TYMHM: Start of July
It's that time again! I'm sharing some interesting things that I've seen, heard or read over the last few weeks that you might have missed.
🎻 🌱 I love that a Spanish string quartet played to a concert hall full plants, representing how nature has been reclaiming space previously occupied by humans (see video below). However, I then discovered this is not the first time that plants have been serenaded – in 2011 an orchestra in London played a THREE HOUR concert to plants to see if it would stimulate their growth.
🏊♂️ Thinking of going wild swimming? Or doing any sort of water sport that involved moving equipment from lake to lake? Check out this advice to avoid spreading invasive species between different bodies of water.
🌊 While you're at it, you might want to remind yourself of what drowning actually looks like. It's not like the movies.
🚶♀️ Quite excited by this new project to connect urban areas and commuting routes with footpaths, not just linking tourist favourites. The 'Slow Ways' network will be free and available online, and they are also looking for volunteers to test routes.
⛵️ In this TED talk, Sailing legend Tracy Edwards tells the story of how she took control of her life and found her purpose, which just happened to be sailing across oceans with teams of women.
✊🏾 Still looking to continue your Black Lives Matter education? This interview by Brene Brown with author Ibram X Kendi has been on my mind since I listened to it a couple of weeks ago. I particularly like the umbrella example he uses.
🐋 Have you heard about Hvaldimir? He's the Beluga whale found last year in Norwegian waters wearing what was thought to be a Russian harness. Oceanographic has shared some great photos of him here and a little of his story.
👀 It's time for us to take a more realistic and representative view when we travel, says Meera Dattani in this article on 'How to reverse the colonial gaze'
🌍 I really enjoyed this TEDEd illustration narrated by conservationist Jane Goodall which tells the story of how when the world stopped, we could all see the damage we had done to the planet more clearly.
🧟♀️ Great news for fellow fans of apocalypse films – apparently researchers have found that we were more mentally prepared for COVID19 than everyone else. Based on this, I've been in training for a long time and just didn't know it.
👩 The 'should there be any women-only events?' debate continues in this article focused around climbing groups. The conclusion seems to be that there is still a need for them, but in an ideal world we wouldn't have them.
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