THE PROTEGO FOUNDATION - Latest Blogs

Attracting Bees to Your Garden with Neville Longbottom

6/21/2022

Forget Fizzing Whizbees! After following this Muggle-worthy guide to magical insects and flora, your garden will be a fuzzy, buzzy bee’s greatest desire. (Now try saying that five times fast!)

Bees are one of the planet’s most hard-working and loyal creatures. They even have the Hufflepuff colors to prove it. Like “interdepartmental memos” for the natural world, bees carry pollen from one flower to another, allowing them to bloom and grow forevermore.

Without bees, there would be no flutterby bushes, honking daffodils, or the 250,000 other species of flowering plants, trees, and crops that rely on pollination. Thankfully, we know a Herbology master with expertise in this subject, Professor Neville Longbottom! Even passionate gardeners such as Molly Weasley and former Hogwarts Herbology professor, Pomona Sprout, have been known to take advice from Professor Longbottom.

Without further ado, we’ll hand it over to Neville…

Deforestation: 5 Actions You Can Take to Make a Difference

6/6/2022

When we think about forests in the wizarding world, most minds jump to the Forbidden Forest. Located on the Hogwarts grounds, the mysterious forest is the home to many enchanting creatures, including centaurs, Acromantulas, unicorns, and Thestrals.

Other forests are also seen in the Fantastic Beasts films. In the newest instalment, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Newt Scamander wanders through the woods in southern China to search for Qilins.

However, unlike these magical forests, our Muggle forests are threatened by mass deforestation. These ecosystems are home to thousands of animal and plant species. Every two seconds, a forest the size of a football field is destroyed. This pollutes our air and water and ruins the habitats and homes of over 400 species of animals in forests that date back as far as 70 million years. This impacts human life as well, as deforestation is one of the leading causes of world hunger.

So what actions can you take to help stop deforestation? Here are five tips to get you started.

Turning "Pests" into "Guests"

5/2/2022

Based on our recent episode of ProtegoCast, “Pest’ Control with Tylor Starr”, (Season 2 Episode 11), we’ve decided to delve into the harmful forms of “pest” control that we see in the wizarding world and how we can advocate for safe alternatives in the non-magical world.

You’ll notice that throughout this blog, when writing “pest,” we’ve chosen to put it within quotation marks. This is because we don’t see these creatures (magical or non-magical) as pests. They are simply creatures who are living alongside us. Some may be a little closer than we want them to be, but that doesn’t mean we should refer to them as “pests.” Instead, we prefer taking a kinder approach and calling them “guests!”

Sustainable Crafting: Yarn Guide

4/27/2022

From Hermione’s hats and Molly’s jumpers to Dobby’s socks and Hagrid’s blankets, you would be forgiven for wondering why there wasn’t a single mention of a “Hogwarts Witchcrafting Society” or even a yarn shop throughout the seven books.

However, like vegan butterbeer and plant-based potions, just because something exists inside our heads, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t real (as a certain famous collector of knitting patterns would say!).

That being said, just like butterbeer and potions, yarn often isn’t inherently vegan - and that is where we need to channel our inner Trelawney and broaden our minds! What’s more, here at Protego, we like to think that no character would have done this with more enthusiasm than everyone’s favorite free elf (and our chosen animal rights champion), Dobby!

Fleur's Tarte Tatin

3/28/2022

We’re back with another one of Fleur Weasley’s recipes!

This vegan tarte tatin, also known as an upside-down apple tart or caramelized apple tart, is a traditional French dessert that is sure to sweeten up your afternoon and become one of your new favorites.

Tarte tatin takes its name from its creator, Stéphanie Tatin. She owned a restaurant with her sister in the town of Lamotte-Beuvron in the region of Sologne back in the 19th century. The legend tells us that an overworked Stéphanie forgot to put the pastry in the pan before baking an apple pie. Realizing her mistake, she added the pastry base on top of the apples before putting the tart back in the oven.

Since then, many have tried their own hand at this dessert with much success. We’ll hand it off to Fleur, who will teach us her favorite way to bake this classic!

Fantastic Fan Features

2/24/2022

Fan creation is an art form that uses the magic of words and expert wandmanship – whether by pen, paintbrush, or digital technology. In the Wizarding World fandom, talented Potterheads have long led the way in Transfiguring their imagination into pieces of art and fiction to share with fellow fans.

At The Protego Foundation, we are Riddikulusly obsessed with fan art and fan fiction – just check out Season 2, Episode 10 of ProtegoCast with the folks at Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them.

In February, we encouraged our talented supporters to share their inspiring and empowering creature-friendly creations. The theme? Creature liberation within the wizarding world!

10 Vegan Recipes from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"

2/20/2022

Harry Potter’s fifth year at Hogwarts is filled with emotions. Harry becomes the epitome of an angsty teenager as he has to put up with Umbridge’s regime, Dumbledore ignoring him, navigating a romantic relationship, and constantly attempting to prove that Voldemort is back. Most tragically, he ends up losing one of the people who mattered most to him – Sirius.

No one would be able to survive all of that without some good wizarding food. We’ve put together 10 veganized recipes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for those times when you need to take a moment to ignore all of the intense things going on in your life.

Which will you choose when you fuel up for your next adventure?

Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition Review

1/25/2022

Located in Covent Garden, the new (and permanent!) Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition displays an extensive collection of behind-the-scenes photos, sketches, and original props and replicas from the movies.

As soon as you enter the premises, you’re greeted with the Weasleys’ flying Ford Anglia - before its trip in the Forbidden Forest, that is! A garland of Hogwarts letters leads you down the stairs (the exhibition is underground) to the start of the display.

We move through the exhibition in the same way that Harry discovered the wizarding world, starting with an oversized replica of Harry’s acceptance letter to Hogwarts and continuing on to a section devoted to Diagon Alley. Shop signs and original costumes are some of the special items that you might want to have a closer look at here.

Dragons in Harry Potter: A Symbol of Animal Liberation

1/16/2022

The following is an essay submission written by Helen Daubrie. Thank you, Helen!

Extraordinary, mythical creatures

Dragons are regarded as magical and mystical creatures by both magical and non-magical people. While the latter only commonly write stories and myths about said creatures, the wizarding community does far more than that. All recognise the extreme power of the winged, reptile-like creatures, to the extent that the British Ministry for Magic classifies dragons as XXXX. A feature of all dragon species is their extraordinary ability to breathe fire, which dragon mothers use to warm their eggs.

Contrary to other fantastic works, the Potterverse does not regard dragons as equals to humans. It might be due to the fact that dragons are only a small fraction of the total amount of magical creatures, or, as we will discuss in this article, it might be because dragons are viewed within the speciesist framework of human supremacy.

The Protego Foundation's 7 Tips for Veganuary

1/10/2022

Happy New Year from The Protego Foundation!

The new year brings magical new beginnings for people worldwide and an opportunity to set new goals. A popular resolution for many is choosing to go vegan! Whether you are a daring Gryffindor, a wise Ravenclaw, a loyal Hufflepuff, or an ambitious Slytherin, here’s what you need to know about dipping your toes into the world of veganism.

What is Veganuary?

Veganuary is a charity that encourages people from around the world to adopt veganism for January (and hopefully beyond!). It has become a global phenomenon since its founding in January 2014. The international reach of this successful organization is undeniable—a whopping 582,538 people registered in 2021 alone.

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The Protego Foundation and its activities are not licensed by, sponsored by or associated with Warner Bros., J.K. Rowling, or their affiliates. 'Wizarding World,' 'Harry Potter,' ‘Fantastic Beasts' and all related names, characters and indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. - Harry Potter publishing rights © J.K. Rowling.