Christian Aid are calling on people to 'Bite Back at Poverty' this year by getting involved with their big event of the year - Christian Aid Week 2013.

We're midway through Christian Aid week now, which runs from the 12th to the 18th of May, and people up and down the country have been having some serious fun, raising money to help end poverty.

Money and awareness raised from the extensive fundraising activity will help Christian Aid make a positive impact for some of the 870 million people who are estimated to be in desperate need of food.

Unwittingly, the United Kingdom is playing a part in logging practices in Russia that are not legal an also placing rare tigers and their habitats in extreme danger.

How is this happening? Well, apparently this illegally felled wood makes its way into pieces of furniture that we buy, not realising its history or environmental impact.

WWF staff in Russia report thay certain Russian forests are being pushed to the edge of irreversible damage and wood which is illegally cut down can end up in UK stores.

One animal that lives in these forests was already an endangered species before the illegal loggers made things worse. This animal is the Amur or Siberian tiger. Another animal under threat who inhabits these forests is the Himalayan bear. There is also the impact on local communities as loggers move in and threaten their ways of living in the Far East of Russia.

WWF staff from Russia declare that the logging is espcially prolific in a region called the Ussuri Taiga where illegally felled wood is crossing the border to manufacturers in China. The impact is reported to be devastating.

We haven't had a story from Save the Children on the site for a while so here is a quick update on some of the work they have been up to to transform the lives of some of the worlds poorest children.

The charity recently teamed up with some of the world'a top experts in health along with academics and civil society groups to give their endorsement to the world's first plan that is intended to hit two killer diseases hard.

Namely these are pneumonia and diarrhoea. The bodies who are driving this groundbreaking initiative are UNICEF and the World Health Organisation.

Not many people in developed countries are aware of just how many families are torn apart as nearly two million children die from these killer diseases each year.

Save the Children calls on the public to urge governments to take UNICEF and the WHO plans seriously and help implement them in the countries that can become stricken with these devastating conditions.

There is an ultra sweet new arrival to the fantastic range of animals who live at the Aspinall Foundation's Howletts wildlife park. It is Inca, the Brazillian tapir.

The tapirs are really popular with visitors to the park as they are such cute but unusual animals. Inca was actually born at the park but did not make it out of the warmth of his mother from within their special shelter on account of the extremely cold weather we have been experiencing.

One of the head keepers in the zoo said that thanks to the recent warmer weather visitors will have a much higher chance of seeing the baby tapir as he will be out exploring the paddock on an increased basis.

As you can imagine, the freezing weather we experienced in the UK when Inca was born caused some concern, and measures were taken to increase the warmth of the shelter.

If you have been living in the UK you will know we have just endured one of the longest cold periods in recent history. It was really starting to feel like a mini Ice Age!

Thankfully, as I write, this appears to have passed, but did make me wander as I was out and about how this was affecting our country's flora and fauna.

So, continuing on our 'outdoors' blogs as we are finally heading into weather where it is more of a pleasure to get out and about, we checked out what the conservation charity Woodland Trust had to say about it.

A significant impact

The Woodland Trust have something the call Nature's Calendar which, when they look back over its records, indicate the freezing temperatures have had a big impact on wildlife health.

What they detect is that the usual early indicators that spring is on its way have not been apparent compared to emergence times in 2012.

For example, sightings of certain butterflies and ladybirds are way behind in the north of the UK as well as trees not showing their early signs of buds.

What's more, the health of hibernating animals like hedgehogs would ordinarily we waking from their slumbers have raised concerns.

This is because, before they hibernate, they eat more to build up reserves of fat - if they have to remain hibernating for longer periods than can sustain this they suffer the threat of death.

Hibernating bats are also affected as they rely on the right numbers of insect populations to be available for food. The temperatures have been to low to generate the insects so if the bats to come out of hibernation they will find they face starvation.

We all know that these days where there is a celebrity a camera ready to step them is never far away. The well know heritage and conservation charity the National Trust have a really fun spin on this for their 'Special Places' campaign - they have recruited loads of celebs who are going to step behind the lens!

Some famous names on board include Jude Law and Austin Healy from the English Rugby team.

Why? This is all part of a nationwide plan to have awareness raised of the special places hold dear in their lives. To raise understanding of why these places are special and why they must be conserved for enjoyment by future generations.

As well as celebrities, National Trust staff and volunteers and members of the public are being encouraged to photograph and share special places and why they are important to them on a new Facebook app developed by the charity.

School kids from Witney recently paid a visit to The Prime Minister's consultancy office. The reason for the trip was to ask him if he would join in with the WWF 'Earth Hour' to show his commitment to helping the planet by supporting energy that is renewable.

Two schools sent along 12 children for the meeting who in turn handed him 250 letters that they had written along with poems and pieces of their own art.

All their letters and creative efforts were inspired by issues surrounding climate change and the Earth Hour Campaign. One crucial message was threaded through them all: the imperative for the United Kingdom to be led by the Prime Minister towards a greener system of energy.

About Earth Hour

Every year the World Wildlife Fund promote their Earth Hour campaign to help raise awareness and gain support for various environmental issues.

For 2013's campaign the message was to make everyone think about where their heat, light and other energy actually comes from with it stressed strongly that there is a need for a move away from unclean fossil fuels.

The alternative? Clean and sustainably renewable sources of energy that harnesses the power of nature and the elements, rather than using methods that work against our species and the planet, along with its flora and fauna.

Some of the artwork given to David Cameron was truly striking and included the theme of icebergs and polar bear habitation decline. They were made from recycled materials like straws and food packing to help drive the message home more strongly.

Hopefully you enjoyed our terse round up of our favourite news from across the charity sector in December. We are now pleased to present the stories that struck a real chord with us in the month of January 2013. Read on!

The Dog's Trust

Typically the Christmas season saw people receiving pets as presents. We all remember the old phrase 'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas'.

We can't remember exactly when that was but it certainly harks back to our teenage years (at least if you are as old as we are). Maybe it was before that!

In any case, the message can't have gotten through very well as The Dog's Trust reported that they were inundated with requests to take in unwanted Christmas pets.

Read more in this news story published on the 5th January.

NSPCC

January was ablaze with the shock and controversy surround the Jimmy Saville abuse stories. The NSPCC commented widely as the story continued to unfold.

View all Jimmy Savile related stories on the NSPCC website.

Save the Children

It's really upsetting to see the news of the destroyed lives in Syria. The situation is ongoing as Syrian government forces target fighters who are against President Assad.

Because the violence has led to large numbers seeking refuge in Jordan, the UN is now reporting that there has been a doubling of the population in Jordan.

Save the Children are calling on their supporters to donate and help those so desperately in need as lives continue to be torn apart.

Learn more about Save the Children here.

Read more about their response to the crisis in Syria here.

International Women's Day is celebrated March 8th every year. It is a day for everyone to come together to celebrate, show solidarity for and recognise the empowerment of all women.

It is a day to reflect upon the important gains made in addressing gender inequality including better opportunities for education and livelihoods. However, it is also a day to reflect upon and raise awareness of the serious gender gap that still remains

Central to Concern’s work in tackling hunger is a belief that we cannot address extreme poverty without addressing gender inequality. Women and girls are often at a disadvantage in terms of their expected roles and their access to and control over resources because of the differences between what is expected, allowed and valued for men, women, girls and boys.

In Malawi for example, gender inequality reduces women’s access to the resources and opportunities that are available to men, inciting a cycle of vulnerability and poverty.

Women and food production

Women are a vital part of agriculture and food production, making up two-thirds of the global agricultural workforce and producing 50% of the world’s food. Closing the gender gap would significantly increase food productivity, reducing poverty and hunger. Women are also more likely to spend their income on the wellbeing of their families, including nutritious food, school fees and healthcare ensuring that everyone benefits.

The public services we take for granted in the UK are something we regularly complain about.

But can you imagine what it is like for other people where the countries are no where near as developed. Things like road lights, public transport and sanitation are lacking or of poor quality in many of the world's poorer countries.

It has been found that the absence of access to these is putting women and girls in dangerous situations as they attempt to go about their daily business in there travel to work or places of education.

Because of intense pressure to earn extra income to send home to their families many women have no choice but to take on jobs where working conditions are not safe and where travel to and from the workplace places them at risk of other dangerous like violence or sexual harassment.

The absence of decent policing certainly does not help with matters and studies conducted by poverty charity ActionAid showed that the police forces do not even patrol the dangerous areas in many of the cities where women and girls are known to be at risk.

This creates a lack of trust and faith in the police which leaves many crimes and abuses going totally unreported. The lack of trust is amplified when, on the occassions that women from poor communities do come forward to report crimes or attacks they are met with a police force all to unwilling to take forward their allegations to investigation or prosecution.