Burning plastic smells awful. It also gives you that choking feeling… which is no surprise when you know that plastic is basically made of oil and gives off toxic fumes when it burns.

An asthma attack is a frightening experience, threatening to deprive you of your ability to breathe, and life itself. According to World Health Organization estimates, 235 million people suffer from asthma, which is the most common chronic disease among children. Over 80 per cent of asthma deaths occur in low and lower-middle income countries.

As the sun beats down on a traditional loom in Burkina Faso’s morning heat, a curious shiny material starts to emerge. Not your usual cotton texture, the weft criss-crosses over-and-under, and the woven product is smooth and sparkling.

From Lagos and Lahore to London, it’s the poorest people who are most affected by air pollution. The poor tend to be priced out of the leafy suburbs where there are fewer highways and air quality is better.

Every year, birds make epic journeys across the world to survive. Over millions of years certain species of birds have become hard-wired to seek food and nesting sites along routes.

A few years ago, a team of scientists and engineers speculated in a documentary series what might become of Earth if humans suddenly disappeared. They predicted events beginning one day after the disappearance of humankind to one hundred years into the future, and explored the ways man-made structures might collapse, while nature replenished.

In our all-too-hectic urban lives, a city park is a great place to unwind. Trees and green spaces have mental health and well-being benefits, on top of being great for relaxation and recreation.

Wild mushroom picking in Eastern Europe is more than a tradition. It is a social event. Every year, in late summer and early fall, thousands of people roam the woods for the biggest, most perfect specimens. They take their children along to teach them which mushrooms are edible and which are poisonous, which are ripe and which should be left for another week or so, passing on generations-old teachings and care for the woods.

When animals and insects pick up the pollen of flowers and spread it, they allow plants, including many food crops, to reproduce. Birds, rodents, monkeys and even people pollinate, but the most common pollinators are insects, and among them, bees.

When the sun’s first rays hit the green paddy fields in Ghagotpada in northern Bangladesh, fifty-year-old Mafruha is already hard at work in her kitchen. In this impoverished village, her home is a haven, always teeming with other women. While they mingle, Mafruha is whipping up delicacies for her visitors.