In the balance: Gaia’s equinox update

18th March 2021

Gaia’s Director, Liz Hosken, shares an Equinox message and puts the spotlight on the incredible work of our global partners from Africa to the Arctic in the first months of 2021.


Dear Friends, 

This weekend we will celebrate the Equinox- the coming of Spring in the North, Autumn in the South, and the balancing of night and day for all.

As the Sun’s centre passes over the equator, we are reminded that we are part of a great cosmic dance. That, as astronomer Carl Sagan put it, “we are all stardust”

Here on our blue-green planet, that dust has evolved into countless forms, from club moss to crocodiles, mushrooms to manatees. We are surrounded by wonder every day, if we choose to look for and see it. But the future of these wonders is in the balance.

To cherish and protect the diversity of life on Earth is our first and ultimate responsibility as members of the web of life. At the Equinox, we bring you stories of communities and individuals from across our global network who are engaged in this Great Work.

If these stories inspire you, please consider becoming a Gaia Ally to help sustain our work.

Warmest wishes, 

Liz Hosken, on behalf of the Gaia Team

Africa – a growing movement for Earth Jurisprudence

Despite the pandemic, Gaia’s ‘Trainings for Transformation’ have continued. A third class of African grassroots leaders have now embarked on a journey to learn from Nature, rediscover their roots and gather the skills they will need to accompany Indigenous and local communities to revive and protect their Earth-centred cultures and territories.

Find out more about our Earth Jurisprudence trainings and the remarkable people involved in our latest short film, Gaarú (12-mins).

Watch Gaarú

Arctic – landscape re-wilding

In Finland, more than 26,000 hectares of Finnish forests, marshmires and waterways are being restored to health  by local and Indigenous communities, with the support of our Arctic partners Snowchange, . Birds are nesting, fish are spawning and communities are reconnecting with these newly emerging havens for Nature that have a crucial role to play in tackling the climate emergency.

Find out more on Snowchange’s newly launched ‘Landscape Rewilding’ website.

Landscape re-wilding

UK and Ireland – seeds of sovereignty

Our UK and Ireland Seed Sovereignty Programme continues to go from strength-to-strength thanks to our dynamic coordinators and the deeply committed growers with whom we work. More than 700 people have now been trained to produce their own seed. Meanwhile, regional Seed Sovereignty hubs across the UK have brought together more than 500 growers to sow, grow and save seed together.

The connections re-growing through this work are typified by the story of Gerald and Iwan, two welsh farmers brought together through our programme and the search for a variety of rare welsh black oats. Learn more in our 2021 film, Llafur Ni (Our Grains).

Watch Llafur Ni

Atlantic – Un Solo Mar

With Southern Atlantic waters warmer and more over-fished than ever, Gaia is partnering three institutions – the Brazilian Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Núcleo de Educação e Monitoramento Ambiental and Organización para la Conservación de Cetáceos (OCC)  in Uruguay – in a project called Un Solo Mar, which seeks to protect the shared marine heritage of southern Brazil and Uruguay.

Restoring a sense of awe and wonder about this magnificent coastline and oceanic waters, the home of rays, turtles and the highly vulnerable La Plata dolphin, is at the heart of Un Solo Mar. For a glimpse of the natural treasures of Albardão, in southern Brazil, click here.

Find out more – Un Solo Mar

Leap with us…

In a time of multiple, complex crises, working to uphold the health and diversity of our living planet can feel like swimming upstream.  

And yet, like salmon, we leap. And, more often than you might expect, we make it.

We invite you to make the next leap with us by making a donation of any size. 

Donate

 


Photo credit- Bluebell woods: User:Colin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0