Imagine a world without colour - imagine a world without plants! Botanical Garden Conservation International have launched a new campaign 'Plants for the Planet' asking you to pledge your support for the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation which will be considered by the Government in October. Sign up here to help secure our botanical future.

The GSPC has 4 main objectives:
* To halt the current and continuing loss of plant diversity
* To harmonise existing plant conservation initiatives

Research presented this week by Dr Shibu Poulose of the Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing in Boston, Massachusetts, showed that the natural polyphenol compounds in berries, specifically blueberries, acai berries and strawberries, had an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect which may protect brain function from age related decline. The polyphenols supported the microglia cells in the brain which in normal function act to mop up toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other symptoms of mental decline.

Today’s response by Government to the Science and Technology Committee report ‘Evidence Check2: Homeopathy’ reaffirms homeopathy belongs in the NHS where patients can best benefit from doctors integrating it into healthcare. News which was welcomed by the Faculty of Homeopathy and the British Homeopathic Association.

This national survey is being launched by the charity Butterfly Conservation to mark the International Year of Biodiversity. Butterflies react very quickly to change in their environment which makes them excellent indicators of ecological welfare. The count will also identify trends in species that will help plan how to protect butterflies from extinction as well as understand the effect of climate change on wildlife.

Pesticides used in food production have been connected to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a new study from the University of Montreal and Harvard University. The Soil Association's Head of Policy, Emma Hockridge, remarked: “Pesticides have been linked to Alzheimer's disease, learning difficulties in children and a large number of farmers have been campaigning for recognition of the range of neurological problems they have suffered.”

Higher blood levels of vitamin B6 are associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer according to a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week.

An investigation by the Soil Association has revealed chemicals lethal to bees can be found in domestic gardening products on sale in UK supermarkets, hardware stores and garden centres.

Click here to discover more about the Soil Association's Save the Honey Bee Campaign
To find out which garden products to avoid visit Household Pesticides

Research published by Environmental Health Perspectives in America concludes that pesticides are implicated in the above average skin cancer risk of farm workers.

The study examined cancer rates in 56,285 workers applying agricultural pesticides in the states of Iowa and North Carolina, and identified 6 chemicals that, with repeated exposure, doubled the risk of skin cancer. One of the chemicals, Carbaryl, is also present in a US brand of domestic insecticide commonly used by consumers to kill pests in gardens and lawns.

In a bid to slow the decline of the European bee population and as part of a five year programme costing £2 million, researchers are to build 48 insect ‘hotels’ in and around Lyon. The theory is that pesticide use has become so widespread in farming regions that wild bees would be better off in towns that have banned pesticides and insecticides in parks and public gardens.
Source: The Times 11th May

Madeira catapulted into the centre of the Union’s agricultural and environmental affairs last year when Portugal asked the European Commission for permission to impose an unprecedented ban on growing biotech crops there. Last week, the commission quietly let the deadline pass for opposing Portugal’s request, allowing Madeira, which is one of Portugal’s autonomous regions, to become the first E.U. territory to get formal permission from Brussels to remain entirely free of genetically modified organisms.