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Some Of The Best Ways To Enjoy Nature

Some Of The Best Ways To Enjoy Nature

Some Of The Best Ways To Enjoy Nature

If you are keen to try and enjoy the natural world as much as possible, that’s something that is always going to be possible to achieve. In fact, there are so many ways to enjoy nature and to make this more a part of your life, so that is something that you should absolutely be aware of here. In this post, we are going to take you through some of the best examples of how you might be able to do just that. You should find that the following is all well worth being aware of and trying out for yourself.

 

Grow A Garden

One thing you may want to try your hand at is growing a garden. If you have the space at home to do this, then that is certainly going to be worthwhile, and it’s something that can help you to feel a lot closer to nature and the natural world in no time. There are many ways to approach this. You might grow fruit and veg, or you might just want to have nice perennials and flowering plants. In either case, growing a garden is a great ecological thing to do, and will help you to enjoy the natural world in your own home.

 

Bring Nature Indoors

You might also want to bring the natural world indoors as well. This is something that can make the home a much nicer place to live, as well as strengthening your bond with nature, so it’s a very simple thing that can make a huge difference to your life for sure. It’s a simple case of having some pot plants around the place, and making sure that you care for them properly and fully. If you can do that, it’s going to mean that you are much more able to really enjoy your home and nature in one.

 

Go For Walks Outdoors

You might also want to think about going for some walks in nature. This is a really powerful way to get attuned to the natural world and to feel as though you are part of it, and it’s something that can help you to enjoy yourself so much more on the whole. You might even consider going barefoot for some of it. However, if you want to do that, make sure that you protect your feet as you do so. All in all, walking in nature is a beautiful experience, and one that you can definitely consider.

 

Visit Gardens

There are also a lot of gardens that are available for the public to go and see, and these can be a great way to enjoy nature in a sense. If you want to do this, just take a look online and see if you can find any in your area that you might want to check out. You might be surprised at how many open gardens there are. This is a really simple and fun way to make sure that you are enjoying nature a lot more.

 

 


 

 

Source   Happy Eco News

Regrowing Vegetables with Sun and Water

Regrowing Vegetables with Sun and Water

Many root vegetables can be regrown in your kitchen with a glass of water and a sunny ledge.

While composting is a great way to make use of peels, skins, and ends of your old vegetables, there are many things you can do with your scraps before throwing them away. The outer skins of fruit and vegetables are filled with flavour and vitamins and can have many different uses. For instance, you can use them around the house to clean greasy messes or your tea kettle. You can use them to enhance food by creating zests or sugars. You can also throw your vegetable scraps into boiling water and make a broth.

You may have seen that some vegetables have their roots attached, particularly leeks, green onions, and fennel. Instead of scrapping the roots, you can actually regrow the entire vegetable. All you need is a jar of water and a ledge in the sun, and you’ve got yourself a kitchen garden. You can do it all before the official garden season starts.

Green Onions and Leeks

Place at least an inch of the root ends of your green onions in an inch of water. Make sure to change the water every day or two so you don’t end up with slime. You should have a medium-length green onion to trim and eat in about ten days. The roots will eventually get bigger and will need some nutrients to keep growing. At that point, you can transfer them to a small pot of potting soil to re-nourish or start over with a new bunch of green onions. You can do the same thing with leeks, although they might take a bit longer to regrow.

Fennel

Place the bulb in a container, with the base facing down and stem-end-up. Cover the bulb end in water. You can trim and eat the stalks and fronds (the leafy part) as needed. To continue the growth, you will eventually need to replant it in soil.

Garlic

It’s a little tricky to regrow garlic in water, but you can promote the growth of the green sprouts, which can be used in salads, dressings and stir-fries. Place a whole or partial bulb in a glass and add enough water to come partially up to the bulb. The sprouts will grow and regrow a few times in water before needing soil.

Lettuce

Cut off the bottom of the head of lettuce and place it in a small bowl of water. You will see new growth begin from the center of the in as little as three days, and you’ll have a new half-head of lettuce in about two weeks. You can do this with romaine and red and green leaf.

Any fruit or vegetable can be regrown at home with water or placed directly in the soil. It’s an easy and affordable way to grow fresh produce right in our homes. Grab a glass of water and start growing!

 

 


 

 

Source Happy Eco News

‘Undersea gardeners’ are restoring Jamaica’s lost coral reefs

‘Undersea gardeners’ are restoring Jamaica’s lost coral reefs
  • Jamaica lost 85% of its reefs due to a hurricane, pollution, overfishing and boat damage.
  • “Coral gardeners” are helping to restore the reefs by growing young corals in “nurseries.”
  • Sea urchins and parrotfish, which protect corals, are also making a comeback.

Jamaica’s coral reefs were once a paradise for scuba divers and a haven for marine life from parrotfish to sea snakes. But that was before a sequence of disastrous events deprived the Caribbean island of its coral.

The destruction started in 1980 when category 5 Hurricane Allen, the strongest Caribbean storm of the 20th century, hit Jamaica with winds of over 185 km/h and a 12-metre storm surge.

Just as the coral was starting to recover, in 1983 a mystery disease killed off grazing sea urchins, which kept harmful algae at bay. Pollution, overfishing and boat damage added to the destruction, and eventually 85% of Jamaica’s coral reefs were lost.

But now these “rainforests” of the oceans are starting to recover, thanks to the efforts of a group of scuba divers who are nurturing young corals in “nurseries” before planting them back on rocks to rejuvenate the reefs.

 

Young coral are grown on ropes in ‘nurseries’.
Image: Jamaica Conservation Partners

 

In the underwater nurseries, located in The White River Fish Sanctuary, one of Jamaica’s 44 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), coral fragments are suspended from ropes to allow them to feed and grow, protected by the coral gardeners who remove predators like snails and fireworms that prey on immature coral.

When the corals are big enough, the divers use fishing line to attach them to exposed rocks in the former reef areas to secure them until the young corals have time to attach themselves permanently.

Safe havens

Corals are not the only living things making a comeback in Jamaican reefs. The areas are also being used to conserve heavily overfished species like parrotfish, which are vital to keeping coral reefs clear of invasive algae. Conservationists are calling for a total ban on catching parrotfish. Black sea urchins, which eat harmful algae, are also recovering and making the seafloor safe for corals once again.

Corals are soft-bodied animals that build a hard limestone-like carapace by converting minerals in seawater into calcium carbonate. It’s this hard outer shell that makes up a reef. Its bright colours come from friendly algae that protect the corals from damage.

But warming ocean temperatures are destroying the world’s coral reefs. Already half of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been damaged by “coral bleaching,” a process that starts with the death of the coral’s protective algae.

Without the algal covering, corals eventually die, leaving just their white skeletons. Scientists predict rising sea temperatures will destroy 90% of the world’s coral reefs unless we take urgent action to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.

 

The stark differences between healthy and unhealthy coral
Image: US National Ocean Service

 

Rainforests of the sea

Coral reefs occupy just 0.1% of the ocean floor but are a vibrant source of aquatic biodiversity, providing a home to a quarter of all marine life – that’s more species than rainforests. But they are very slow growing, which means they can take decades to recover from damage.

Our seas absorb about a third of all the world’s CO2 emissions. This is turning them acidic, which in turn harms corals. Over the last three decades, half of the world’s coral reefs have been lost, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Coral reefs also provide food and livelihoods to millions of people, worth an estimated $386 billion each year. They also act as a buffer, protecting vulnerable coastlines and communities from storm damage.

Jamaica still has a long way to go on its journey to marine recovery. But the coral farmers are a great example of ordinary people taking action to protect the environment and reverse the damage being done to our planet by climate change.