#wild hope

[bumblebeeappletree]

In the northeastern part of India, the greater adjutant stork has been considered an ill omen for generations, and the endangered bird has paid the price. Its breeding population here fell to just 115 birds by the 1990s.

But when biologist Purnima Devi Barman witnessed villagers chop down a tree crowned with the storks’ nests — and chicks — she launched a grassroots effort to do something about it. Today, 10,000 women across the region have banded together to protect nests, raise fledglings, and run educational programs for children and adults explaining the benefits the storks bring to their communities. They even produce textiles that celebrate the giant bird — and bring critical income and empowerment to the local women who are safeguarding its future.

These efforts have been a resounding success for greater adjutant stork conservation. A recent survey found 1,830 of the distinctive birds in Assam, and the species’ status on the IUCN Red List has been changed from “endangered” to “near threatened” — a testament to what can be achieved with community conservation.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

(Art: Photograph by Nell Dorr)

* * * *

Being a parent is like wearing your heart outside of your body. Then, after years spent nurturing, growing, protecting, keeping alive, letting that heart wander off on its own, into a world, we know, can do such harm to it. And all we can hope for, is that our heart calls home, updates us sometimes, with their stories, their safety, their happiness, their troubles. We can only wish that we will be asked to help mend that heart when needed, a job we have long trained in. Being a parent is like wearing your heart outside of your body, and knowing that's exactly where it's supposed to be.

~Donna Ashworth

(Book: Wild Hope)

[Philo Thoughts]

[thoughtportal]

As urban expansion quickly replaces natural habitats, façade engineer Alistair Law has discovered a new way to restore native ecosystems for pollinators and create natural spaces for us all within cities – by turning the walls of buildings into meadows.

[isjasz]

[mob killing noises] BAM!!!!1111!!

[makowcy]

widow

[eydilily]

would you bite the hand that feeds you?

[waozua]

moments before disaster

[hinamie]

I don't want to regret the way I lived

[8pxl]

14 yrs ago i started playing magic the gathering as a kid, and i had the dream to do art for them

3 yrs ago i tweeted about those dreams:

today i’ve released 11 official magic the gathering cards, and it’s honestly so surreal and insane to me! i did that!! i fulfilled a childhood dream, and i honestly couldn’t be more proud 🥹

[bumblebeeappletree]

Along the coast of Gujarat, India, a renowned spiritual leader is inspiring fishermen to become guardians of the world’s biggest fish: the endangered whale shark.

When the fishing community here saw their traditional stocks decline, they began to target whale sharks as a new source of meat and valuable oil. The high demand for these products in Asian markets made the sharks lucrative to hunt, and contributed to a steep decline in their numbers. In just 75 years, the worldwide population of whale sharks was cut in half.

In response, the Indian government added legal protections, although the new laws were a challenge to enforce and poaching continued when fishermen encountered these gentle giants out at sea. The Wildlife Trust of India then launched an awareness campaign to teach the community about the sharks and show how to save them if they became trapped in their nets — but by far the biggest shift began when spiritual leader Morari Bapu joined the campaign and spread the message that the whale sharks were like daughters returning home to give birth. His voice led to a change of heart in the local community, and has helped finally turn the community of fishers into a growing army of whale shark conservationists.

[charcarts]

circumstantial

[wachinyeya]

Have you seen PBS new series Wild Hope on youtube?

[pokimoko]

Asexual bird? Please

How about two asexual birds?

[lonelyzarquon]