My Two Club Feet & 3 Big Challenges.
1. 3 Peak Challenge
2. London – Brighton
3. Jurassic Coast Challenge
Lets Plant Bamboo... 
Society has grown too accustomed to relegating environmental concerns to the sidelines. With constant news cycles covering global political unrest, epidemics, and the soaring cost of living, it's easy to neglect the deterioration of our planet, the only home we've ever known. Climate change looms as a significant threat to our future, necessitating immediate action if we wish to preserve the Earth's natural beauty.
The challenges posed by climate change and ecological breakdown can feel daunting and overwhelming. Understanding what we, as individuals, can do might seem confusing and complex. However, recognizing our ability to make a difference motivates me to take up my most significant challenge to date. Putting on my Braces and dusting of my crutches and doing My 3 big challenges! Starting with the 3 Peaks Challenge in April/May. Then followed by the first of my big walks. Richmond park London to Brighton pier, celebrating disability pride month in July. Finally The Jurassic Coast challenge, three marathons over three days.
Family and friends will be joining me on some or all of these challenges, helping us raise as much as we can for Carboon and many other charities and social enterprises.
Two incredible individuals supporting me throughout all of these challenges are Michael Scaysbrook and Daisy Collins.
A bit about me: I was born with severe lower limb deformities and bilateral talipes (club feet), which is too long for a blog title! Hence, 'My Two Club Feet.' Background: my toes touched my heels, my legs were misaligned, folded in half with my feet resting on my stomach, and the bone between my knee and ankle was curved. Numerous surgeries, some groundbreaking, have left me in constant pain. I take seven medications daily—33 pills in total. Regular physiotherapy aims to build muscle and manage chronic nerve damage. I lack ankle sockets and calf muscles, requiring custom braces to maintain foot stability and strength. Some of my life has been spent in a wheelchair, though I have been told I should use canes and crutches more often. Hence, taking on this challenge while dealing with pain and mobility difficulties is significant. Every donation received will contribute to planting bamboo, ensuring this challenge remains carbon neutral. If you want to know what it’s like to live with a disability, I started sharing my story www.mytwoclubfeet.com
So Why am I planting Bamboo
When considering reforestation, bamboo might not immediately spring to mind. While technically not a tree, planting and nurturing bamboo holds immense benefits for both people and the environment. Being the fastest-growing grass globally, bamboo presents incredible potential as a sustainable resource. Its woody stem gives it a tree-like appearance while possessing distinct properties. With your support, we can create Europe's largest bamboo maze!
1. BAMBOO GROWS FAST - LIKE REALLY FAST
According to Guinness World Records, some species of bamboo can grow up to 2.91 ft/day — or, 1.5 inches/hr! So if you sit long enough with a bamboo culm, it might just grow before your eyes! How does bamboo grow? As a colony plant, it uses its energy to expand its roots and grow more shoots in the spring. These shoots emerge out of the ground to grow taller and wider for around 60 days. After 60 days, the canes stop growing altogether, and energy is directed back to the roots for the development of further canes. This is where it diverges from most other flora, which put their energy into continued growth of the original stem. Once bamboo is established (usually after 3 years), the new shoots that emerge each spring will continue to get bigger and bigger. Pretty cool, right?
2. BAMBOO HAS REGENERATION SUPERPOWERS
No, really! Cutting bamboo actually stimulates growth. How does this work? Well, rather than directing's energy towards regaining its lost height, a cut bamboo stalk will simply unfurl new leaves. These leaves, in turn, create and send energy down to the root system to encourage the growth of new shoots. The more that gets harvested, the faster it grows. That makes bamboo an incredible renewable resource that can be harvested and will regrow naturally without the need for manual reforestation.
3. IT CAN SEQUESTER A LOT OF CARBON
Bamboo’s incredible growth rate is more than show stopping — it also translates to some serious carbon sequestration benefits. When properly managed and intensively harvested, bamboo can sequester up to 1.78 tonnes of CO2 per clump per year. This translates into a CO2 drawdown curve that’s 10X faster than that of woody trees. That's HUGE!
4. BAMBOO FILTERS AND SLOWS THE FLOW OF WATER
Dense bamboo roots form a water barrier, and are used by coastal villages to protect their crops from getting washed out by rising water tables. And thanks to this barrier, bamboo can effectively filter organic matter (including soil nitrogen), leading some scientists to explore it as a sustainable wastewater treatment option.
5. BAMBOO IS VIRTUALLY FIRE-PROOF
Because it contains large amounts of silicate acid, bamboo is abnormally flame resistant. This is good news in fire-prone regions of the world, where other tree and grass species are regularly devastated by wildfires. Incorporating clumping bamboo into tropical reforestation efforts, then, can protect the long-term viability of projects.
6. BAMBOO IS REALLY STRONG AND FLEXIBLE
Which makes it an incredible, environmentally friendly building material — especially in earthquake-prone regions. In this regard, bamboo has been prevalent since the beginning of humanity, and has been used in place of wood, bricks, steel, and more. In fact, in some countries, bamboo stalks are used to build scaffolding. If we used bamboo for more construction purposes, we would save many trees and primary forests from deforestation.
7. BAMBOO HELPS TO HOLD THE SOIL TOGETHER
Because bamboo is a grass, it has a very shallow root system — with rhizomes only populating the top 6 inches of the soil. The rest of the roots only spread around 14 inches deeper. But because the roots are so densely clumped, they do a great job at holding the top layer of the soil together, thus preventing soil erosion.
Phase 1:
Land Purchase – To start planting bamboo, we aim to secure funds for acquiring unused agricultural land. The more funds we raise, the more bamboo we can plant. Replacing 1 acre of grass with bamboo can increase carbon removal from approximately 1 ton to over 12 tons from the atmosphere.
Website Update – Our website, www.carboon.org, will undergo updates to provide more information. Teaching people about the benefits and kindness of eating more plant based food and using more biodegradable materials in everyday life.
Phase 2:
Establishing Carboon's Animal Sanctuary – We aim to create a space that supports positive mental health and animals in need of rescue and rehabilitation. In today's busy and stressful world, connecting with nature and animals can be immensely therapeutic. Being outdoors interacting and bonding with animals can help with many physical and mental issues. It can help reduce blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health.
Here we will provide sanctuary for all animals that are in need.
Rewards & Gratitude
If you are able to donate money to My Two Club Feet’s Big Walks & Carboon bamboo project, you will be helping create something amazing. Not only will you receive a great deal of gratitude from us and the animals you help us to save, you will be helping sustain the planet we all share. If one person donated £65 we can plant enough bamboo to offset 5000 miles in your car! Now imagine if 1000 people donate £65… we could transform 1acre of grassland into bamboo. That would be truly amazing….