Saving the rainforest

While half the population immerse themselves in World Cup fever and the other half of us find ways to allow it to pass us by, I thought it was worth nudging the spotlight away from the teams beavering away on a football pitch in towns and cities of Brazil to the dwindling rainforests. According to WWF UK, the equivalent of three football pitches a minute are being wiped off the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and other countries.

It’s 25 years since Chief Raoni – he of the wooden lip plate and friendship with Sting – first visited the UK to alert the world to the destruction of his rainforest homeland and he returns to Britain this week to continue to batter away at the European and Brazilian governments to try to persuade them to stop cutting down and industrialising the forest.

So in honour of this octogenarian’s tenacious courage and energy I thought the least I could do was become an armchair conservationist for the duration of the tournament. So, while you’re waiting for the match to start, or whiling away half time, here are three ways you can save the rainforest without either moving from the sofa or opening up your wallet.

1. Save the rainforest for free with a click of your mouse Bookmark The Rainforest Site and Ecology Fund websites and visit every day.

How this helps save the rainforest: By clicking on the ‘Save Land’ buttons, advertisers on the sites pay for habitat in World Land Trust and World Land Trust-US project areas to be saved – you pay nothing.

2. Save the rainforest when you search the web

What you can do: Use www.everyclick.com/uk/worldlandtrust as your search engine.

How this helps save the rainforest: Every click donates half its revenues to charity and it does not cost the WLT, or you, a penny.

3. Raise money for WLT while you shop

What you can do: Thousands of brands have registered with sites such as Give as you Live, allowing you to continue your shopping as normal and raise money for WLT at the same time. Other options include using a Virgin Money Charity credit card and signing up to LOVEFiLM. See Shop to Save Rainforest for more.

How this helps save the rainforest: These shopping options generate donations to the World Land Trust at no extra cost to you.

All these can be done from the comfort of your sofa. Find out more here 

If you’re inspired to do more you can protect a quarter of an acre of rainforest for £25, less than the cost of an England shirt, or pay for a tree to be planted for £5, the cost of a half-time beer. David Attenborough will tell you more here http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/buy-acre, and you can even link up to a webcam right in the rainforest to see how your tree or ¼ acre would look.

It’s well worth checking out, and if nothing else, if it all ends in tears for England then at least it’s one way of showing our support for their efforts and ensuring that their time in Brazil wasn’t wasted.

Posted by Amanda Blinkhorn