We are due to host a special event here at Middleton Lakes today but it seems the weather has conspired to thwart our efforts. The recent wet weather has continued and yesterday we were subjected to particulalry grim conditions - hail, stair-rod rain, high winds, thunder & lightning - you name it and nature threw it at us. I have to keep telling myself that this is the middle of flaming June - flaming June indeed!
So the main purpose of our event today was to highlight the following facts:-
- Tropical rainforests are home to almost 75% of land-based species (that’s a whopping 6 million species), including three quarters of the world’s most endangered birds and 90% of the world’s invertebrates.
- Almost one billion of the world’s poorest people rely on tropical rainforests for their livelihoods.
- Tropical rainforests are one of best natural defences against climate change, storing more than 600 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.
- Global deforestation releases more carbon into the atmosphere than the entire world’s transport systems.
- Tropical rainforests once covered 14% of the earth’s surface, but it’s now only 6%.
- Every 4 seconds, an area of tropical rainforest the size of a football pitch is destroyed for commercial gain.
What can I do to step up and help?
- Keep your eyes peeled for symbols that show you that products are rainforest-friendly. Look for the Rainforest Alliance Certified TM seal as you shop and make sure that the wood and paper products you buy have the FSC ® logo. (Recycled FSC ® is the best you can get, but any FSC ® logo is good.)
- (You can also buy palm oil free products, such as the RSPB Love Nature biscuits, chocolate and fudge, and our Skinny Dipper toiletries.)
- If you can’t be sure that the product you’re buying is rainforest-friendly then buying less of it will help too.
- Find out more about the products you buy and what’s in them to help you make rainforest-friendly choices when you shop.
- Think about whether you really need a product. Try and use less of things made from ingredients that damage tropical rainforests.
- If you shop at Tesco, you can donate your Green Clubcard points to Together For Trees, the partnership between the RSPB and Tesco to help protect tropical rainforests around the world. As part of the partnership, we’re working with Tesco to reduce their tropical rainforest footprint, and help its customers reduce theirs too.
I can't promise you exotic animals, tropical temperatures, strange bird calls but I can offer you advice on how to dress for a visit to the reserve today - WEAR WELLIES.
See you on the reserves,
Best regards,
Chris Edwards