STARO in your Eyes
This title only works if you were a fan of the yesteryear British TV show, Stars In Your Eyes - a cheesy show where the public got the chance to be made over as their idol before blasting out their favourite number. As dated as that show might be, STARO (Save The Amazon Rainforest Organisation) should be very much at the forefront of our agendas. A worthwhile charity, STARO strives to protect and conserve the Amazon Rainforest - but they could do with some help.
Story Highlights
- What STARO Does
- Reasons To Help
- Ways To Help
What STARO Does
Covering 500 square kilometres in the Mid Negro River region, the STARO project aims to protect one of the oldest ecosystems in the world – the Amazon Rainforest. 15,000 animals have been recorded here - from jaguars to piranhas, anacondas to tapirs, and they all depend on the food and shelter provided by the rainforest. Thousands of plants, animals, birds and insects can only be found in the Amazon, and if it's not protected - they will die.
STARO works in harmony with local people, helping them to earn a living by protecting the rainforest. It supports sustainable economic and agricultural projects including:
Stingless bee keeping: Honey production that provides an income for local people and increases pollination - and therefore growth - within the rainforest. Honey has always been harvested in the Amazon.
Inga Tree Alleycropping: Tests over the last twenty years have proven this to be a sustainable way to prevent the exploitation of native workers. It also has the potential to save the rainforest across the Amazon and other regions of the world.
Education and research into the rainforest is an essential part of it preservation, and this is something STARO strives to investigate - publishing all worthwhile results in the process.
Reasons To Help
As a much needed heat sink that drives global weather patterns and as a source of the world's prescribed medicines, the rainforest is essential to the natural balance of the earth. Deforestation caused by man is now at a rate fast enough to destroy the largest rainforest in the world by 2020.
Insects, plants, trees and animals will be destroyed before they are discovered and the biodiversity of the planet will be damaged forever.
Ways To Help
The Buy an Acre scheme constitutes a huge part of STARO's income. By using a satellite imaging system on the website (www.staro.org) you can select and buy an acre of rainforest which will then become a personal conservation zone, guaranteed to be in your name forever. From £10 for a spinney to £65 for a full acre, it's a great way to splash out and help save the Amazon! Suiting a wide range of budgets, it's a great idea for a gift on any occasion.
Coolaworld is a planet saving shopping and carbon coaching website which rewards shoppers with Cool Credits – which they can either donate to STARO or spend on low-carbon products and services. With hundreds of well-known stores including Apple, Play.com, John Lewis and Vodafone, it's worth taking a look before shopping elsewhere online. You'll be contributing to planet-saving projects for no extra charge!
Coolaworld also has practical advice for people who want to reduce their carbon emissions at home, at work and during their free time. Register free at www.coolaworld.com and start helping STARO now.
For £1 you can download the single by Luc Floreani and Marcella Detroit – Breathe, from the STARO website. This song is a tribute to Chico Mendes who died trying to save the Amazon Rainforest. All the money raised from the single will go to STARO's projects.
Standing orders can also be set up on STARO's website, and there is an option to donate.
You can get sponsored for an event to support and raise the profile of STARO.
The simplest approach however is to just talk to people thereby making them aware of STARO and their projects.
- Jen Page
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