|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Birds that make compost
There's a bird that lives in Australia that makes compost! The Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) builds compost
piles to keep its eggs warm before they hatch. That way, the parent birds do not have to sit on the eggs to keep them
warm!
The Brush-turkey builds mounds of earth and rotting leaves. The heat created by the decaying plant material keeps
the eggs warm at 33°C (92°F). This is 15°C warmer than the surrounding air. Each nest creates more than 20 times the heat
produced by an adult Brush-turkey. So many more eggs can be incubated by the compost than could be kept warm by the parent
birds.
|
Like all compost piles, the nest has to be built properly to work. The adult Brush-turkey makes the mound, and
occasionally mixes up the compost materials. Mounds can be up to 4 metres in diameter and a metre high. Sometimes
materials are added or taken away in order to get the temperature just right. The bird can sense when this happens through
its bill. Once the compost is at the right temperature, the nest can stay warm for several weeks without receiving the
attention of the parent birds! When the young hatch, they dig themselves from the mound, and can fly soon after hatching.
|
Brush Turkey
(Alectura lathami)
|
|
Putting compost to work in cities
Patna, India has a population of about one million. There is little door-to-door rubbish (garbage) pick-up nor any
composting facilities or landfills. A three-person household produces about 2.1 kg of food waste each week. Some households
compost kitchen wastes in compost piles outside their homes. But this is not an option for many people living in
apartments.
|
|
So this is what some apartment dwellers have started to do. They drain excess water from kitchen scraps. The scraps are
placed in clay pots. Soil plus floor sweepings and dried moss collected from roof tops is added to equal amounts of kitchen
scraps. It takes 3 to 4 months to make compost this way. People have successfully grown flowers, spinach, and tomatoes in
the compost in pots on balconies and windowsills.
|
|
Herdboys of Lesotho receive a United Nations Environment Award
Herdboys in Lesotho have been working hard to protect the soil and water, and their efforts have been recognized. On May
28, 2001 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced that the Khohlooa, Matholoana and Likobo Herdboys of
Lesotho are among this year’s winners of UNEP’s Global 500 Roll of Honour award. This is a prestigious award given to
people and organizations for their outstanding contributions to the protection of the environment.
The herdboys are groups of herders from village communities in ThupaKubu, Berea District in Lesotho, a small mountain
kingdom located in southern Africa.
As the herdboys spent their days caring for precious livestock on grazing areas in
their villages, they realised that the limited supply of forage for their herds was resulting in poor livestock yields. So
they decided to do something about it.
|
They took action to conserve soil. Soil erosion is a big problem in Lesotho. Approximately two per cent of topsoil is
lost each year to the ravages of the weather and overgrazing. Hard rains during summer wash soil from overgrazed treeless
slopes. Run-off from Lesotho’s steep mountains carves into the flat plains below. Deep erosion gullies called dongas cut
through these more fertile lands, preventing some areas from being farmed.
So the herders built silt traps, and planted Kikuyu grass to reclaim the dongas (see picture).
|
|
In many parts of the world silt traps are built to repair gullies. A silt trap prevents soil from being carried away by
flowing water. The silt builds up behind the barrier, and eventually the gully is filled with soil. Silt traps can be
made of old fertilizer sacks filled with sand and small stones, or just a linesof big stones across a gully. Some people
build silt traps of poles and weave bamboo or branches between them. Several traps may be needed for larger gullies.
|
While herding, the herdboys have been planting 1,300 tree seedlings for fuelwood and shade. The boys have built a dam to
collect water for their animals, and to irrigate vegetable and fodder crops. They have also started to keep bees to make
honey.
And that is not all the herdboys have done. They are spreading the word! In 1998, they persuaded herders from 21 villages
to carry out soil and water
conservation activities of their own. Thanks to the efforts of the Lesotho Herdboys there is
less trespassing on pasture-land, fewer quarrels over communal graszing areas, and a reduction in the burning of village
grazing lands.
|
As winners of the Global 500 Roll of Honour, Lesotho Herdboys now join the ranks of other Global 500 laureates. Famous
past winners include Anil Agarwal, the prominent environmentalist from India; Ken Saro-Wiwa, the environmental and human
rights activist from Nigeria, who was executed for leading the resistance of the Ogoni People against the pollution of
their Delta homeland; the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF); Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States; and the
late Chico Mendes, the Brazilian rubber tapper who was murdered during his fight to save the Amazon forest.
By honouring these people and groups, UNEP hopes that others will be inspired by their extraordinary deeds. Has this story
of the Herdboys given you some ideas for local action?
Do you know anyone that you think deserves the Global 500 award? Information about this award and nomination forms are
available at global 500.org or by writing to UNEP, Global 500 Roll of Honour, Communications and Public
Information Branch, P.O. Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya.
|
|
Back To Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.
|
