Sewa Day goes global on Sunday 25th September 2011

(PRWEB) September 22, 2011

Sewa Day, a volunteering initiative taking place on Sunday 25th September 2011, is to go global this year with projects in more than 15 countries including Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Indonesia, UK and the USA. On the day, thousands of volunteers of all ages will be doing Sewa - which means 'be of service' - and their combined efforts will improve the lives of thousands of people. Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh is the latest celebrity to pledge his support, urging the public to give a few hours of their time to help build community participation across the globe.

Communities will be donating their time as thousands are expected to take part in local projects being planned that include:

Removing trash and debris from the Tecolote Canyon ecosystem in San Diego, USA.
Increasing the numbers donating organs to help save people?s lives by organ transplants.
Nature conservation, clearing encroaching scrub, preserving and protecting heather and
heathland biodiversity as well as plant seeds and harvesting crops

Soup kitchens and multi-faith meal preparation for distribution of food to the homeless
Entertaining elders in hospices, nursing and residential homes

Each project organised is based on at least one of the guiding principles below:

Help relieve hardship / poverty

Bring a little joy

Help the environment

Sewa Day, which last year saw more than 5,000 people from over 50 cultural, community and faith organisations volunteering for 130 projects throughout the UK, including Bradford, Oldham, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Northampton, Luton and across London, hopes to attract 15,000 worldwide. Schools, community organisations, companies and individuals have already been contacted to help with or to be allocated to a worthy project in their area. Many local councils, schools, temples, mosques and businesses have enlisted their support for this initiative. These include:

Croydon Borough Council in London, the first local authority to fully embrace the initiative
Banking group Lloyds TSB Plc
Tata Consultancy Services
Polaris Software
Vascroft Contractors

Many well-know celebrities and personalities are also backing the campaign, such as: actress Meera Syal, actor Kulvinder Ghir, actor Raj Ghatak, TV presenter Arti Halai, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, London Mayor Boris Johnson and Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh among others.

Arup Ganguly, Chairman of Sewa Day commented: "Contrary to all the recent negative press in the UK that has focused on those responsible for the civil unrest we saw in August, we believe in the concept of helping others in need and that this should be encouraged whether we are in the midst of a recession or not. Last year, Sewa Day saw volunteers from over 50 organisations undertake over 130 projects and following on from last year's phenomenal success we want to treble the number of those taking part. We are especially pleased to such positive community support from other countries."

Arup added: "There is no better sense of fulfilment than putting a smile on somebody's face - especially the vulnerable, the poor, the sick and the needy. This is the real power of sewa. Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity open to all."

"Sewa Day aims to deliberately stay away from fundraising activities with the belief that hands-on volunteering is one of the most important and effective ways for individuals to increase their positive impact in the community and leverage a key resource beyond cash."

Sewa Day is an initiative of Sewa UK, a secular, non-political UK registered charity, (Charity No: 1135425).

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Nevada?s Great Basin National Park Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary Announcing Its Newest Found Species, The White Pond Amphipod

Pony Express Territory, NV (PRWEB) November 14, 2011

Even after its establishment in 1986, Great Basin National Park continues to be the home of the country's most interesting animals and plant specieis. According to the National Park Service (NPS) http://www.nps.gov/grba/naturescience/endemic-animals.htm the "sky island" geography of the Great Basin region is responsible for trapping species because the mountain ranges act like an island. The most recent species found is a small freshwater shrimp, the White Pine amphipod. The expansive area of Great Basin National Park is located in Nevada's Pony Express Territory where exploration and discovery never-ends.

?Mountain ranges in the Great Basin National Park are separated from other mountains by "seas" of desert, across which plant and animal migration is difficult due to the dramatic differences in environment between the high elevations and the basins below,? observes NPS. Species then must adapt and change within the very specific parameters of that one location.

In Nevada's Pony Express Territory along America's Loneliest Road, mountain ranges reach 13,000 feet drop and then down to dramatic wide-open space landscapes miles long.

New specie discoveries have been occurring in the park caves and include small creatures called amphipods and springtails which have not been found anywhere else. In addition, millipedes, antipodes, pseudo scorpions, crickets and spiders live in the caves. The area fosters distinct new species that live only here and nowhere else on the planet.

Open to the public for touring are the Lehman Caves, one of the most richly decorated limestone caves in the United States. Underground streams carved the caves over millions of years and the water dissolved the natural limestone rock and the liquefied calcium carbonate slowly precipitated into forms such as stalactites, stalagmites, helectites, shields, and many other unusual shapes. According to guide Maci Macpherson, ?the cave formations grow one inch every one hundred years one drip of water at a time.?

In celebration of the Park's 25th Anniversary, visitors will want to explore various featured Park attributes such as Great Basin National Park underground caves, ancient Bristlecone Pine forests, a glacier and numerous species found only in this park. And, a variety of wild animals are seen in the Park including Mt. Lions, Bald and Golden Eagles, Elk, Big Horn Sheep, Deer, Antelope, Pigmy, Cottontail and Jack rabbits, and Bear.

The Western National Parks Association Bookstore at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center is offering a 15 percent discount on all products including cards, maps, books and games.

On behalf of Great Basin National Park, Superintendent Andy Ferguson states, "We are much appreciative for all of the support and goodwill that has been shown over the past 25 years."

Many endemic species found in or near the Great Basin Park (source nps.gov), the most recent being the White Pine amphipod (Stygobromus albapinus), named in Subterranean Biology, the small freshwater shrimp was found in Model Cave in 2011. The shrimp is the eighth new species discovered at Great Basin National Park since 1999 and the sixth that is thought to exist nowhere else in the world (source Las Vegas Review Journal). Park staff discovered it far back into the cave, which required over one-quarter mile of crawling through small, muddy passages each way.

Other species include the Great Basin Cave Millipede (Idagona lehmanesis) in 2006; the Model Cave Harvestman (Cyptobunus ungulatus ungulatus - spider) in 1971; the Cave Basin Cave Pseudoscorpion (Microcreagris grandis) in the late 1930s; the Lehman Caves Millipede (undescribed) collected in 2003 and 2006 currently being described as a new species; the Snake Creek Cave springtail (Arrhophilates sp.), endemic to Great Basin National Park and the Model Cave springtail (Arrhophilates sp.), endemic to Great Basin National Park.

Additional species endemic to the Great Basin Region are the Toquerville Springsnail (Pyrgulopsis kolobensis), springtails of the genus Pyrgulopisis and the protected by Nevada state law, Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) This rabbit is native to the area and listed as at-risk of extinction or serious decline.

The Great Basin Region has eight ecosystems from the sagebrush desert zone to the treeless alpine zone (seven of the eight ecosystems are within the Park boundaries) http://www.greatbasinheritage.org/.

The park is open year-round and there is no fee for park entrance. Great Basin National Park lies within an area designated by Congress as the Great Basin National Heritage Area in recognition of its contribution in making up the unique fabric of our country.

For must-see recommendations, visit http://www.greatbasinheritage.org/great-basin-must-sees.html.

Learn more about Nevada?s Pony Express Route along America's Loneliest Road

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About the Pony Express Territory

Nevada's Pony Express Territory sits on 17 million acres of wide open space with 150 years of rich history, rugged undisturbed nature and black night skies. The Territory is where the Pony Express riders once galloped along its main trail, now Highway 50, connecting the six adventurous towns of Dayton, Fallon, Fernley, Austin, Eureka and Ely. Twenty years ago Life Magazine designated this section of Nevada State Highway 50 ? ?America?s Loneliest Road? as it winds itself thru the 1,840 miles of land called the Pony Express Territory. For more information, visit http://www.ponyexpressnevada.com or call 1-888-359-9449.

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