Click the image for the story on BBC’s website:
The Ganges River Dolphin is one of the world’s most endangered freshwater mammals.
Its numbers in South Asia have plummeted in recent decades. But Indian conservationists working on the Brahmaputra River hope to reverse the dolphin’s decline by mobilising riverside communities to protect these amazing cetaceans.
Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic
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“There have been some reports that caffeine may affect reproduction. When organisms are stressed, they produce stress proteins to protect their cells. And, if an organism is under prolonged stress, then that organism may have to shift energy they would normally spend on growth and reproduction.”
Thommankuthu is a popular water fall situated about 20km from Idukki dam.It is made up of a series of 12 falls in the Kannadiyar River spread over a distance of 5 km at an altitude of 800m above sea level. The scenic water falls and pristine surroundings attract tourist from around the world.
Sinharaja, Sri Lanka
Thorn Apple is an erect succulent annual shrub which grows throughout India especially in the Western Ghats and is untended land, roadsides and farms. The plant is useful in treating asthma , cough ,fever ,ulcer and skin diseases Traditionally the roots are used to treat rabid dog bites and even insanity and the leaves are useful to treat epilepsy. Continue reading
Last week, I was very fortunate to be invited to live, work, and learn development process with a project management company here in Kerala, India. I have to say that it was a short but a very meaningful opportunity: both culturally and academically. Here is a story of my two day journey:
Fresh Lime Juice with Banana Chips @ Break time
In the US, the concept of project management is very common, and thus most construction projects often include a project management company; a mediator that facilitates the communication among the client/owner, architect, interior designer, and the various contractors by managing construction schedules, budget & estimates, and translation of design to actual building structure. However, in India, many construction projects happen without project management, which may cause all kinds of issues. So, when I first heard that RAXA was hiring a project management company, I was thrilled to meet the project managers and what I’d be learning from them.
Painting by: Jane Pompilio George
It was with pleasure that I recently discovered a Cornell “neighbor” who happens to be both an artist and bird lover, who takes inspiration from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s round-the-clock “bird cam” nest images. (Click on the painting above to go directly to her blog.)
People all over the world have been able to experience (and be inspired by) the nesting of great blue herons and red-tailed hawks near the Cornell campus, as well as Osprey nests in other parts of the United States.
Weapons from the Gilbert Islands contain the teeth of shark species no longer found in the area. Photo by J. DREW/COLUMBIA UNIV.
Click the headline image above, or the photo to the left to go to the story:
“This is shadow biodiversity,” said Drew, presenting his results at the 2012 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, last week. “Three sharks disappeared from these reefs before we even knew that they existed there.”
Drew analysed 124 shark-tooth weapons housed in the collection of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. The artefacts included swords, tridents and a 4-metre-long lance, dating back over 120 years.
All are built in the same way: the islanders drill hole in the teeth and lash them to buttresses of wood with cords made from coconut leaves.
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Click the logo to the left for the site of this useful index:
From the many millions who count on ocean fisheries for their livelihoods to the uncounted lives saved by intact coral reefs during the 2004 Asian tsunami, people all over the world depend upon healthy oceans. But how healthy are our oceans?
Gladiolus Flowers are widely cultivated throughout India and the rest of the world. Their longevity (8- 10 days) and wide range of colors (including white, cream, orange, yellow, pink, red, lavender, blue, purple and terra cotta) make them one of the most popular commercial cut flowers in the domestic market. Continue reading
Among the various projects Raxa Collective asked of its Design Team of interns the last few months, one key idea was how to make a rooftop more green. A future post by Rania will show some of the recommendations, but for now this article (click the headline image to the left to go to the source):
Caroline Birchall, founder of the Bee Collective, works at Natural England on landscape ecology in the capital. She says there is a huge amount of green infrastructure such as green roofs and rain gardens, which enable water to be absorbed rather than run off, that is being put in place to combat climate change and which could be made more suitable for bees and other pollinators.
Photo: Praveen Rengaraj
Panangad, Kerala
Taro is a gregarious herb growing from tubers on the banks of streams, ponds and marshes and in moist patches of the forest at altitudes up to 1400m. Taro is widely cultivated throughout Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka primarily for its tubers, but the eaves and stems are also cooked and eaten. Continue reading
Photo credit: Milo Inman
Our time at Cardamom County in Thekaddy, Kerala was way too short. After returning from a wonderful trip with River Escapes in the backwaters of Kerala we headed for the state’s iconic hill stations in the Western Ghats. I suggested to my husband Dave that we take a taxi, but being a former backpacker, he urged me to give the bus a chance. I stood my ground, insisting the trip would take several hours and I could bet the buses wouldn’t pass an inspection. But Dave was persistent and persuasive – I acquiesced and don’t regret that decision for one moment. It was a wild ride.
Banyans are large evergreen trees with aerial roots descending from branches that enter the ground and thicken and become strong enough to support the crown. The Banyan is sacred to the Hindus; they frequently stand guardian near temples and shrines. The figs provide food for variety of animal life and the leaves are fodder for elephants and camels. Banyan is the national tree of India.
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Organikos 