| <div class="ck-content"><h3>Good news: pushing back on extinctions</h3><p>Mostly, there is bad news regarding extinctions, and every single announcement of a species removed from the history of the universe is a rage-inducing gut punch. But some good news from<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/10/przewalskis-horses-only-wild-species-return-central-asian-steppes-kazakhstan"> the Guardian</a>:</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Wild horses return to Kazakhstan steppes after absence of two centuries</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Seven Przewalski’s horses, the only truly wild species of the animal in the world, flown to central Asian country from zoos in Europe.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">A group of the world’s last wild horses have returned to their native <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> after an absence of about 200 years. The seven horses, four mares from Berlin and a stallion and two other mares from Prague, were flown to the central Asian country on a Czech air force transport plane.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The wild horses, known as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/przewalskis-horse">Przewalski’s horses</a>, once roamed the vast steppe grasslands of central Asia, where <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=114345#:~:text=The%20grassy%20plains%20of%20Northern,the%20first%20horses%20were%20domesticated.&text=Analysis%20of%20ancient%20pottery%20showed,a%20practice%20that%20continues%20today.">horses are believed to have been first domesticated</a> about 5,500 years ago.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Don't Mess With the Don</h3><p>The Don Valley, that is. Check out this inspiring <a href="https://www.tvo.org/video/how-invasive-species-are-choking-our-forests-and-parks">13 minute video</a> that highlights volunteer efforts in Toronto to control buckthorn. </p><blockquote><p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(22,23,37);">Explore the threats by invasive species lurking in our cherished green spaces and join TVO on a hike to meet the dedicated volunteers of all ages committed to preserving our urban forests, ravines, and wetlands. Get to know groups like Toronto Nature Stewards and Don't Mess With The Don, the unsung heroes working tirelessly to maintain the balance of our natural havens, ensuring they remain vibrant for us and future generations to enjoy.</span></p></blockquote><p>Hopefully in the coming years, we will see invasive removal (and native species restoration) increase and become more ingrained in municipalities and non-profits. </p><h3>Free Your Mind and Rescue Trees</h3><p>As anyone who's been reading my newsletters well knows, I am very much in favor of putting down screens and going outside to do some planet healing. Part of the reason is that our minds are our last refuge. They can steal your time (or, more accurately, trade it for small amounts of money). They can control the movement of your physical body. But your mind is your own - to the extent that you don't allow others to stuff chemicals and data inside it.</p><p>The more we watch videos, television, gifs, etc., the more we allow others to colonize and redirect our thoughts.</p><p>So I encourage you to “get yourself free” (Paul Simon) or to quote another musician, Bob Marley:</p><blockquote><p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(22,23,37);">Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery</span><br><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(22,23,37);">None but ourselves can free our minds</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(22,23,37);">Turns out, by the way, that these famous lines are a rephrasing from Marcus Garvey:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">Folks, think on this one for a while. And then please don't ever forget: when you eyes and ears are filled with bits and bytes streaming out of a device, <i>someone is using your mind.</i></span></p><p> </p></div><div class="ck-content"><h4>Receive all my reports on tree rescues!</h4><p>If you'd like to get some good news about restoring native habitats delivered straight to your brain upwards of a few times a week, sign in to <a href="https://rewildearth.net">Rewild Earth</a>, click on your name in top right, then My profile. Under Communication Preferences, switch “Send reports of all events” to ON. </p><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1BeynVqu8taOGrsvi56u0mmDKuNJko22h&sz=w600-h400" alt="REPLACE" width="358" height="138"></div><p>Resources you might find useful:</p><ul><li><a href="https://shop.naisma.org/collections/buckthorn-blaster">Buckthorn Blasters</a>: safe, easy herbicide delivery system from the North American Invasive Species Management Association. Don't start cutting without them!</li><li><a href="https://nc-ipc.weebly.com/nc-invasive-plants.html">NC Invasive Plants list</a>: recently updated by NC-IPC, the NC Invasives Plants Council.</li><li><a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG259">Overview of different herbicides</a>: glyposphate, triclopyr and others - which should you use?</li><li>Volunteer for <a href="https://triangleland.org">Triangle Land Conservancy</a>: the biggest land conservancy group in our area. </li><li>Volunteer for <a href="https://ellerbecreek.org">Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association</a> (Durham): a wonderful group working hard to maintain contiguous natural areas along Ellerbe Creek.</li></ul></div> |