You Can Only Reblog This Today.

Today I learned about a couple that decided to rebuild their deserted piece of land of 600 hectares in Aimorés, Brazil. They planted more than 2 million tree saplings. As a result, the site has 293 plant species, 172 bird species and 33 animal species, some of which were on the verge of extinction. It only took 18 years!

In the early 1990s, Brazilian photo-journalist Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado was stationed in Rwanda to cover the horrific accounts of Rwanda genocide. The on-ground experience left him traumatised. In 1994, he was returning to his home in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with a heavy heart, hoping to find solace in the lap of a lush green forest, where he had grown up.

But, instead, he found dusty, barren land for miles and miles, in place of the forest. In only a few years, his beautiful hometown underwent rampant deforestation, leaving it fallow and devoid of all the wildlife. For him, everything was destroyed. “The land was as sick as I was. Only about 0.5% of the land was covered in trees,’ he shared in an interview with The Guardian. Salgado was shattered.

Saldago’s Wife Wanted to Recreate The Forest

It was at this time that Salgado’s wife Lélia made a near-impossible proposal. She expressed her wish to replant the entire forest. Salgado supported her idea, and together the couple set out on a heroic mission. Brazil Photographer Forest

Salgado bought an abandoned cattle ranch from his parents and started building a network of enthusiastic volunteers and partners who would fund and sustain their mammoth project. In 1998, the couple founded Instituto Terra – the organisation which tirelessly worked to bring a forest back to life.

PNHR Bulcão Farm | by Weverson Rocio – 2012

Salgado sowed the first seed in December 1999. The couple hired around 24 workers in the beginning and was later joined by numerous volunteers over the years. They worked day and night – from uprooting the invasive weeds to planting new seedlings. Soon, their hard work bore fruit as tropical trees native to the region started flourishing in the area. They received a donation of over one lakh saplings which gave rise to a dense forest. The handcrafted forest comprises mostly of local arboreal and shrub varieties. Latest satellite imagery revealed how a soothing green forest cover has enveloped the area which once was a devastating arid eyesore.Since 1998, they have planted more than 2 million saplings of 293 species of trees and rejuvenated 1,502 acres of tropical forest. The biodiversity-rich zone has recently been declared as a Private Natural Heritage Reserve (PNHR).

The Impact of Salgado’s Forest

The afforestation project, which is undoubtedly one of the greatest environmental initiatives in the world, has also helped to control soil erosion and revived the natural springs in the area. Eight water springs which once dried up, flow at around 20 litres per minute at present, relieving the drought-prone region of its woes. Salgado’s forest also happens to solve the much-debated notion about climate change, proving that the trend can be reversed if tried. His forest has resulted in causing more rainfall to the area and cooler weather, bringing a drastic and desirable change in the climate.

Instituto Terra’s Fauna | by Leonardo Merçon – 2012

The most important positive aspect of the forest till now has to be the return of the lost fauna. More than 172 species of birds, 33 species of mammals, 15 species of amphibians and reptiles have been spotted in the forest interiors, something which was beyond imagination two decades ago. Many of the plant and animal species in his forest actually feature on the endangered list.

Efforts For Good

Climate change is a harsh reality. Mankind is bearing the brunt of the relentless destruction they inflicted on the planet. Yet, people like Salgado and Lélia fill us with hope, proving that patience and persistence can be our keys to heal the wounds of nature. If two people can create a 1502-acre forest in just 20 years, then imagine how much can be done if everyone comes together to protect the environment. It must be reminded that for every tree we plant, we are adding 118 kgs of oxygen to the air every year, and reducing the carbon footprint by 22 kgs.

Efforts For Good urges all the readers to actively engage in planting trees and gradually turn this into a fixed habit.

Sources: http://www.scienceinsanity.com/2019/03/brazilian-couple-created-1502-acre.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/bg0ebn/a_couple_decided_to_rebuild_their_deserted_piece/

He even made Emma Watson beatbox. No one escapes this man.

Well you know what my rule is, I make the reporter beatbox.

SO FREAKING CUTE

help a trans boy safely move

hi guys so as some of you might know i left an abusive and toxic environment to stay somewhere safer. i am an 18 year old trans boy that has been struggling with bpd, anxiety, panic disorder, and severe depression, all of which have worsened under the care of my abusive and manipulative mother.

a few days ago i got the opportunity to get away from that environment and took it, which has already had a huge positive impact on my mental health and well being. i was closeted from my transphobic mother and now that i’m away, i finally have had the opportunity to come out to my peers with a new school, job, and life. right now i am living with my wonderful boyfriend, jeremy, who is also trans and mentally ill. because i chose to leave suddenly, up until i can completely transfer jobs we are relying solely on commissions to provide us with food, internet, and the transportation needed from day to day. getting to and from the school, the grocery store, and even the post office adds on costs that we are struggling to pay with that we need to make sure i am able to complete highschool here. my mom still has control over my bank account and uses it as leverage against me. right now i have $4.98 to my name and am asking for help to make this new step possible for me. any donation, no matter how small, could help make sure we are able to eat, enroll me in highschool, and keep me away from being forced back into living with my mother. 

my paypal is paypal.me/danxiously and to anyone who even considers donating, it means the absolute world to me and can help ensure i am safe. even if you can’t donate anything, reblogging and sharing this post is very helpful, and i appreciate it. i love you all, and thank you so much for helping make this possible for me! ♡

airboy 🥺

loose, foot loose, put on your fuckin foot loose, feet, foot feet, dance on your fucking feet

There are "complicated relationships" in media and there is writing a letter for the person who tried tried to mind wipe you several times, who you will kill in your next life, and starting said letter with a dramatic "My enemy. My friend." for said person to read while they die of radiation poisoning.

GO WATCH THIS SHOW, HONESTLY IT IS SO AMAZING. 

IF THIS POST CREATES 1 NEW PUSHING DAISIES FAN MY LIFE = MADE. 

If you're ever bored, here's a list of Studio Ghibli films you can watch for free.

Castle In The Sky (1986) Grave of the Fireflies (1988) My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) Only Yesterday (1991) Porco Rosso (1992) Pom Poko (1994) Whisper of the Heart (1995) Princess Mononoke (1997) My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) Spirited Away (2001) The Cat Returns (2002) Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) Tales from Earthsea (2006) Ponyo On A Cliff From The Sea (2008) The Secret World of Arrietty/The Borrower Arrietty (2010) From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

If any of the links stop working, please let me know so I can fix it.

For Castle In The Sky, wait for the free user button to be clickable and it will send you to the video.