people have died.</p>
<p>Ardern has been credited with enforcing a strict lockdown even before the disease had claimed any lives in New Zealand. Two weeks after the first case was reported, the prime minister ordered anyone entering the country to self-quarantine for 14 days. Most businesses shut down on March 23, when there were 102 cases and no deaths, and the country began enforcing Level 4 restrictons—forbidding people to leave home except for outdoor exercise nearby—on March 25.</p><p>Ardern's extreme measures were in line with the recommendations of top public health officials, including U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, who <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/20/nih-director-says-drastic-measures-california-lockdown-are-needed-stop-coronavirus" target="_blank">said last month</a> that the measures most effective at slowing the outbreak would likely be seen as "too drastic" by many.</p><p>New Zealand has also been testing the public at one of the highest rates in the world, Ardern said Monday, administering nearly 124,000 tests in recent weeks with the capacity to complete 8,000 tests per day. The U.S. has increased its testing capacity in the past month, but public health experts say the severe lag in confronting the pandemic in the U.S. after the first case was reported there in January has made the disease difficult to contain.</p><p>On social media, observers noted the stark contrast between the two countries' approaches, with government watchdog Public Citizen saying the United States' response has been marked by the "unending incompetence" of the Trump administration. </p>
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<p>New Zealand paired its orders for the country to stay at home for five weeks with a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/17/new-zealand-launches-massive-spending-package-to-combat-covid-19" target="_blank">major relief package</a> amounting to about 4% of the country's GDP—a far more significant spending plan than other wealthy countries.</p><p>The government covered wages for all New Zealanders who had to self-isolate but couldn't work from home or were caring for sick family members. Businesses were also offered subsidies to continue paying employees, and the government doubled its healthcare spending.</p><p>Public health agencies were given resources for contact-tracing to determine who ill people could have potentially spread the disease to, while hospitals received support to increase intensive care units. </p><p>"This package is one of the largest in the world on a per capita basis," Grant Robertson, New Zealand's finance minister, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/17/new-zealand-launches-massive-spending-package-to-combat-covid-19" target="_blank">said</a> in March as the package was announced.</p><p>Meanwhile in the U.S., President Donald Trump has largely left it up to states to determine how to approach lockdowns, and several states have begun reopening their economies—even though the testing rate in the U.S. is lower than New Zealand's and thousands of new cases are being reported per day.</p><p>"The earlier and more decisively governments acted, the sooner they can responsibly ease their lockdowns," columnist George Monbiot<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeMonbiot/status/1254648757288947712" target="_blank"> tweeted. </a>"Unlike New Zealand's and South Korea's, our government dithered and delayed. As a result, we're now in a terrible mess." </p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/27/coronavirus-effectively-eliminated-new-zealand-following-comprehensive-approach" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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