Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Rewild your lands ma'am, Queen urged before COP26

Share
LONDON -

Environmental campaigners urged Queen Elizabeth II and other royals on Saturday to commit to rewilding their vast estates - from planting more trees to going organic - as Scotland prepares to host the COP26 global climate conference.

Chris Packham, a well-known conservationist and broadcaster, along with several hundred schoolchildren and a jazz band marched through central London to Buckingham Palace to deliver a petition signed by 100,000 people.

"We are very politely ... asking them to change their (estate management) practices and if they could announce that before COP it would send out a brilliant message across the world," Packham told Sky News.

"This is not the time for talking about doing things anymore, this is the time to actually do them, so whilst they are saying the right things ... what better place to do the right thing than in your very own, very large, back yard."

Rewilding is a conservation effort aimed at restoring natural processes and wilderness areas, and Packham said a transition on royal estates would involve using only organic materials, more tree planting and a reduction in deer numbers to allow regeneration.

He added that practices like grouse shooting in which land is burned and drained and lead shot is used "are not compatible with some of the things that the Royal Family are saying about their genuine concerns when it comes to the environment and the bio-diversity crisis."

The Royal Estates said it has a long history of conservation and biodiversity and was constantly looking for ways to make further improvements.

The Queen, her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, and the heir's eldest son Prince William and wife Kate will attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow in November, organizers said on Friday.

World leaders are due to meet at the summit to try to flesh out commitments made in Paris in 2015 aimed at stabilizing the planet's climate and to speed up action to limit climate change.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A team of tornado experts is heading to Fergus, Ont. after a storm ripped through the area Sunday night.

Why brain aging can vary dramatically between people

Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.

Local Spotlight

For the second year in a row, the ‘Gift-a-Family’ campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.

Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.

A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.

As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.

A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts – not for themselves, but for those in need.

A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.

Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.

A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.