Posts about Biodiversity

Reimagining our relationship with the ocean begins by remembering we were never separate from it

08-06-26

I didn’t grow up near the ocean. But the moment I was properly in it, not standing at the edge, not wading, but actually in it, something shifted. Not dramatically. More like a recognition. Like remembering something I hadn’t known I’d forgotten. That’s the thing about the ocean. It doesn’t feel like an introduction. It feels like a reunion. And I’ve been trying to understand why ever since.

For most children, the ocean first arrives as a place attached to memory. A family holiday. Wet slippers in a hotel corridor. Sand stubbornly stuck to the backseat of the car. A horizon that feels endless in a way children notice instinctively. They arrive with buckets and leave with sand in their shoes and salt on their skin, carrying the ocean back with them without knowing it. Without realising that, in a sense, they never left it.

Because the ocean is not somewhere we visit. It is something we are already woven into, something that has been part of us long before any of us first stood at the edge of the sea. And one of the quietest, most important things we can do, for children, for the communities they will grow into, for the future of life on this planet, is help them remember that.

World Wildlife Day 2026: A Unified Global Response to Wildlife Trafficking

03-03-26

Integrating Biodiversity Protection Across Species, Landscapes, and Communities

World Wildlife Day, celebrated every year on 3 March, is the largest global annual day dedicated to wildlife. The date marks the conclusion of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In this blog Dr Zara Bending talks about this year’s theme, including how chimpanzees enjoy a special connection to it.

Our 2025 summary

03-02-26

We are really grateful and proud of what we achieved this year :

More than 12,745 trees planted all over Belgium with 6 tree plantings organised, which supports the reforestation of 275,000 trees in Burundi.
Our commitment to education and youth empowerment led us to conduct 333 workshops with 6,923 children across Belgium, we have nearly doubled since last year!
We received more than 2000€ of donations for helping the chimps and supporting our work in Chimp Eden sanctuary and Dindefelo Reserve in Africa. To our actual Chimp Guardians who have supported the centra on a recurrent basis, we express our deepest gratitude for being part of this mission year after year.

Release of a children's book in Belgium in collaboration with Jane

11-08-25

Willow the Nature Hero is back with a brand-new adventure, and this time he has some special company!
None other than Jane Goodall, world-renowned biologist, anthropologist, and pioneer in chimpanzee research. The book, created in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute Belgium takes children aged 5 and up to the lush jungles of Tanzania.

Paula's pollinator project

01-06-25

We’re excited to announce that Paula, our intern studying biology, has been selected by R&S Global to represent Belgium at the Malaysia retreat in September for her proposal to launch a fantastic project to create pollinator hotspots in Brussels this last month! 🐝

Roots & Shoots bioblitz activities

21-05-25

In recent months, we've been able to organize two bioblitz activities in the magnificent Forêt de Soignes, on the outskirts of Brussels.

Kayak cleanup in the Brussels canal

08-05-25

We spent a sunny morning cleaning up the Brussels canal for the Levi's team building event on May 8.

Our 2024 summary

04-03-25

We are really grateful and proud of what we achieved this year :

More than 50,635 trees planted all over Belgium thanks to the support of Luminus, Department Environment Flanders and private donations. Since 2005, we have planted or helped to plant more than 170,000 trees in Belgium in 38 Forest in One Day tree planting events.
Our commitment to education and youth empowerment led us to conduct 219 workshops with 3,805 children across Belgium. We created 5 new board games on diverse environmental thematics to children of primary and secondary schools.
We received more than 1000€ of donations for helping the chimps and supporting our work in Chimp Eden sanctuary and Dindefelo Reserve in Africa. To our actual Chimp Guardians who have supported the centra on a recurrent basis, we express our deepest gratitude for being part of this mission year after year.

Go Wild !

26-11-24

Are you between 9 and 14 years old and ready to get wild with us? Then enter the Sauvage Contest!

And win a Wild Day at the Institute of Natural Sciences, with a member of your family, on Saturday February 22, 2025. You'll be able to watch a fascinating film. You'll discover our new exhibition Sauvage? and of course the Dinosaur Gallery and all the other rooms. A riddle trail and a delicious lunch complete the experience. But that's not all... a surprising challenge awaits you!

Participation form

If you'd like to find out more about biodiversity and what you can do to protect it, take a look at www.ensemblepourlabiodiversite.be.

Luminus Forest in One Day 2024

08-10-24

On Sunday 24 November, Luminus and Jane Goodall Institute Belgium will plant 3000 trees in Ans, Wallonia.

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Reimagining our relationship with the ocean begins by remembering we were never separate from it