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AstraZeneca’s first AI-monitored tree-planting programme

Posted on December 7, 2023 by dishanth

The Republic of Kenya is focused on regenerative action as it builds towards a more sustainable future through tree-planting—rebuilding ecosystems to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We saw this in November 2023 where authorities granted a national holiday for the purpose of planting 100 million trees across the country, which will play a major role in regenerating its land, but also encouraging its people to take ownership of climate change.

In fact, tree planting is perhaps one of the most selfless ways to reduce climate change, by taking accountability as a nation rather than pinpointing global warming on a specific group. Implementing ways in which the population can contribute is one of the most impactful steps that gets everyone moving.

The role of AI in regenerative projects

AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical research company, is also taking on such a challenge, only technology will be instrumental in its results. At this year’s COP28 in Dubai, the organisation uncovered its latest strategy for global impact—a tree planting project that will be monitored by artificial intelligence (AI).

It’s called the AZ Forest programme andis a project in collaboration with experts at Earthbanc and the Green Planet Initiative 2050 Foundation, to cover 3,500 hectares of land across six counties of Kenya adjacent to the Rift Valley.

“The link between planetary and human health is clear. Investing in our natural world through tree planting and conservation, and limiting deforestation, are some of the most effective preventative health steps we can take,” says Juliette White, Vice President Global Sustainability, AstraZeneca. “By expanding AZ Forest to Kenya, we are progressing our commitment to deliver reforestation at scale, with a science-led approach that benefits both the environment and local communities.”

AI will play a major role in assessing the health of the plants as they establish themselves as major, carbon-sequestering organisms, which will increase biodiversity across the country. This requires a feed of data in the form of drone footage and satellite imagery to paint a full picture of the plants’ life cycle.

Also showing appreciation for the efforts of the three organisations, Her Excellency Rachel Ruto First Lady of the Republic of Kenya says: “Climate change affects us all and tackling it requires concerted action from governments, individuals, and business.

“We welcome AstraZeneca’s approach to reforestation: working with local communities to ensure economic benefits for people that match the positive impact on the planet. This initiative will contribute towards Kenya’s goal to plant 15 billion trees over the next decade.”

Particularly in tree-planting, AI can play a major role in analysis and monitoring data as they grow. So, why is it important to monitor a natural process? Firstly, we imagine this is to encourage a successful growing period for the trees—reporting the success of AstraZeneca’s overall commitment to planting 200 million trees across six continents by 2030.

“This land regeneration project in Kenya is a very exciting opportunity that we are pleased to support in collaboration with our partners,” says Tom Duncan, CEO, Earthbanc.

“Earthbanc is committed to bringing private sector climate finance to accelerate and scale reforestation to meet the challenge of climate change. The AZ Forest initiative brings significant co-benefits with its focus on circular bioeconomy, sustainable communities, ecosystem health and sustainable markets. We are looking forward to this project launch and demonstrating that we can all play a part in the global effort towards planetary regeneration.”

AstraZeneca’s global portfolio of regenerative projects

This project builds upon AstraZeneca’s efforts in Ghana and Rwanda—to name its African projects—as well as Australia, Indonesia, France, the UK, and the US.

Australia: A collaboration with Greening Australia and One Tree Planted has resulted in over four million trees being planted, aiming for a total of 25 million. This includes 260 types of native trees, aiding in the protection of vulnerable and endangered wildlife.

Indonesia: Working with One Tree Planted and Trees4Trees, the initiative has led to the planting of over three million trees. Additionally, in 2022, over 13,000 farmers participated in agroforestry activities.

Ghana: Through the “Living Lab” project, in collaboration with CBA, over three million trees have been planted to enhance ecological and community resilience.

France: At the Palace of Versailles, 450 rare oak trees, lost in the storms of 1990 and 1999, have been replanted. These oaks create habitats for various wildlife like butterflies, birds, and mammals, increasing biodiversity and rejuvenating the famous Versailles gardens.

UK: In partnership with Forestry England and Borders Forest Trust Scotland, over 470,000 trees have been planted in Scotland and England. These efforts are focused on developing high-quality woodlands, contributing to physical and mental health through additional green spaces.

US: In a joint effort with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, over 100,000 trees have been planted, restoring more than 100 km of riverside woodland areas.

Source Sustainability

The Five Best Ways for Free Home Cooling with No AC

Posted on July 25, 2023 by dishanth

It’s hot these days. Here are the five common sense ways for home cooling with no AC.

Close your curtains and blinds during the day. This will help to keep the sun’s heat out of your home. If you don’t have curtains or blinds, you can use sheets or towels to cover your windows. Close your curtains and blinds during the day.
Run ceiling fans. Ceiling fans can help to circulate the air in your home, which can help to keep you cool. If you have a ceiling fan, ensure it is set to blow down.
Use fans to create a cross breeze. If you have windows on opposite sides of your home, you can open them to create a cross breeze. This will help to draw the cooler air in from outside and push the hot air out.
Take cool showers or baths. Taking a cool shower or bath can help to lower your body temperature. You can also use a wet towel to cool down your neck and forehead.
Cook outside and unplug devices. Cooking outside on a barbeque, camp stove, RV, or other appliance outside will help keep your house cooler. The heat generated by an oven or a stove can quickly counteract any other efforts you made throughout the day.

Here are some additional tips to keep your home cool without air conditioning:

Ventilate your home at night. If it’s cooler outside than it is inside, open your windows at night to let in the cool air and begin the next day with a nice cool house.
Plant trees around your home. Trees can help to shade your home and keep it cooler in the summer.
Use reflective insulation. Reflective insulation can help to reflect the sun’s heat away from your home.
Seal up any air leaks. Air leaks can let in hot air, so sealing them up is important.

By following these tips, you can keep your home cool without air conditioning and save money on your energy bills.

Source Happy Eco News

Everyone can do their part to keep Singapore clean and green: DPM Heng

Posted on November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by dishanth

As Singapore marks 50 years since its first Tree Planting Day, each and every Singaporean can do his or her part to keep the country green and sustainable, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Sunday (Nov 21).

“The saplings planted 50 years ago have grown into beautiful trees with broad canopies and deep roots,” he said.

“In the same way, the Clean and Green Movement can continue to broaden and deepen in the years ahead.”

In a pre-recorded message from Mount Faber where one of Singapore’s founding fathers, Dr Goh Keng Swee, planted a raintree at the first Tree Planting Day in 1971, DPM Heng said tree planting has become a cherished national tradition that has evolved and expanded into the Clean and Green Singapore movement which was launched on Sunday.

In his speech, he outlined how people can keep the country green, reduce waste and ensure the city remains clean.

He said Singaporeans could keep the country green by taking part in the One Million Trees movement which aims to plant more than a million trees here over the next decade.

They could also partake in the national gardening movement and the NPark’s Gardening with Edibles programme, which saw some 460,000 seed packets distributed last year.

To reduce waste, DPM Heng said Singaporeans should buy only what they need and bring their own reusable bags and containers, while recycling regularly and correctly by depositing different materials in the correct bins and ensuring these are free of food contamination.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (centre) with (from left) North West District Mayor Alex Yam, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State Amy Khor and Sembawang GRC MP Mariam Jafaar at the launch of Clean and Green Singapore in Kampung Admiralty on Nov 21, 2021. PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

Businesses can also play their part, such as the 169 partners of the National Environment Agency’s Say Yes To Waste Less campaign.

Keeping the city clean is also important.

DPM Heng said the pandemic has taught us the importance of hygiene and cleanliness.

Initiatives to encourage this include the Clean Tables Campaign launched earlier this year to remind diners to return their trays after meals.

During the launch of Clean and Green Singapore 2021 at Kampung Admiralty, DPM Heng presented 16 national awards to grassroots organisations for their efforts in public hygiene, cleanliness, resource conservation and energy efficiency.

He also planted a critically endangered Knema curtisii tree with Mayor of North West District Alex Yam.

They were joined by Minister of National Development Desmond Lee and Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor, who planted a Horsfieldia polyspherula.

The trees are from the nutmeg family.

The event also saw the launch of CGS Experiences, an online series of webinars with a live host that will bring participants through a virtual tour of sites of significant environmental interest.

Twenty sessions are available for public booking till March 31 next year.

DPM Heng concluded his speech on Sunday with a Chinese saying that meant trees planted by former generations will provide shade for future generations.

“Much like how young saplings planted in 1971 have flourished into a tree planting movement, what we build today will have a lasting effect for our future generations,” said DPM Heng.

“Let us all play our part in building a cleaner and greener Singapore for tomorrow.”

Source The Straits Times

Invest in green jobs in parts of Britain worst hit by pandemic, report urges

Posted on May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 by dishanth

Green Alliance says 16,000 jobs could be created in areas facing most severe employment challenges.

Some of the areas of Britain worst hit by the jobs crisis brought on by the pandemic are also those with the highest potential for green job creation, a report says.

About 16,000 new jobs could be created in restoring nature and planting trees in areas where unemployment is set to soar when the government’s furlough schemes end, according to the report from the Green Alliance thinktank. These include urban areas where people have little access to green space, as well as coastal areas and “red wall” areas that were Labour strongholds in the north of England.

Sam Alvis, the head of green renewal at Green Alliance, said the government should invest in nature-based jobs as lockdowns are eased, using money from the £4.8bn fund earmarked for “levelling up”.

Research suggests that for every £1 invested in peatland, local areas receive about £4.60 in economic benefits, while similar investment in woodland areas and salt marshes produces returns of £2.80 and £1.30 respectively.

The future parks accelerator, a project to promote green spaces, has calculated that investing £5.5bn in greening urban areas in the UK would produce £20bn in economic benefits. However, nature restoration is almost entirely missing from the levelling-up fund.

Alvis said: “The opportunity is there for the chancellor of the exchequer to create a legacy of new, high-quality jobs across Britain. Supporting innovation in green jobs will put nature at the heart of the government’s levelling-up agenda and help local communities build back better and greener.”

The report’s authors examined the fifth of parliamentary constituencies in Britain with the most severe employment challenges. They found many in the north of England were close to peatlands that could be restored to carbon sinks, helping the UK to meet its target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The authors also mapped the potential for some widely available “nature-based solutions” to the climate crisis, including tree-planting, restoration of degraded landscapes and the restoration of marine ecosystems, across Britain. Two-thirds of the land most suitable for tree-planting was found to be in constituencies with “worse than average labour market challenges”. The government is falling behind on tree-planting targets.

Darren Moorcroft, the chief executive of the Woodland Trust charity, said: “Increasing native tree cover is a key part of the levelling-up agenda, shaping places people will want to live, visit and invest in. This will help increase employment opportunities as well as leading to happier, healthier communities.”

Many of the coastal constituencies where seagrass could be grown are areas of high job need, with a higher proportion of people on furlough and a lower-than-average increase in employment expected when the pandemic eases. Seagrass is an underwater flowering plant that can act as a carbon sink and nurtures young fish and other vital parts of the marine ecosystem, but which is under threat around the UK coast as 90% of seagrass meadows have been destroyed by overfishing and neglect.

In urban areas, thousands of jobs could be generated by investing in parks and green spaces for health and leisure. A growing body of research suggests that access to green areas has multiple benefits for people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing. Improving such areas in neighbourhoods currently without green space could create 10,800 jobs in areas with the worst post-pandemic jobs prospects, the report says.

Patrick Begg, the director of natural resources at the National Trust, said the pandemic and lockdowns had revealed the benefits of access to green space. “A greener recovery which increases access to nature is within our reach, [offering] massive social and environmental benefits as well as economic growth,” he said. “By investing in projects that make a greener recovery a priority, the government could generate green jobs for the communities that need them most.”

The potential jobs identified in the report range from entry-level roles in “shovel-ready” projects to graduate positions, for instance in research and development into nature restoration projects. Entry-level jobs can also help in the development of highly transferable skills such as machine operation, the report says.

Source The Guardian

Little difference reaches big goal, planting 100,000 trees and more

Posted on December 11, 2020 by dishanth

When Pete and Sophie Oswald set up their company in 2016, the Blenheim couple had a goal to help plant 100,000 trees. Four years later, they’ve managed to exceed that.

Professional skier Pete and Sophie founded the gift card company, Little Difference in 2016.

For every greeting card or other product sold, a tree is planted in Madagascar – contributing towards permanent reforestation, and creating jobs for locals in the process.

Pete said to reach 100,000 trees planted through Little Difference sales was a “crazy thing”.

“The goal of 100,000 trees planted was a goal set ages ago, years ago even, so that’s really exciting,” he said.

Sophie said they wanted to start a business that was not only low-impact on the environment, but also beneficial to the world we live in.

Sophie Oswald plants a mangrove, a species known for storing carbon dioxide. Source: Stuff

“When you borrow someone else’s stuff, we think you should try to return it better than you found it. Well, this goes for Earth too, and we are only borrowing it from our children,” she said.

Most of the trees planted were native mangrove species, which were known for their high carbon sequestration, which meant they stored carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to either mitigate or defer global warming.

Winter this year had also been busy for Pete, following the launch of a fundraiser in June where he vowed to plant one tree for every metre he climbed on the slopes as a free skier.

By August, he had already planted about 41,000 trees, having climbed 20,000 metres.

Donations had exceeded the amount of metres he had climbed, which was 30,668 metres.

Pete said with the ski season over, the final tree count for the fundraiser was 100,241 – which meant together with Little Difference, they had nearly planted 200,000 trees. This had created 1002 work days for locals.

Through sheer hard graft, Pete Oswald’s efforts helped to plant more than 100,000 trees. Source: Stuff

“It was amazing that people were willing to make donations and plant trees in a place that’s a world away, this couldn’t have been done without others help,” he said.

“So thank you massively to people that have supported it.”

The focus now was on Christmas, and selling as many gift cards as possible in order to plant more trees.

“It’s business as usual over there [Madagascar], they’re planting millions of trees each a month, and they’ve planted all our trees too.”

Pete said the pair had a new goal of one million trees.

By Maria Hart

Source Stuff

London’s Christmas Tree Rental Provides A Solution That Solves The Real VS. Artificial Tree Debate

Posted on December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 by dishanth

The Christmas tree is an age-old tradition that has not only become the symbol of Christmas—right next to Santa Claus, the mistletoe, and others—but has also become a key figure of any household.

And Christmas trees come in all shapes and sizes: the spruce, pine, or fir trees used are either artificial, electronic (you know, like using Christmas lights), or living, they can range from being a couple to dozens of feet high, and, believe it or not, there are even “half” and “quarter” Christmas trees. Yes, I was being quite literal when I said “shapes.”

But it doesn’t end there. If you’re a fan of the real thing, but want to be environmentally conscious, there’s even a solution for that—renting. Yes, turns out, in London, you can rent a tree that comes to your home in a pot, and returns to the wild once the festivities are over and waits for the next year.

Turns out, people can rent a Christmas tree for the holidays, after which it’s returns to its farm or forest

PhD student and Twitter user Alexandra Lautarescu (@AleLautarescu) recently went to Twitter to share her joy and fascination with what she called a “sustainable X-Mas gem.” She posted a picture of a roughly 6-foot Christmas tree she got from the London Christmas Tree Rental that was waiting to be decorated.

In the tweet, she explained that the London Christmas Tree Rental lets people rent a tree in a pot. Then, in January, it goes back to live on the farm, awaiting its next Advent season. When the tree reaches 7 feet, it is retired and returns back to nature by being planted in a forest. The tweet ended up going viral immediately, getting over 62,000 likes and 7.3k retweets.

Twitter user A. Lautarescu recently shared her joy of a tree she rented from the London Christmas Tree Rental, after which the tweet went viral

And speaking of the rental service, it was founded by Jonathan Mearns and Catherine Loveless, with whom Bored Panda got in touch for an interview. One January, Jonathan and Catherine took a stroll through the streets of London and noticed what could only be called a graveyard of Christmas trees—used and discarded after the holidays.

They thought to themselves that there must be a way to do Christmas trees differently. “We explored the rental concept and in our research we learned that 7 million cut trees go into landfill each year and when they rot they emit greenhouse gasses. The average rotting 6ft tree produces 16kg of CO2. When we realized this, we felt we had to try and make this rental idea work,” explained Chatherine Loveless, co-founder of London Christmas Tree Rental.

The way it goes is a person orders one of four sizes of trees—3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 feet in height, each size very aptly named Mr. Kensington, Miss Fulham, Mr. Westminster, Miss Islington, and Mr. Bromley appropriately. The shortest, the 3-foot Mr. Kensingon, costs £39 or just a bit over $50, while the tallest, the 6-foot Miss Islington, runs at £69 or $92 for the Christmas season.

The London Christmas Tree Rental, founded by Jonathan Mearns and Catherine Loveless, aims to reduce the amount of Christmas trees that end up in landfills

Image credits: London Christmas Tree Rental

“The trees have names based on London boroughs according to their size. Our smallest tree, Mr. Kensington is because Chelsea and Westminster is the smallest borough in London. Mr Bromley, our mighty 7 footer is due to Bromley being the largest borough. Miss Fulham comes in at a delightful 4ft, Mr Westminster is our 5 footer, and Miss Islington is our 6 footer,” elaborated Catherine. “We encourage the family to give them first names so that they can welcome them into the home each Christmas, on the whole, the trees are very well behaved and make perfect house guests!”

Then the living tree of your choice is delivered to your doorstep for you to place wherever you want around the house (avoid warmer parts of the room or else the tree will think spring came early) and to decorate however you please. Just make sure you also water it with about half a liter of water a day (it comes with its own drip plate, so things won’t get messy.)

Once the season is over, you then set up a time to have the company come pick up the tree, give you back the £30 or $40 deposit, given that the tree hasn’t been obliterated by the kids, the pets, and/or that one family Christmas dinner that nobody talks about. And if you liked the tree, you can reserve it for next season!

Co-Founder Catherine Loveless said the average rotting 6ft tree produces 16kg of CO2 and there’s around 7M of them annually in landfills

“All the trees are returned to the farm in January where they are cared for till the following year. If a customer has liked their tree, then it can return to them the following year. 97% of these rollover trees survived the 2 heatwaves this summer and were able to return to customers this year. They become part of the family and the customer is excited to see how much it has grown,” said Catherine.

Now, Catherine did explain that their business has two delivery options—one is where a customer can come to a local pop-up hub and choose the tree they have paid for, but this means that the customer will also need a car and the pot weighs a lot, while the other option is to rent it blind online and to have it delivered to you. And we both know Christmas trees are such a subjective thing.

BUT, despite this, this way you’re making sure your Christmas tree isn’t one of the aforementioned 7 million that have been cut down and met their fate in a local landfill, but one that will continue living and helping fight climate change.

The company offers several sizes of Christmas trees, each named after London’s smallest to biggest boroughs

And if you’re wondering how you can turn this into an educational thing for the kids, the people at the London Christmas Tree Rental got you covered:

“We have a sister company, Holly Berry Trees, where Holly Berry, who is Father Christmas’s next door neighbour, posts out mini pot grown Christmas trees. These are predominantly to children and come with lights, decorations, reindeer poop (compost) and a beautifully illustrated story about life in the North Pole living next to Santa,” elaborated Catherine.

She continued: “They are not rented, but bought. After Christmas, the child can either keep the tree in it’s pot and it can come back into the house again the following year, or they can plant it directly into the garden. It is the child’s own tree, to name and care for. It educates the child from a young age to the importance of the environment and learning to care for something living, whilst wrapped up in a magical Christmas character.”

Depending on the size, renting a tree for the holidays will net you anywhere between £39 and £69 ($50–$92)

If you happen to live in the London area and haven’t got a Christmas tree yet, why not get in touch with the London Christmas Tree Rental? You can also follow them on the various social media that they’re on, including Facebook and Instagram.

But before you go decorating and Christmas shopping, why not let us know what you thought about this and what Christmas tree you’re going for this year in the comment section below!

People online loved the idea of a Christmas tree that they can rent just for the holiday season

By Robertas Lisickis

Source Bored Panda