1000 Flowers for the Planet - #632 Save the Mediterranean Cork Forests

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #632 Save the Mediterranean Cork Forests

How can the simple act of buying a bottle of wine save endangered species (both flora and fauna), preserve ancient forests, retain amazing biodiversity and help people’s livelihoods? Furthermore, how can the act of buying a bottle of wine with a cork stopper make any difference? You’ll be amazed to read it’s true – by choosing wine bottles with plastic or screw type stoppers we are damaging an ancient method of cork farming in the Mediterranean oak forests, which provide all of the aforementioned benefits. Plastic and screw type stoppers are not only hard on the environment, both to produce and as landfill, but they replace the traditional cork stopper which is sustainably grown and harvested, and which eventually will biodegrade back into the environment (if it isn’t used in recycling, which is another possibility). The World Wildlife Foundation has several projects they are driving to help the cork industry, with lots of further information for you at http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cork_oak/. Hopefully you’ll read the article to understand more fully how this simple product has intricate connections between land, wildlife, plant life and the livelihoods of many people. The site will also take you to a list of wineries supporting the oak forests (no Australian ones on the list that I can see, sadly) and you can also learn the various ways you can help. Cheers!