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Pollution
The troubled coexistence between litter and wildlife in Chris Packham’s photos
British TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham recently unveiled a series of wildlife photographs aimed at raising environmental awareness amongst the young. The shots, which are being exhibited in London, were taken in England and Scotland and portray the impact of litter on local wildlife. They were specially commissioned by supermarket chain Lidl UK as part of a
British TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham recently unveiled a series of wildlife photographs aimed at raising environmental awareness amongst the young. The shots, which are being exhibited in London, were taken in England and Scotland and portray the impact of litter on local wildlife. They were specially commissioned by supermarket chain Lidl UK as part of a new initiative to inspire young people to actively take care of the environment.
Keep Britain Tidy
Led by UK-based environmental NGO Keep Britain Tidy, the collaboration will see Lidl UK donate 500,000 pounds (over 700,000 dollars) to the charity over a period of twelve months. The money raised comes from the sale of of the supermarket’s single-use carrier bags. “Despite having always charged for our carrier bags, we acknowledge that there is a lot of work still to be done in achieving our long-term vision of helping to protect the country’s stunning natural heritage”, said the company’s chief executive Ronny Gottschlich.
Keep Britain Tidy will use the donation to finance its Eco-Schools programme, which supports schools in becoming environmentally sustainable through enhanced curricula, behavioural change, engagement of communities, and improved school and community grounds. The charity will also launch a national competition for young photographers later this year.
Littering kills animals
“People who litter are unwittingly helping to kill and injure the wildlife we all love,” said Chris Packham. As a nature TV presenter, photographer and writer, he has been exposed to the impact of litter on the environment throughout his career. For example, at the presentation of the photographs in London he told the story of a leatherback sea turtle who died prematurely after having ingested plastic bags: because plastic bags in the water look like jellyfish, the animal mistook them for food. Many years have passed since this episode, yet many more animals have died as a consequence of littering. Chris Packham’s photographs want to inspire young people to change this.
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