Good News! 7 Positive Environmental Stories From August 2022

Introducing: The Grove! We've been working behind the scenes for some time now, and we're so excited to share this with you. The Grove is exactly what it sounds like: a special group of individuals that are passionate about giving back to the environment through a monthly giving program. And just like the trees that form a grove in nature, their support helps restore ecosystems for biodiversity, empower communities, rebuild after fires and floods, restore degraded areas, and more. 

Due to ongoing conservation efforts, 8 endangered species are being reintroduced to their natural habitats. As Namibia has one of the world's largest cheetah populations, the country will be sending 8 of their cheetahs to India to begin a restoration project. Wild bison are returning to the UK for the first time in thousands of years. Vulture populations are slowly increasing after rewilding efforts. The Eurasian Lynx has returned to 8 European countries. These are only a few of the exciting conservation and reintroduction efforts that have been announced this month!

Last spotted in 2010 (and previously in 1946), the Santa Marta sabrewing was assumed to be lost to science. But no more! The bird was spotted in the Santa Marta mountains of Columbia by an experienced bird watcher. Due to its elusive nature, not much is known about the species other than that researchers believe the population is small and diminishing. Scientists are now searching for more individual sightings in an effort to find where they live, and determine what threats they face. 

In Bolivia, there is a road that was once dubbed “Death Road”. This narrow strip, which leads into The Yungas, used to claim an average of 300 lives each year. In 2007, a safer road was constructed and traffic has dramatically dropped. The reduced traffic has allowed wildlife to return. Scientists placed cameras around the road to capture all the species that have returned. Over 15 species of mammals and 94 species of birds have been spotted on the cameras so far! 

A popular mode of transportation in the Netherlands is cycling, to the point that there are more bikes than people. Cycling is a great option for transportation as it is beneficial for individual health, but also has climate benefits. According to research, “700 million tons of carbon pollution would be saved each year if everyone rode their bikes”. Many countries can follow their example  and encourage the use of bikes for transportation.

Thanks to our long-standing partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI), One Tree Planted is honored to be a technical partner of AFR100. What does this mean? One Tree Planted, along with nearly 40 other organizations, helps enhance the technical support and coordination of restoration activities across Africa, chipping away at AFR100's target of restoring 100 million hectares of land by 2030.