Cost of living crisis: six creative ways communities are responding
6. Wastesavers, Newport A mother with two young children had managed to find temporary accommodation near Newport, Wales. When they arrived, all the furniture was a single bed: an adult and a small child’s bed. “Happily,” said Nicola Rossiter, reuse operations manager at local charity Wastesavers, “we were able to donate a sofa, TV, table […]
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‘Without it, I might be dead’: the garden that saves lives – FFA
People in Rio de Janeiro are digging deep to create the world’s largest urban garden. This project has many other benefits, including feeding low-income families. It’s a muggy summer’s day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Heavy clouds threaten rain, but this doesn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the 15-odd gardeners who are cheerfully weeding […]
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An ode to the magic, humour and strangeness of ordinary life
Have a rough day? Then picture this: ‘A man walking along Caledonian Road falls over on to the huge roll of bubble wrap he is hugging, perhaps for just this sort of situation’. Or this: ‘A woman glides round Tesco in blue flip-flops, gold socks and a red dress, her basket entirely full of tinned […]
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What went right: ‘super nature reserves’, plus more positive news
England got its second ‘super nature reserve’ Linking fragmented habitats is one solution to the biodiversity crisis – and that’s what England’s newest nature reserve hopes to achieve. Created this week, the Somerset Wetlands ‘Super’ Nature Reserve encompasses 6,140 hectares of saltmarsh, heath and wetland, where nationally significant populations of birds and insects live. The goal […]
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World Bee Day: eight projects making a difference to bees this year
1. The hive mind analyses bee health An international grid of remotely-monitored beehives uses artificial intelligence and cloud computing for analysis of the global bee population health and engineering lasting solutions to reverse its decline. Some of the causes of shrinking populations of vital pollinators include pesticides, habitat loss, and climate change. Beekeepers have been […]
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What would happen if all vacant public spaces in UK became mini farms?
That’s the question a group of researchers tasked themselves with answering. Here are their findings Communities should have a right to improve the unloved public spaces around them by growing fruit and vegetables, according to a new campaign that’s calling for a “right to grow” law in the UK. This law is similar to the […]
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‘There will be honey’: supporting Ukrainian beekeepers in a time of war
While Ukrainian honey is sent to fighters on the frontline, the beekeeping community rallies to support the nation’s hives Dmytro Kushnir, Honeymaker, hopes that there is more to the old Ukrainian proverb than just a grain of truth. ‘whoever has honey has strength’. Last month, with business grinding almost to a halt, he handed over […]
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A new lottery has launched to support artists and live music venues
To make it big in showbiz, you need a lot of luck. But those behind a new lottery hope that they can help even the odds by giving a portion of their profits to venues and artists. The Music Lotto is the UK’s first arts and culture-focused lottery. Besides offering a weekly top prize of […]
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How to help bees and other pollinators: 10 unique things you can do
9. Show hospitality to your garden guests Bees are a busy species – and habitat loss has made their lives significantly more difficult. The European conservation group Buglife estimates this loss would lead to the disappearance or a reduction of nine out 10 miles of road. The group will restore and create 150,000 hectares of […]
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Just what the doctor ordered: five novel social prescribing projects
5. Forest bathing A scheme that has been joined by a recent surge of ‘green social prescribing’ projects, Branching OutSince 2007, it has been repeated every year. Forestry Commission Scotland manages the project and participants include adults with mental challenges. You can participate in activities such as tai-chi, health walks, bird box constructions, lighting fires, building […]
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