9 minute read
Positively Newsworthy Uplifting news from around the globe
positively newsworthy
GOOD NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.
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1 The Will of a Woman
REMEMBERING HER STORY.
by Alison McEvoy
Elise Wortley, of ‘Woman with Altitude’, replicates the journeys of forgotten female explorers and adventurers. At age 16, Elise read ‘My Journey to Lahsa’ by Alexandra David-Neel. She was enthralled, not just during reading it, but for years to come with Alexandra’s epic 14 year journey throughout Asia. Against significant odds, as a poor pilgrim, Alexandra arrived in the forbidden city of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Elise desires to experience what Alexandra and women like her experienced, and makes her journeys using only the equipment which would have been available at the time to the female explorer herself. Elise, and her all female team, follow in these footsteps to keep the stories of women’s adventures and achievements alive. To bring them back to life in the minds of modern day women and inspire women of the moment by showing them just ‘what the will of a woman can do.’ Her journeys are documented through her website and she manages to raise funds along the way for a number of women’s charities. These are the forgotten shoulders upon which we as women may stand. Remembering the stories of these women enables us to dream bigger, stretch farther and wider with our hopes and plans and goals. As one historical woman poet said, let’s not let ‘washing the dishes get in the way of our sublimer wishes’! Alexandra certainly did not hold herself back from her will to journey, and neither does Elise.
womanwithaltitude.com
2 Good News For the Red Squirrel
3 Sustainability, but make it Fashion!
THE BALANCING ACT OF BIODIVERSITY.
by Kate Stuart Biodiversity is a precarious thing and can easily become unbalanced. Since the turn of the century, the native red squirrel has become displaced due to the infiltration of the larger grey squirrel, who outcompetes the red squirrel for food as well as passing on fatal diseases, which saw numbers of the red squirrel fall dramatically. Biodiversity Ireland says that researching the movements of red squirrels will teach us more about the importance of green spaces and the role of ecological corridors in protecting the recovering native species.
Positive changes began to take shape for the red squirrel with the reintroduction of the native Pine Marten – a predator of the invasive grey squirrel. You have most likely seen the grey squirrel on trips to the park, whereas the red squirrel is an altogether more elusive creature. This heightened sense of danger is what has, in part, helped the red squirrel avoid the pine marten. Luckily, the red squirrel being smaller and more nimble can reach the farthest branches of the trees, finding safety. Although we are seeing heartening numbers of red squirrels flourish, Biodiversity Ireland are calling out for people to participate in a survey, asking the public to record sightings of red and grey squirrels in cities, towns and urban parks as part of a bid to revive the native red squirrel population in Ireland. The squirrel research is primarily focused on urban areas in Galway, Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Derry, Limerick and Waterford. Do you want to get involved?
For more information and how you can help check out biodiversityireland.ie
by Kate Stuart
What if we could grow our clothes from seed? This is the question artist Zena Halloway asked herself. Zena is crafting garments that lie at the interaction of art and fashion, and the discourse on how global warming and pollution impact our oceans. Frustrated by the plastic pollution in our oceans and rivers, Zena became interested in bio-design, an emerging practice in fashion design. Bio-design offers a symbiotic, environment-first, innovative approach, with potential to change the way we live. Holloway is facilitating nature to create wearable sculptures made entirely from seed.
“It brings the conversation back to ourselves, and to climate change…Putting climate change and sustainability front and centre, the works are 100 percent compostable and carbon negative.” Since 2018 Zena has pioneered a method of cultivating grass root to grow in moulds carved from beeswax.The process starts by placing tiny, wheatgrass seeds in moulds which channels root into structures that are biodegradable, organic and sustainable. The seeds do not require any soil as they contain all the nutrients a plant will need.The seeds are watered by run-off water that is captured to keep water consumption low. The roots will grow up to 20cm in two weeks. The roots can be formed into different shapes and even 3D figures. After they are harvested, they dry within 24 hours and become as light as a feather but durable enough to support their own weight. This method opens up new possibilities for sustainable garment production. Zena’s exploration and experimentation is leading the way, one small seed at a time.
positively newsworthy the little things
1 Babes in Arms
LOVE AND WAR.
by Alison Mc Evoy
I still overstay our time in the playground at times. I find it so hard to drag my toddler away from the freedom and fun of the open air. It usually means, however, that I end up carrying a tired and grumpy boy what seems, to my tired body, a very long way back to the car park. As I loaded the weight of my toddler across my middle one day, and cut away from the path to make as straight a line as I could toward the car park, a thought - perhaps a memory of sorts, or an imagining - flickered through my mind....of the many mothers throughout time who have carried their babes in arms across long distances, fleeing, frightened, frantic, exhausted and yet filled with a fiercely loving sense of protection for their child. Under a tree, where our sons were playing with their diggers, I heard from another mother something which touched my heart so deeply. She told me that Polish mothers are leaving buggies, loaded with nappies and blankets and all the baby necessities you can think of, at train stations and borders for Ukrainian mothers to meet with. I can taste their relief, their salty tears of sorrow mingled with gratitude, and feel the plop with which they drop their infant from their weakened bodies into a warm, clean and safe space.
Mothers have been forced to flee throughout time while men have been caught up in waging wars. These women of Poland however, have activated the antidote to war - loving kindness and selfless forethought of the needs and feelings of others. Where there is day, there is night. Where there is dark, there is light. Where there is wrong, there is right. One cannot exist without the other. And it does me well to remember, where there is war, there is peace. Where there is fear, there is love...
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A DELIGHTFUL SWIMMING SPOT.
by Kate Stuart I recently went sea swimming with some friends, inspired after watching a documentary on Wim Hof, The Iceman! We hopped on our bikes, crossed the charming wooden bridge and set up at the art deco ladies’ bathing shelter for a day of swimming. Okay, I didn’t go swimming as such but I had a dip in the fresh sea water. Something transcendental takes place when you plunge yourself into cold water. When you willfully get out of your comfort zone, incredible things will begin to happen. It’s mind over body. I felt invigorated, and my skin felt amazing too! It was an unseasonably warm day in April, the temperature had reached the balmy highs of 15 degrees! There are seasoned swimmers who are out there nearly every day, all year round and you can tell – they exude good health. For them, a swim in the Irish sea is part of their daily routine. They take the plunge day in day out because the cold has an effect not just on the body but on the mental state too. The benefits of sea swimming are endless. The magnesium in the sea water can help with the ailments a lot of us experience daily. If you have trouble sleeping, try sea swimming. I had the most restorative sleep that night, I felt so calm and peaceful. As Wim Hof says, when your body hits the cold water, all the little thoughts that clutter your brain are no longer of interest. You change your mental state and that feeling lasts long after. Sea swimming can help release the feel good hormone dopamine too. There was a real sense of community and connectedness amongst the swimmers. The hardy swimmers I spoke with assured me that after a while, when you get used to it, you don’t feel the cold. What started as a test of my endurance turned into a spiritual experience and while I didn’t make it out into the bay for an actual swim, I felt stronger and more resilient – ready to join the rest of the community out in the water.
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