The Independent Blog: A visit to the heart of the lungs of the world

by kath lowrieBirds, Conservation, The Independent BlogPosted on 1 comment

A trickle of sweat runs down my chest. Distant rumbles of thunder trigger an Amazon orchestra. Crickets, cicadas and grasshoppers whine in desperate anticipation. A pair of white-throated toucans yelp in their lofty perches above the canopy. Three screaming piha birds join the crescendo from their skulking perches in the green latticework. The forest is …

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The Independent Blog: A recipe for a healthy rainforest in a nutshell

by kath lowrieConservation, Food and Nutrition, The Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

A chocolate-coloured, toe-shaped nut. The Brazil nut. One of the finest. Full of protein, calcium, iron, selenium and a whole host of other riches; one creamy crunch and you’re reaching for another. But hang on. Stop there. Your hand hovers over the bowl? It’s time to travel with that Brazil nut, to see life as …

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The Independent Blog, Soya: The Argentinian Gold Rush- Meeting the Winners and Losers

by kath lowrieConservation, Farming, The Independent BlogPosted on 1 comment

It is Autumn time south of the equator, and whilst the majority of Argentinians are readying themselves for another Boreal winter, the small town of Las Lajitas is ramping up for its busiest time of year. Located in Salta province in the north of this vast country, the streets are jammed with chrome-clad Toyota Hiluxs, …

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The Independent Blog: Roast Armadillo- A Recipe for Extinction?

by kath lowrieConservation, Mammals, The Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

Salta Province, northern Argentina. Two children stand by the side of the road. A silver car with blackened windows drives passed. The girls wave something at it. The car continues, but suddenly grinds to a halt and reverses. Three portly men in white trousers and shades, step out of the car to inspect what they’re …

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The Independent Blog: New fencing plan threatens wildlife. Is there is an alternative to this silent massacre?

by kath lowrieThe Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

Two thousand and eight hundred miles; the equivalent of running between Lands End and John O’Groats three times! This is the distance my husband and I have now run through the continent of South America. And nearly every step of the way has been alongside wire fences; enclosing the sheep, cattle and goats that graze …

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The Independent Blog: Why I Think Avaaz Is Pants But Bogs Are Brilliant

by adminThe Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

Harsh. Really I should like Avaaz, the online petition forum which uses international people-power to lobby for defenceless minorities on a global scale. Why, just this week in less than 24 hours, 500,000 people were moved to sign a petition to help rid Ecuador of an oil project which would threaten virgin rainforest habitat – …

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The Independent Blog: Stop Bugging Me! Or is it time to reconsider our relationship with insects?

by kath lowrieThe Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

Buzzing in your ear, crawling over your skin, coiled in your boot or lying drunken in a woozy cloud of rotten apples. It takes a particular personality to appreciate the virtues of our six and eight-legged neighbours. Invertebrates; the be-fanged, haired, spiked or suckered beasties, are the making of horror films and the base of …

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The Independent Blog: A stitch in time for the Ozone Hole, a cause for celebration?

by kath lowrieThe Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

As I wake up inside our puffy down-feather sleeping bag, the body aches from running a marathon yesterday and the mind aches with the reality that Katharine, my fellow adventure runner and I will do it again today and tomorrow too. We are running the length of South America in a year, hauling our trailer …

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The Independent Blog: A chance meeting with the “Earth People” of Patagonia

by kath lowrieThe Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

Patagonia is a fabled land of staggering proportions, pristine beauty and hidden treasures. A landscape which haunts your childhood dreams, where fairies and magicians creep. Since the first day of the London Olympics, my husband David and I have been winding through its forests and endless pampas on a running expedition from the southern-most tip …

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Independent Blog: The Carretera Austral; Can it really be “improved”?

by kath lowrieThe Independent BlogPosted on 0 comments

We’re Ecologists. Ecologists don’t like roads. Yet here we find ourselves running over 5000 miles all points north along every conceivable road that South America can throw at us. We started on an ice rink, slipping and sliding over frozen snow through blizzards and hail-storms in southern Patagonia. Then we found gravel, pot-holes, precipitous drops …

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