Welcome to our good news blog to keep you in high spirits!
1) UK’s electricity cleanest ever in 2024
Fossil fuels made up 29% of the UK’s electricity in 2024 – the lowest level on record. A Carbon Brief report showed renewable sources more than doubled from 65TWh in 2014 to 143TWh in 2024 (+122%).
2) Bumblebee populations increase 116 times in Scotland
Surveys of bumblebees in a 90 acre site near Perth, recorded around 50 bees in 2021. By 2023, after the site was rewilded, bumblebee numbers had topped 4000, with the number of different bee species doubling.
North Herts council planted more bee friendly shrubs on roundabouts, rewilded grass verges, put up more bee hotels, and made and gave away bee seed bombs.
The council allocated £10,000 to develop more bee corridors in North Herts, with Royston next on the list!
£250k worth of funding was allocated to create bee corridors around Hackney in 2024. Funded by the National Lottery Grant, the 3 year project aims to plant a green passageway with the help of local residents, to encourage bees and other wildlife.
See a bug-life video below about b-lines & how local corridors can help insects flourish:
5) Community windfarm to fund a million trees in Hebrides
Trees are being planted in the Western Isles of Scotland in old abandoned crofts. The seeds, sourced by Hebridean Tree Ark, are harvested from local trees found clinging to cliffs as well as from uninhabited islands.
Four-fifths of the funding is from the £900,000 annual profits, made by three wind turbines owned by Point and Sandwick trust.
7) 20 million trees will be planted a new Western Forest
In 2024, the West of England became the first region to publish a Local Nature Recovery Strategy. They’re aiming to create a new forest area of 2,500 hectares of woodland by 2030 - with a longer term plan to plant 20 million trees by 2050.
8) Irish company giving a new life to wind turbines
Decommissioned wind turbines can be put to good use. Bladebridge (which is a spin off of Re-Wind) is giving new life to old blades, including parts of a bridge, bike stores & an e-hub.
A recycling scheme that collects & sorts fishing equipment has been renewed for another 3 years. Port of Jersey started the scheme in 2023 & 430 lobster pots, 66 tonnes of rope & 9000m of nets, had been collected through the scheme.
The project is run by the Jersey port; alongside the government, Jersey Fishermen's Association and the prison service.
The EU wants to make sure that all information on a product’s impact on the environment, longevity, repairability, composition, production and usage is backed up by verifiable sources.
MEPs approved the agreement in January 2024 - EU countries have 24 months to incorporate the update into their national law.
This time of year is so uplifting but there’s always space for more good things so here’s our latest round up of good news π
1) King’s college Meadow - A New Study
We previously reported on wildflower meadows taking shape in Kings College Cambridge. As part of a study, King’s Research Fellow Dr Cicely Marshall, found that in spite of its small size, the wildflower meadow supported three times as many species of plants, spiders and bugs, including 14 species with conservation designations.
Terrestrial invertebrate biomass was found to be 25 times higher in the meadow, with bat activity over the meadow also being three times higher than over the remaining lawn.
Friends of the Earth & Co-Operative Bank have partnered together to place Postcode Gardeners into the most nature deprived neighbourhoods, helping to green the area & also bring neighbours together. Trial projects have taken place in Hackney, Chester & Bideford, Devon with more being planned in Birmingham, Bristol & London.
Have you seen the new Smarties packaging? Smarties was the first global confectionery brand to switch to recyclable paper packaging, removing approximately 250 million plastic packs sold globally every year.
HSBC are providing a new drop off point in selected branches for people to recycle their old debit & credit cards. The recycling scheme is in unison with Terracycle. Old cards will be shredded & turned into plastic pellets.
Royal Mail are hoping to achieve net zero operations by using 100% renewable energy, switching to more trains (& less planes) for the movement of parcels & using electric vehicles for deliveries.
According to their site ‘We have the UK’s largest electric fleet of any major UK parcel operator, with almost 5,000 electric vans in service today. We continue to trial other alternative fuel vehicles such as micro electric and hydrogen vehicles, as well as other delivery models – including delivery by drone!’
6) UK's First 100 Per Cent Sustainably-Fuelled Aircraft Takes to the Skies
The UK’s first ‘waste-fuelled’ aircraft piloted by the RAF took to the skies over Oxfordshire using 100 per cent sustainable fuel last year. Sustainable fuels using waste based fuels such as used cooking oil have the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent, according to the RAF.
Former Formula One engineer Paddy Lowe hopes to start production of a new type of e-fuel this Autumn, which uses green electricity and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make a carbon-neutral alternative to petrol. The fuel is seen as attractive as it can be used in existing cars & passenger jets which could help reduce scrappage of usable vehicles.
A team from University of Cambridge have discovered how to create clean, sustainable fuels using carbon dioxide captured from the air and energy from the Sun.
Passing the gas through an alkaline solution, the researchers were able to concentrate the CO2 to make it easier to convert into syngas fuel using sunlight. Adding plastic waste to the system enabled the team to create useful chemicals like glycolic acid, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry.
“This solar-powered system takes two harmful waste products – plastic and carbon emissions – and converts them into something truly useful,” said co-first author Dr Sayan Kar.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have discovered how to generate electricity from humidity. The researchers claim that just about any surface can be turned into a generator by replicating the electrical properties of storm clouds. Sounds very promising...
To save the bees it’s important to protect native wild bees including bumble bees & solitary bees. Paul Hendrick has set up a bee sanctuary with 55 acres of organic land in County Wicklow Ireland. They purposefully do not cater for honey bees (no hives) but focus on wild native bees using meadows, flowering weeds, wetlands + trees, bushes & hedgerows to give them places to thrive all year round.
Choosing to walk, cycle or take public transport in Martins Heron (Bracknell Forest) just got more rewarding, with the introduction of new Eco Rewards QR codes around the area. Residents who walk or cycle to local amenities, such as the shops, parks, schools or station, will also be rewarded for choosing active travel routes.
The expansion of Eco-Rewards programme comes after the council secured funding through South Western Railway’s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF). Points earned can lead to discounts, prizes, or cash-back rewards!
The Northwoods Rewilding Network was set up in 2021 to harness the growing appetite for nature restoration among farms, crofts, smaller estates and community landholdings. Northwoods now consists of over 60 land partners stewarding 14,000 acres.
In their recent email they cited the following key points:
In 2022, Northwoods land partners planted 108,000 native trees and set aside 4,800 acres for natural woodland regeneration plus 70 new ponds & scrapes, 22 ‘leaky’ dams & 130 acres of restored peatland means more homes for wildlife and a reduced risk of flooding.
9km of new hedgerows were planted & 10km of redundant fencing removed, allowing wildlife to expand and disperse (all with the help of land partners & 500 volunteers!)
π¦ The Big Butterfly Count is now on - Between Friday 14th July and Sunday 6th August, choose a place to spot butterflies and moths. Watch for 15 minutes. Then submit a record of the species you see!
If you’re out & about in the garden or nature reserve why not try these interesting apps that help you identify plants or bird song?
π¦ Merlin bird app helps you identify birds. I found the ‘record bird song’ element really helpful & manages to pick up bird song even when there’s traffic noise in the background. It highlights which bird is singing & keeps a record of your spottings you can refer back to later. https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
π» Plant Net app helps you take photos of weeds & flowers in your garden & instantly tells you what it may be (with a ranking so you can see other suggestions). I have found it to be user friendly - some weeds I have deliberately left for insects after learning more about them. https://identify.plantnet.org/
Check out our directory for lots more useful links - enjoy!
Rest your soul a little by reading something positiveπ
1. Super Reserve in Somerset
In May 2022, Natural England announced a new 'super' nature reserve to be created in Somerset, protecting over 6000 hectares of precious saltmarsh, heath and wetland habitats, home to nationally significant wildlife populations.
The site will link six nature reserves and managed land in the Somerset levels, coast and moors and will join England’s developing Nature Recovery Network.
Various Nature Recovery projects will extend across 99,000 hectares of land in total over time – this is equivalent to all the 219 current national nature reserves in England.
2. Bee Numbers Increasing in Sussex
Community funded projects have led to an increase in bee numbers in the South Downs. Sussex residents raised £75,000 to help a young charity, Bee Lines, plant wildflower oases across the South Downs national park.
There has been a 72% rise in bees and other pollinators since the projects began.
Large blue butterflies were previously very rare in the UK. During an re-introduction program, around 1,100 of butterfly larvae were released at West Country locations, with 750 butterflies successfully emerging.
It is the first time for 150 years that the large blue butterfly - the largest and rarest of all nine British blue butterflies - has been recorded at Minchinhampton and Rodborough Common (Stroud in Gloucestershire).
The UK is one of the most nature depleted areas and to help with re-wilding the Wilder Bean project have introduced wild bison to England, for the 1st time in thousands of years.
Their grazing can help bring light to young shoots, their poop fertilises the land and their rolling (in dust baths) can help create habitats for lizards, birds, insects and other animals.
Three bison have been initially released in Blean Woods, Kent. The wardens were delighted to find a new calf was born in September (see video below)!
A study published in July 2022 noted large numbers of fin whales in the Southern Ocean. Researchers estimate there could be at least 8,000 fin whales in the Antarctic, where they were hunted almost to extinction in the 20th century.
One group being spotted contained 150 whales - wowsa!
Michael Eavis, the founder of Glastonbury Festival has donated some land just two miles from the Glastonbury festival site to The Guinness Partnership (who build affordable social housing).
The new houses, flats and bungalows will be built and equipped with heat pumps. Michael has also generously donated £275,000 to help with development costs.
Glasgow City, which is historically home to some of Scotland’s most polluted streets due to traffic emissions, reported that their CO2 emissions fell by 13% since 2020 and 50% since 2006.
The Scottish Environment and Protection Agency (Sepa) said their latest statistics across Scotland follow a downward trend in emissions since 2007.
A newly planned Royal Mint factory set to open in South Wales in 2023 will aim to use salvaged metals in the production of new coins.
Precious metals (including gold) can be extracted from used mobile phones, laptops and circuit boards. They aim to process up to 90 tonnes of UK sourced circuit boards per week, to retrieve hundreds of kilograms of gold per year.
Their first ocean plastic cleaning prototype (system 001 Wilson), was launched September 2018 which collected a little over 7,000 kilos of plastic.
The 2nd system (system 002 Jenny), was released August 2021 and has collected over 100,000 kilos during its 45 extractions, which is equivalent in weight to 2.5 Boing 737-800s - wow!
1,000 more extractions will be needed to complete the mission but they are delighted a milestone of 100,000 kilos has been reached.
The Ocean Cleanup Team are hoping to release system 003 soon for more sweeps to take place at a faster rate (at 3 times the size of system 002).
Meanwhile, entrepreneur Claar-els van Delft in the Netherlands devised a clever plastic catching device to be placed in rivers.
Known as the Great Bubble Barrier it uses compressed air to push up plastics and push them to one side to be collected. This will help reduce the number of plastics that make it out to the oceans!
What a joy it was to watch Sir David Attenborough’s Green Planet aired by the BBC earlier this year. It was split into 5 episodes, exploring Tropical Worlds, Seasonal Worlds, Human Worlds, Water Worlds & Desert Worlds.
Sir David Attenborough follows the remarkable nature of plants, including how they grow in remarkably hostile terrains and how, with a little care, we can encourage nature to spring back allowing a biodiverse environment and benefitting us in the long term.
Inspired by the BBC programme, an AR experience has been created for a short time in Piccadilly Circus, London. It runs from Friday 11th February to Wednesday 9th March.
Travel through some digitally enhanced worlds including Saltwater, Freshwater, Rainforest, Seasonal & Deserts.
The Green Planet AR Experience is located at Piccadilly Circus in London. Tickets are free & can be booked online at https://thegreenplanetexperience.co.uk/
Also available is this Green Planet double-sided colour poster. Produced by the Open University, it is free to order online at https://connect.open.ac.uk/greenplanet
Hedgerows are easy to undervalue but they are a great refuge for multiple species of birds and insects. According to Positive News, the Climate Change Committee recommends a 40% increase in hedgerows, which not only helps wildlife but they can act as a carbon store. Devon Farmer Rob Wolton, with the aid of entomologists, spotted 2000 species in one hedge alone, including insects, small mammals, lizards, grass snakes and various types of birds.
The Guardian report that hedges reduce the likelihood of flooding downstream, help to suck pollutants out of water, and prevent soil erosion. Flower filled hedgerows could also attract pollinators which have been in decline. (An excellent look at the benefit of hedgerows and how they can help us reach net zero can be read in the Guardian link above.)
The Tree Council kick started a National Hedgerow Planting Week end of May/early June last year. Their Close the Gap Hedgerow Project is part funded by the UK Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund in unison with the National Lottery.
The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Everyone across the UK is being invited to plant trees from October 2021 (when the tree planting season begins) through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022.
The Local Authority Treescape Fund (LATF) will re-open in early 2022. The government expects that up to 100 grants worth £50,000 to £300,000 will be available for local authorities in the next round.
The first round of funding is currently supporting planting of an expected 260,000 trees outside of woodlands, with 139 local authorities awarded a share of £4.4 million across 42 projects.
For further tree & woodland planting grants head on down to:
So why are trees so important? Although they can produce carbon, they sequester twice as much as they emit allowing them to be a carbon sink.
According to an article by Eco Watch: ‘Forests emitted on average 8.1 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and absorbed 16 billion between 2001 and 2019.’ The net amount absorbed is 1.5 times more than United States emits annually, so our trees MUST be nurtured if we want to continue our existence.
Peatland Restoration:
The UK Peatland Strategy was launched in April 2018 by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme. They estimate that 80% of peatland is degraded, this sadly leads to drying out of the peat causing carbon loss rather than carbon capture. In the UK, three broad peatland types exist – blanket bog, raised bog and fen. Peatland in good condition can help with water filtration and prevent flooding, as well as encourage a more diverse mix of plants and insects which then encourages a greater mix of birds and wildlife.
“Peatlands are Earth’s largest terrestrial carbon store, holding more than twice the amount of carbon in all the world’s forests. 87 per cent of peatlands are degraded. In this state, they do not capture and store carbon but emit an estimated 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent every year.
Swansea University, Sky Ocean Rescue & WWF have been planting sea grasses to help our shores. Sea grasses are a useful source of carbon capture & provide a haven for sea life.
Rewilding is allowing nature to return back to its natural habitat. Land can be over farmed losing its nutrients; trees can be cut down for house building & animal grazing can strip young shoots preventing new growth. Hedgerows can be cleared to make way for larger fields and waterways can be straightened and narrowed, reducing natural flood plains which can result in flood water rushing down into inhabited towns and villages.
Animals, birds and insects that rely on natural surroundings begin to suffer as their native food supply may be lost due to lack of forest and ground cover and lack of healthy plant and flower growth in the area. Soil can lose nutrients and peat land can dry out. With dry peat land, unhealthy soil and a lack of greenery, this leads to carbon storage becoming much harder to control causing carbons to be lost into the atmosphere.
Rewilding projects help to work with landowners and farmers & allows nature to return back to its former glory, thereby encouraging a more biodiverse landscape. This will help with carbon capture thereby helping us out too!
Overgrazing can deplete soil causing loss of nutrients and soil erosion. We don’t have to STOP farming, just re-think the methods in the way we do it.
Methods could include planting wildflower meadows along the edges, building more hedgerows, allowing fields to recover before bringing grazers back in, avoid over tilling of soil which could strip the nutrients, planting trees, shrubs and herbs that produce food which also encourages pollinators & allowing grazing animals to move between trees rather than land clearance.
Our recent eco booze article covered ways in which grape producers encourage local biodiversity in between their planted vines as an example.
There’s also the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund by the UK government which encourages collaborative farming communities getting together to exchange ideas. 'The scheme plays a significant role in fostering and strengthening an engaged, collaborative and environmentally aware farming community.'
Wildflowers:
The Tower of London are holding a Super Bloom event this year. Vibrant meadow flowers will be used to fill the moat in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
In spring 2022, over 20 million seeds will be sown from carefully designed seed mixes.
One of the Green Planet episodes covered a project in Kenya, whereby seeds were encased in charcoal ash and scattered by volunteers which included school children and wardens. Numerous ways have been used to plant seedballs, including dropping from planes, using slingshots to project them in random directions (great fun for the kids!) and some countries even uses camel riders to drop seedballs as they trek through the desert.
The beauty of seedballs is that the material used to encase the seeds (such as charcoal, clay), can be used to protect the seedlings and feed them during the early development. The seeds naturally bury their roots down into the soil so don’t need digging in.
Did you know that Lovelier Planet have been making seedballs with wildflower seeds for your garden? A good way to attract bees and butterflies into your garden to increase pollination.
They are individually hand made from 50% compost & 50% clay and come in packs of 10 balls in a gift pack (which can be personalised on request) or in home made fabric crackers in packs of six available, with Easter and Christmas designs. See our etsy store for more details.
Did you know you can choose alternative coffins too, including beautifully designed cardboard based coffins?
Memorial:
If you have lost a loved one why not donate a tree in their honour through Woodland Trust? RSPB can accept memorial donations and have a book of remembrance at selected reserves.
Shopping:
Support sustainably produced projects such as companies that use green energy or re-utilise waste products (check out our recent eco-booze article for some ideas).
If buying products made from trees, look at for the FSC label to ensure it was properly managed, or use products made from faster growing bamboo. Our reviews section has some ideas for you.
Check whether your product uses sustainable palm oil by using a Giki app. (This app looks at various ethical badges to help you make an informed choice).
Also look out for the Rainforest Alliance logo on products for sustainable agriculture.
Check the label and see which products are produced locally. Avoid those sent by plane (for instance perishable goods such as fruit & veg flown in from abroad). Support your local farm shop for fresh produce.
Support local care farms (aimed at helping people as well as the environment whilst growing and selling fresh produce). There is a UK map here which you can enlarge to see the local care farm in your area. https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/your-area
Check the packaging of items you buy in store to see if the manufacturer uses recycled content for their packaging (this uses less virgin plastics or trees which would add to your carbon footprint).
If you have a zero waste store in your area, help cut down on packaging waste by taking your own containers. See this directory for some stores near you.
Reduce food waste (waste produces methane which can affect plant growth and increase global warming). There are some food apps to help reduce waste you can try.
Create a wildlife friendly garden with tips from the PTES. The site includes pollinating flowers, how to create woodpiles, insect hotels, bat boxes, ponds & hedgehog friendly gardens.
Ditch the gym membership and find some outdoor gym equipment in your local area. This site shows some ‘fresh air fitness gyms’ that might be near you.
Check for local activities such as ranger led nature walks at the National Trust.
If you like walking, maybe get a group of friends together to do a beach clean or litter pick.
Waterhaul, a UK company, can sell you litter pickers for about £15 made from recycled fishing nets and face masks. Great idea! Or the RSPB has one made from recycled plastics & metal.
Easter:
You’ll be surprised that even Easter eggs have their affect on the planet as well as worker’s rights. The Ethical Consumer group has listed Cadbury’s, Terry’s & Nestle as scoring poorly in their league table.
Read on to learn more. (It’s worth reading the summaries below the league table too for some interesting insights).
The site below is an eye opener for those looking at greener savings accounts. I was shocked to see my bank has been financing the nuclear weapons industry, as well as contributing to climate change industries whilst scoring poorly in tax payments and the use of tax havens.
⚘ Support companies that offer free tree planting with your order such as Floral Fox. Switch your search engine browser to Ecosia to support tree planting projects with every click.
Here's some positive eco newsfor the end of 2021 with a Scottish twist!
π 1) Luna the Dog's Epic Walkathon
Michael Yellowlees from Dunkeld and his Alaskan husky Luna set off on a 9 month 5,000-mile journey across Canada. Equipped with a guitar and a handcart, the pair raised thousands of pounds for the rewilding charity Trees for Life.
Michael aimed to raise awareness on deforestation and the £40,000 funds raised will help to plant trees in the Caledonian Forest, stretching from the West Coast of Scotland to the Great Glen. (Scarily Luna went missing part way through the journey but was gladly reunited with Michael along the way!)
A new repair shop called ‘Remade Network’ was opened in Glasgow. In an interview with the BBC, Ross Cameron, store technician says he's fixed a lot of general household goods since he started.
"We've had music boxes, clocks, hairdryers, record players, radios, hedge trimmers and mowers - everything under the sun in terms of electrical stuff," he explains.
They also repair clothes and broken ornaments, laptops, tablets, iPods & phones. A brilliant way to preserve items and prevent them being added to landfill.
Eagles returned to Loch Lomond after 100 years. Per the BBC, ‘It is believed that this is the first time sea eagles have settled at Loch Lomond since the early 20th Century.’
Following a re-introduction of white tailed eagles (otherwise known as sea eagles), there are now believed to be 150 mating pairs across the UK.
On the island of Yell in the Shetlands, cars are being powered for the first time by tidal energy. Tidal energy was mostly used to power homes, but a new charging point has been installed to power up cars too!
Inventor Rod Read from Shetland has produced a portable DIY wind turbine called a kite turbine initially made from scrap materials including a bicycle wheel. Small enough to take on camping trips too. Ingenius!
π6) Shell Got Shelved
Shell has announced it is pulling out of the controversial Cambo oil field, located approx. 75 miles to the West of the Shetlands.
On 2nd November 2021 (during Cop26 in Glasgow time), ITV aired a TV program about the green projects on the Orkney Isles.
Did you know that Orkney produces around 130 percent of its energy needs through renewables, with 1 in 12 households in mainland Orkney making their own power supply (either by home turbines or solar panels)? Electrical vehicles are also popular with many charging points around the island.
In Shapinsay a wind turbine converts excess energy into hydrogen which can be used on the ferry MV Shapinsay & also for Orkney council’s hydrogen vehicles.
An energy convertor using the power of waves in the Scapa Flow has been developed & a tidal turbine called O2, located in the Fall of Warness, is being used to power around 2000 homes. (Unlike solar & wind, tidal power is more reliable as a regular source of energy.)
And finally, on the small Isle of Westray further North, a community owned wind turbine was installed, with excess power sold back to the grid. The profits from electricity are fed back into projects on the island, including affordable housing and a community garden and golf course. What a lovely idea!
π8) Community Joins Together To Support Nature
A community in Scotland bought 5,200 acres of land belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch, with the aim of turning the area into the ‘Tarras Valley Nature Reserve’.
The group Langholm Initiative successfully raised £3.8m by crowdfunding. Per Positive News, ‘Peatlands and ancient woods will be restored, native woodlands established and a haven created for wildlife including hen harriers.’
Langholm hopes to raise another £2.2m, with plans to increase the nature reserve to 10,500 acres in 2022.
π9) Rewilding Loch Ness & Beyond
The Affric Highland Initiative, in consultation with Rewilding Europe and Trees for Life are aiming to restore nature to 500,000 acres of landholdings, stretching from Loch Ness across to Scotland’s west coast.
The charity 'Trees for Life' have so far established nearly two million native trees across the Caledonian Forest.
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