Global Connections
Think globally, act locally
“Think globally, act locally” urges people to consider the health of the entire planet and to act in their own communities and cities. At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the United Nations agreed that the best starting point for the achievement of sustainable development is at the local level.
“On September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.
For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society and people like you.”
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Article 12.8 states that by 2030, people everywhere should have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that “… the child has both the right to expect a healthy environment to grow up in and inherit and the responsibility to respect their environment.”
These principles underpin the work that we do and we are proud to be closely linked to four internationally renowned organisations in our pursuit of these aims.
“He that plants trees loves others besides himself.”
Thomas Fuller (1608 - 1661)
Roots & Shoots
Roots & Shoots is Dr Jane Goodall’s international education programme for young people. Andover Trees United has built a strong relationship with Roots & Shoots UK, supporting schools to register with the programme and accompanying several of our partner schools to the awards for environmental excellence held annually in London. In 2014, we were honoured to welcome Dr Goodall herself to tree plant with us at our first Andover Plant-for-the-Planet Academy.
Andover student Alex Dicker received the Jane Goodall Award for Individual Endeavour in 2013 and in 2015 was rewarded with an expedition to the Bolivian Amazon. You can read an extract from his blog here.
If you know a young person who is outstanding in the field of environmental stewardship, please get in touch.
“… every single day you live you make some impact and you get a choice as to what kind of impact you’re going to make.”
Dr Jane Goodall
Plant-for-the-Planet
Plant-for-the-Planet is a UN Environment Programme and the brainchild of 9-year-old Felix Finkbeiner. Through peer-led Academies, 9 to12-year-olds train as Climate Justice Ambassadors charged with the task of reminding adults that the climate crisis can only be solved with actions and to this end, leaders and policy-makers must “Stop talking and start (tree) planting!”
We run an Academy in Andover every year in early March, hosted by Andover Golf Club. Andover currently boasts 200 Ambassadors who help run events, raise funds for tree planting, give talks and deliver Academies locally and as far afield as Ireland.
Children who would like to train and meet other Ambassadors, adults who would like to help organise and businesses who would like to sponsor should contact us using our Contact page.
The next Andover Academy will be in March 2020.
Ethos
Ethos is an exemplary sustainable tourism provider based in Sapa in North-West Vietnam, roughly 20 miles south of the border with China. Sapa is scenically beautiful and home to a wide variety of ethnic minority groups. Ethos guides are predominantly Hmong people.
Through our growing friendship with the Ethos team we hope to connect to a part of the world where the impact of climate change is felt more keenly than here in the UK. The valleys of the Sapa region have seen extensive deforestation over the past century and, although still in the early stages of development, we are very excited at the prospect of forming a tree-planting partnership with Ethos.
Through partnered tree-planting and insights into a culture where families grow not only food plants but also hemp for fabric and indigo for dying, we hope to share knowledge and skills and bring a global dimension to our own tree planting and wildflower cultivation programmes.
If you have an interest either in helping to set up a twinned tree planting programme or in natural fabrics, natural dyes, batik and embroidery please contact us using our Contact page.
Corcovado Foundation
The Corcovado Foundation is a key player in the strengthening of the protected wild areas, the promotion of environmental education, sustainable tourism and community participation throughout the sustainable use of the natural resources in the South Pacific area of Costa Rica.
We are currently working with the team in delivering an exciting new project called the Nature in Harmony Exchange Project.
Through this project, we will provide young people with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and understanding of ecology and conservation through wildlife surveying and developing their own mini projects, connected to nature and tailored to their own interests.
Through communication between the young people of Andover and Drake Bay, they will be able to share and compare their findings with each other, develop friendships and learn more about the differences and similarities between our environments, lifestyles and cultures.
