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Life on Earth

It's surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth
- Sir David Attenborough
Earth is the only planet in the known Universe that is home to life

Our home, Earth, is more than 4.5 billion years old.

Nurtured by a climate that provides a blanket that protects us from the extremes, life has flourished on Earth for more than 3.5 billion years, and more than 2 million different species of plants and animals now call Earth home.

We humans have been around for 250,000 years, the blink of an eye in the history of life on Earth. We evolved from nature, and we have always relied on the natural world to provide us the air, water, food, physical, emotional and spiritual needs to survive.

Over time, whilst being reliant on nature, we also learned how to shape the world around us. The cognitive, agricultural, scientific, industrial and now technological revolutions have led to an explosion in human knowledge, development, economic activity, population, longevity and well-being.

The Amazon - home to close to a third of Earth's plant and animal species
We have no replacement planet, we have only this one - and we have to take action
- Berta Caceres

However, these stunning developments also led to an explosion in the human use of the planet's resources, and disrupted our relationship with the natural world.

Deforestation, pollution, depletion of the Ocean's resources, loss and degradation of landscapes, and disruption of the Earth's climate now threatens to unravel the very fabric of life on Earth. On our current trajectory more than half of our planet's life forms are threatened with extinction this century.

This is our most important and urgent challenge. For humanity to re-connect with our natural world. To protect and restore the natural world upon which we all rely. To stabilise human population, to decouple economic growth from growth in resource use, and to re-imagine how we organise our society and economy so that humans and nature can thrive together.

Kuno is the platform for you to explore and join the thinking, campaigns, people and groups working to ensure for the future of Life on Earth.

Edward O Wilson

The future of Life on Earth

Biologist, writer and one of the world's great thinkers, Edward O Wilson, explores and makes a compelling case for the future of Life on Earth, in this extended interview.

Giant Eucalypt Tarkine Forest

How to save life on Earth

Biologist and Pulitzer winner E.O. Wilson's proposes a bold plan to preserve the world’s biodiversity: set aside half of the entire planet for natural habitats.

Marina Silva

Marina Silva - champion of the Amazon

Born in the Amazon, Marina Silva has been a major figure for decades in its preservation. This film explores her life.

Photo of Earth by NASA on Unsplash

Pale Blue Dot: Carl Sagan

In this famous and compelling speech, Carl Sagan contextualises humankind's home, Earth.

Articles about Life on Earth

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Tasmanian Devil 31579

A lifelong love for wildlife

Dr Eric Woehler has been asked a few times where his passion and interest came from. He grew up in Hobart in a caring home, but nature wasn’t something that was a thread in conversations. That inspiration happened at university.

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Subantarctic Skua 08837

Macquarie Island: a true wildlife hotspot

“Every time, it’s like the first time. You’re just like a kid in the candy store when you see that much wildlife,” says veteran bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler, of his more than 10 trips to Macquarie Island. Read about his journey.

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Red necked Stint 34085

The amazing migration

Dr Eric Woehler says he doesn’t need to exaggerate what these tiny migratory bird species can do - “I can simply tell people the bird that sits in the cup of your hand will fly farther than the distance between the earth and the moon over its lifetime."

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Hooded Plover 07050

The great Tasmanian bird count

Bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler once thought it would take about five years to travel around most of Tasmania’s beaches and survey their inhabitants. 31 years later, he has walked 450 beaches of Tasmania - and, he's still going.

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Dan Broun Great Basin14

The Oldest Soul

Plant and tree enthusiasts around the globe have long debated which tree is the oldest on Earth. Like anyone with passion they state the case for their favoured botanic beauty. This article contains a few of the oldest souls on our wondrous planet.

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Tumawog Falls Panipiason

Poetry: Wild (Tumawog Falls)

Tumawog falls is one of the hidden gems of Panipiason, a remote town on Panay Island. This beautiful piece of poetry from Iss Bautista explores the call of the wild.

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African Bush Elephants plains Maasai Mara

Kuno. Big idea, starting small.

Kuno is a big idea. Starting small. Connecting people with Nature. Empowering those who protect it. Scaling impact for Earth. Join us.

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Forty Spotted Closeup Kim Murray

Calling all Bruny Island Nature lovers!

Here is how to join an exciting project to ‘crowd-source’ an online field guide to the Natural history, wildlife, stories and challenges facing the Nature of Bruny Island - lunawannah-alonnah

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Swift Parrots on Branch Rob Blakers

Amazing encounter with a flock of Swifties

Lyndel Wilson describes a very special encounter with a flock of critically endangered Swift Parrots

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Hansons to kunanyi Dan Broun

Bruny Island crucial for the Swift Parrot

Bruny Island is one of the most important breeding habitats for the Swift Parrot. It has the habitat that the Swift Parrots need to produce their chicks in tree hollows, and it is also free of the Sugar Glider – a key introduced predator.

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Swift Parrot Bruny Kim Murray

The fastest parrot on the planet

The Swift Parrot is the fastest parrot on the planet. It flies up to 88 kilometres an hour. It is also critically endangered.

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Forty Spotted Profile Kim Murray

Bruny Island: Critical habitat site for birds

Bruny Island is one of the most important habitat sites for a number of threatened species. It is a refuge area, like many islands around Australia and across the world. Bruny Island contains the most important breeding habitat for the Swift Parrot

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Dig deeper into life on earth

Forests

Earth's forests are home to three quarters of Earth's terrestrial life. Protecting and restoring all of Earth's native...

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