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Aussie Man Is Walking Around With Half A Beard To Save The World's Rainforests

Aussie Man Is Walking Around With Half A Beard To Save The World's Rainforests

He wants people to realise how much of the Earth's ecosystems have been destroyed.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

The world has been collectively in shock as we watch parts of the Amazon go up in flames.

There have been tens of thousands of fires over recent months and efforts have been ramping up to extinguish many of the infernos still going.

As that effort continues, there's an Australian man who's trying to keep awareness on the plight of 'the lungs of the earth' as well as other rainforests around the globe.

PA

James Stanton-Cooke has been walking around with just half a beard for more than a year to represent 50 per cent of the rainforests that have been destroyed.

Going by the social media handle Jimmy Halfcut, the activist was horrified when he visited South America in 2011 with Jessica Clarke and saw how much of the pristine, beautiful landscape had been wiped out.

James has told LADbible he had to do something, adding: "We were at a loss. It felt too big of an issue to tackle and to even start the process felt almost impossible.

Jimmy Halfcut/Instagram

"Most people get it when they see the destruction, but the issue becomes the elephant in the room, we know it's happening we know why it is happening, but how do we stop it?

"When we came back to Australia we realised the issues were just as bad if not worse here in Australia.

"Australia is the youngest country to be colonised and the only developed country in the top 11 countries for deforestation globally with the main cause of deforestation being animal agriculture."

James was trying to find a way to connect with people about the plight of the world's rainforests without sounding preachy.

"We wanted to create a visual disruption for people to ask, 'why half a beard, did you lose a bet mate', allowing us to have a conversation about conservation," he tells us. "Explaining the visual metaphor that now more than 50 per cent for the world's forests are destroyed and 50 per cent of plant species are extinct."

James is trying to raise money for ecosystems that can't protect themselves from humans.

He says 98.8 per cent of the raised money is donated directly to The Rainforest Trust 'Saving Insigenous Land in The Amazon' campaign, which focuses on western part of the Amazon basin. The other 1.2 per cent goes to Stripe for credit card fees.

Initiatives like this are so important because they remind us that there's always work to be done to help the planet.

He's also asking anyone who feels like growing their beard or hair and then cutting half of it off to join their movement.

Featured Image Credit: Jimmy Halfcut

Topics: climate change, Inspirational, Community, Australia