Posts Tagged ‘Environment’
204 Trees Planted for World Record Attempt
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
On Saturday Richard Brooks and Malcolm Brooks planted 204 trees for the Tree O’Clock BBC tree planting world record attempt. The result of the attempt is not in yet but K International was happy to be involved and hope to plant another 100 trees very soon.
The process of planting trees is not easy; it takes care and a lot of hard graft to get the job done. Firstly, they prepared the ground by digging a trench 75 yards in length, 12 inches deep and 8 inches across. Whilst doing this they dug up all sort of interesting items.
“This was fun because there was lots of old stuff in there, under the ground, bit like being on Time Team.” Richard Brooks commented.
Next the baby tree had to be checked and trimmed. A protective wire/plastic was then placed around the small tree to keep it safe from animals. It is imperative that the trees are protected to survive. Then the tree was planted in the trench.
Everyone at K International is eagerly waiting to find out if the Tree O’Clock world record attempt has been a success. All contributions must be logged on the BBC Breathing Places website by Friday 11th December to count towards the world record.
People in Northern Ireland have already set a world record - the most trees planted by 100 people. This world record is for trees planted by hand, by no more than 100 people, at a single site, within a single hour.
Tree O’Clock teams at three sites set out to break the existing record of 18,124. Guinness World Records have verified that each of them achieved this.
So if you planted a tree get onto the BBC Breathing Places website, follow the instructions and be a part of this amazing tree planting world record attempt.
Tags: BBC, BBC Breathing Places, Environment, Guinness World Records, K International, Tree O'Clock, Tree Planting, trees, World Record
Posted in Charity, Environment, K International, Television, trees | No Comments »
The UK’s Beaches Contaminated by Raw Sewage
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
According to results released by Defra last week 30% of UK beaches failed to meet guideline standards which were set 30 years ago.
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) an environment campaign organisation in the UK claim that this confirms their fears that our bathing waters and beautiful surfing spots are being contaminated by raw sewage discharging from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs).
Despite many warnings that this is happening and video evidence from the SAS the UK’s water companies don’t believe they have done anything wrong. Although they are appealing against the Environment Agencies attempts to regulate the 4000 unlicensed CSOs around the UK’s coastline.
The SAS have set up a new campaign to warn beach users of the impact of CSOs and the danger they are unwittingly exposing themselves to.
Evidence of the overuse of CSOs was exposed by the SAS on BBC 1 programme Panorama, entitled ‘Britain’s Dirty Beaches’ which aired this summer. Comments of disbelief and disgust flooded in from the general public according to SAS. They also reveal on their website that a number of water companies have launched an action to ensure that thousands of their CSOs escape environmental regulations. The companies in question are named and shamed on the SAS website.
Campaign Manager Andy Cummings is quoted on the SAS website as saying, “Once again the UK had failed to meet minimum standards set over 30 years ago for bathing water quality. SAS has been warning of poor results due to the UK’s over use of CSOs. The problem has gone on too long and SAS are calling on supporters to take action and adopt a CSO. If water companies are going to put water quality and public health at risk SAS will ensure the public are warned!”
Did you go to a UK beach this summer? Have you had any health problems from bathing in UK waters? We’d love to hear your stories good or bad.
Tags: Bathing, Beaches, Combined Sewer Overflows, CSOs, Environment, Environment Agency, Rubbish, SAS, Sewage, Surfers Against Sewage, Surfing, water, Water Companies
Posted in Charity, Environment, Television | No Comments »
UK Rivers Fail New EU Standard
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
The Environment Agency has reported that three quarters of the rivers in England and Wales fall below a new European environment standard.
On a positive note water standards have improved across the UK for the 19th year in a row and wildlife is returning to a vast majority of the rivers.
6,000 rivers were surveyed and only 5 were classified as ‘pristine’. Environment groups are asking for tougher action to be taken to improve Britain’s water ways.
Improvements have been made over the last 20 years but the Environment Agency knows that things could be better.
The improvements in water quality have led to the return of some species which were at one point thought to be in terminal decline along some stretches of Britain’s rivers.
Otters, eels and Salmon have all returned to the Thames, Mersey and Tyne.
Despite these improvements the new European Water Framework Directive which became law in the UK in 2003 sets a much higher quality standard. It uses a much wider and more sophisticated range of tests to determine the water quality.
Under the new directive only 5 rivers satisfy the highest standards and they are situated in remote areas of Northumberland and Wales. 117 rivers have been newly classified as ‘bad’ these include stretches of the rivers Trent and Stour.
The Environment Agency has accepted that they need to act now to protect our waterways for future generations. They have announced the introduction of new measures which aim to improve more rivers by 2015.
The River Basin Management Plans include tackling discharge from sewage works, limiting the removal of water from rivers and preventing pollution from farmland and built up areas leaking into our watercourses.
It is important that we do something about the state of the UK’s rivers now rather than just hoping it will sort itself out. It is time we thought about future generations and made more of an effort to protect our planet.
Tags: Environment, Environment Agency, EU, EU standards, pollution, rivers, water, waterways
Posted in Environment | 2 Comments »
The Humble Christmas Tree
Monday, December 15th, 2008
Every year large evergreens invade our homes during the month of December. The Christmas tree is a long standing tradition around the world but what do we actually know about this family favourite?…
Traditionally the Christmas tree is an evergreen coniferous tree which is cut and brought into the house. Today it is the fir (Abies), which has the benefit of not shedding its needles when they dry out, as well as retaining good foliage colour and scent. The tree is then decorated with lights and decorations and a star or angel is placed on the top to symbolise the star of Bethlehem or a host of angels from the Christian Nativity.
Tags: christian, Christmas, Environment, evergreen, fir, Tree, xmas
Posted in Environment, trees | No Comments »
How to Give Your Home Life a Green Makeover
Friday, March 14th, 2008
There are so many challenges facing the earth today: more trash, more people, more pollution, less space and fewer green places. With so much going on, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and apathetic. After all, what can one person do to combat all of these different problems?
It may sound incredibly cheesy, but it’s important to realise that you really do have the power to make a difference. Think about it-if nobody does anything to help because they don’t think their actions matter, then the world and the people in it will just keep moving along the same old self-destructive path. But, if everyone does something to help, we may actually be able to start putting things right.
Tags: Environment, pollution
Posted in Environment | No Comments »
Future Tenants
Friday, February 29th, 2008
When humans decide to occupy a piece of land, we usually don’t leave it in its natural state. Instead, we either change it to better serve our own interests, we extract all the natural resources from it, or both. We create our own habitat-but what about the animals that lived on the land before us? Is the “habitat” that we create still a suitable place for them to call home when we are done with it? For some species, the answer is yes. Animals that prefer the same type of habitat that we do (open ground without a lot of trees) usually are not harmed by human expansion unless we see them as pests and start trying to exterminate them. What about animals that prefer forest? They have to retreat as we move forward, and eventually their numbers decrease because there is nowhere left for them to go. (more…)
Tags: animals, Environment, habitat, human
Posted in Environment | No Comments »
How to Plant a Tree
Friday, February 15th, 2008
Planting a tree sounds pretty self-explanatory. All you have to do is a dig a hole, insert the tree, and cover up the roots, right? Well, actually it’s a little bit more complicated than that. Much like baby humans, baby trees are more fragile than their adult counterparts, and need a nurturing environment in order to grow healthy and strong. (more…)
Tags: Environment, Planting, Tree
Posted in Environment | No Comments »
Trees and the Environment
Friday, February 1st, 2008
Why are we planting all of these trees, anyway?
One reason, of course, would be to simply restore the landscape of the old coal mine to its original glory. However, there’s another reason that’s even more important-trees also benefit the environment in a plethora of different ways. For example, they can absorb greenhouse gases and fight global warming, clean the air we breathe, and nourish many different types of wildlife.
Trees are nature’s soldiers in the fight against global warming. As they feed themselves, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the form of carbohydrates. The stored carbon remains locked inside the body of tree, keeping it out of the atmosphere. Since carbon dioxide is one of the most common greenhouse gases, planting trees can help put the brakes on the greenhouse effect.
Tags: carbon dioxide, Environment, Forest, global warming, greenhouse, trees
Posted in Environment | No Comments »