Six Tips on Biodiversity From Wildacres
Green Fridays have produced six short clips on restoring biodiversity with Brian O'Toole and Gilly Taylor at the wonderful Wildacres, a Nature Reserve and Biodiversity Education Centre set on 17.5 acres, in Southeast Wicklow, Ireland. We hope you enjoy the clips as much as we did!
Action for Biodiversity #1: Make wildlife friendly spaces. Brian shows us one of their 37 ponds, teeming with life.
Action for Biodiversity #2: Gilly shows us how to add data to Ireland’s populations database to see how insects are doing in Ireland. For more, see: pollinators.ie/record-pollinators/fit-count/
Action for Biodiversity #3: Use deadwood to supporting wildlife. Don't underestimate the role deadwood plays in supporting wildlife and the power of a small log pile!
Action for Biodiversity #4: Plant native trees in your garden. Learn about Hawthorn trees with Gilly, also known as the May bush, fairy tree, and whitethorn.
Action for Biodiversity #5: Collect native tree seeds and wildflower seeds in the autumn and plant them. Learn from Brian about oak trees, which support more biodiversity than any other trees.
Action for Biodiversity #6: Use signs to educate about designated wild growth areas. Many sign templates are available from the National Biodiversity Data Centre at: pollinators.ie/resources/signs/.
An Post ahead of the pack on the road to net zero
David McRedmond, CEO of An Post recently sat down with Christina McCann from Green Fridays to talk about how An Post has achieved its impressive sustainability transformation. An Post is not only ranked third globally in its sector for sustainability, but also continues to lead the way nationally.
An Post is ahead of the pack with their net zero carbon emissions by 2030 target and David McRedmond confirmed that they are on target to reach this goal.
Key insights from the conversation include:
-
Transition to Electric Vehicles:
An Post has already made a significant shift by replacing much of its smaller diesel delivery vehicles with electric vehicles. -
Decarbonizing the Fleet:
The company is focused on decarbonizing its entire fleet, including its large delivery vehicles, with alternative fuels such as HVOs (hydrotreated vegetable oils) which yield a massive 91.8% reduction in carbon emissions vs diesel vehicles. -
Clean Energy Sources:
An Post already uses renewable energy providers for its energy sources and is looking to expand solar on its own buildings. -
Collaborative Efforts:
A partnership with Amazon as part of The Climate Pledge highlights An Post’s strategy to enhance sustainability through collaboration, aiming to further reduce carbon footprints through shared practices and commitments. -
Long-term Commitment:
An Post has reaffirmed its dedication to 'acting for the common good now and for generations to come.' This commitment is focused on providing decent work and a steadfast dedication to sustainability. -
Charging Infrastructure:
David McRedmond underlined the absolute necessity of improvements to the electric vehicle charging network this year, not merely in the long term and indicated An Post’s was willing to take the lead in this infrastructure overhaul.
A MUSICAL JOURNEY
Executive Producer Fernando Meirelles (Academy Award-Nominated Director of City of God & The Constant Gardener) and Malian musician/activist Inna Modja take us on an epic journey along Africa's Great Green Wall — an ambitious vision to grow an 8,000km 'wall’ of trees stretching across the entire width of the continent to restore land and provide a future for millions of people.
​
Traversing Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Ethiopia, Modja follows the burgeoning Great Green Wall through Africa’s Sahel region — one of the most vulnerable places on earth (temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average) — laying bare the acute consequences of severe land degradation and accelerating climate change the Wall aims to counteract: increasing desertification, drought, resource scarcity, radicalization, conflict and migration.
​
A Buena Vista Social Club meets Years of Living Dangerously, frontline characters give voice to a continent at a crossroads — stories Modja echoes on a sublime album. With the support of insightful musical collaborators (Didier Awadi, Songhoy Blues, Waje, and Betty G), Modja endeavors to amplify the promise of the Great Green Wall in helping to address the urgency of the real-time threats facing her beleaguered homeland.
​
With almost half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 1 billion people under the age of 15 — a population set to more than double by 2050 — and over 80% surviving on some form of agriculture, upwards of 60 million people are expected to make a massive exodus. Although the film does the groundwork for a climate change cautionary tale, The Great Green Wall provides a refreshing story of resilience, optimism and collection action. If completed, the Wall will be the largest living structure on earth, three times the size of the Great Barrier Reef — a new world wonder.
​
As Modja passionately pursues an African Dream for a generation seeking to control their own destiny, she reminds us of the enormity of the task ahead and that time is not on our side. The resulting journey of hope, hardship and perseverance reveals our shared human condition, reflecting a deeper moral and existential question we all must confront: “Will we take action before it's too late?”