This month's collection of positive climate news stories highlight how an environmentalist is embarking on a clean-up tour of the UK to inspire individual action, the volunteers bringing back local wildlife to Hackney Marshes and the unexpected location being transformed into a safe haven for rare bats.
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Thousands of trees planted in Devon to start creation of Celtic rainforest
The first step towards creating a Celtic rainforest has been completed in Devon. More than 2,500 native trees have been planted so far this winter at Devon Wildlife Trust’s Bowden Pillars site, above the Dart valley and close to the market town of Totnes.
In decades to come, these trees will form a temperate rainforest, sometimes known as a Celtic or Atlantic rainforest. These rainforests used to cover large parts of Britain acting as vital carbon stores by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as being abundant in wildlife, but they now amount to just 1% of the country’s land area.
Find out more on The Guardian website.
The climate campaigner plogging for the planet
An environmentalist embarking on a clean-up tour of the UK has said climate action is about individual responsibility rather than "just screaming" for government action. Vivek Gurav, 29, from Wembley, north-west London, has started a "plogging" tour of 50 UK cities, where he picks litter while jogging. He hopes to inspire "more people to be on ground and do something about this problem".
Find out more on the BBC website.
Beavers return to Northamptonshire for first time in 400 years
A family of beavers are being reintroduced to Northamptonshire for the first time in more than 400 years. Boudicca, an adult female, and Alan, an adult male, and their six young, known as kits, have been moved down from Scotland and will be housed in a 17-hectare (42 acres) fenced enclosure at Rushden Lakes.
The beaver is a keystone species that can bring huge benefits to nature. Katie King-Hurst, education and communities manager for the Wildlife Trust in Northamptonshire, said: "They're incredible. They change their surroundings depending on what they need rather than vice versa which is why they are so beneficial to other animals because they create other habitats that the other animals thrive in."
Find out more on the BBC website.
New woodland will help research and the community
A new 60 hectare (148-acre) woodland on land at Silsoe in Bedfordshire, is being created by Cranfield University and the Forest of Marston Vale Trust over the next two years. The planting of 60,000 saplings will create a community space as well as support research into the benefits of trees on the environment.
It will be used as a teaching tool and resource for "ongoing research into the production and cultural benefits from trees, agroforestry, biodiversity, soil quality and carbon capture," the university said. It hoped the forest - of oak, pine, hazel, alder and birch trees - would also contribute to the university's "net zero targets".
Find out more on the BBC website.
Rewilding sees animals rebound in Hackney Marshes
Environmental groups have claimed success after bringing local wildlife back to Hackney Marshes in east London following the erosion of habitats in recent years.
Kestrels, weasels, shrews, wood mice and other small mammals had been slowly disappearing from around the River Lea until hundreds of volunteers began rebuilding their ecosystems with piles of logs, artificial food caches and by selectively cutting trees, known as coppicing.
Gideon Corby, lead ecologist for the Old Lea River Restoration project, said: "In the midst of our biodiversity crisis, this project shows what can be done with local knowledge and dedication in partnership with the council."
Find out more on the BBC website.
Bats protected in new wartime bunker home
Rare bats are being protected in wartime bunkers as part of a preservation initiative by the National Trust and the Dorset Bat Group. Metal grilles have been added to the historical structures from World War Two to prevent people from entering the areas where the bats are roosting. Ecologist Michelle Brown said there were five species of bat using the bunkers and it was "great" they were now safe.
Find out more on the BBC website.
Volunteers help plant new beetle-shaped woodland
Volunteers took part in a tree planting event in Bourne Park in Ipswich, including members of the Friends of Belstead Brook Park, to highlight the importance of stag beetles.
During the session, volunteers started work on the planting of 2,500 trees and shrubs which, once complete, will adopt the shape of a stag beetle when viewed from above. Stag beetles are considered to be nationally scarce insects, but the Ipswich area holds a globally significant population, according to Ipswich Borough Council.
Find out more on the BBC website.
By Eveline Vouillemin ©
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