Within the silence of Ukraine’s steppe country, among vast excessive plains, sweeping valleys and deep gorges, outcrops of white chalk bedrock seem, eroded into strange shapes by wind and rain, forming a pristine and unforgettable panorama. In a world going through problems of increasing desertification, Kings Park – located in Western Australia – has developed a variety of research and extension initiatives in the arid areas of the Middle East, aimed at environmental, conservation and horticultural programmes. This yr sees the centenary of the demise of John Muir, naturalist, conservationist and ‘Father of National Parks’. He was born in Scotland, in the small, coastal city of Dunbar on the twenty first April, 1838 and went to school there till the age of 11, when he and his household left these shores for a new life within the United States. Environmental situations in the High Andes of Central Chile are excessive, affecting all facets of life right here and limiting species numbers. However the distinctive characteristics of this ‘bio-geographical island’ have resulted in a excessive level of endemism – plants are discovered here that occur nowhere else on Earth.
BGCI, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, has an thrilling new partnership with Chic Outlet Shopping®, the collection of luxurious outlet purchasing villages in Europe and China – within the UK, Bicester Village. It’s the top of a long day you kick off your shoes, fetch a couple of glasses and attain on your favourite bottle of claret. You lovingly draw the cork from the bottle, thrilled by that acquainted squeaky ‘pop’ as your senses begin to tingle with anticipation! California’s distinctive habitats have been shaped by hundreds of thousands of years of geology and local weather, producing a wealthy and colourful mosaic of life. Most of the plants and animals discovered here happen nowhere else and the California Floristic Province is one of the most biologically various areas on Earth. Of nearly 3,500 plant species, greater than 61% are endemics, however like different botanically spectacular places, California is one of the most threatened. Large-scale, intensive agriculture, a growing inhabitants, urbanization, pollution and road construction all contribute to huge habitat destruction and degradation.
For 1000’s of years, prairie lined greater than one million sq. miles of the North American Midwest – a vast tapestry of colours and textures made up of tall, swaying grasses and colourful herbaceous perennials, including 9 species of Echinacea, endemic to North American prairies, and Eryngium yuccifolium, utilized by Native Americans as an antidote to rattlesnake venom. The little, uninhabited island of Sa Dragonera is 3.2k lengthy and positioned about 780m off the south-west coast of Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands. It forms a continuation of the Tramuntana mountain vary that dissects the principle island and rises from the sea with sheer, vertical cliffs, tiny coves and sea caves. Sa Dragonera is lined with characteristic Mediterranean garrigue vegetation, an open group of small, primarily evergreen shrubs and a great variety of associated herbaceous plants like the Autumn Arum, Arum pictum, the beautiful orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis, and a large number of annuals and bulb species that are very colourful in spring.
Mediterranean garrigue vegetation is extraordinarily essential as it’s the last defence towards soil erosion and eventual desertification. More footage from the Inga Foundation, working to halt the destruction of the rainforest by slash and burn agricultural practices. Mike Hands and Issy Ellis-Cockcroft of the Inga Foundation are in dialog with Plant Talk on the Plant People page. Cruising at round 5,000 feet – I do know this as a result of I’m sitting directly behind the pilot and am watching his every transfer over his shoulder – in a (very) small propeller aircraft, the early morning views are spectacular the Amazon river near Santarem, approaching 60 kilometres vast at this level, divides into a maze of channels and islands. Islands are painted each shade of inexperienced, shedding swirling, early mist like smoke. Some are forested with white sandy beaches, such that you simply may very well be forgiven for believing you could be within the Caribbean. I change into alarmed and assume we may be lost when the pilot unfolds a highway map but as an alternative of navigating by it, he places it over the windscreen to eclipse the blinding solar – good transfer – however I now surprise how he can see where we’re going!
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