Tiny natterjack toads. One of Ireland's three native amphibian species.

“The privatization of land has been justly described as “perhaps the weirdest of all undertakings of our ancestors”. The idea that individuals could claim exclusive ownership of parts of nature on which all humans depend was very weird indeed.” Even weirder in a living world shared by many species.

Very glad I made the trip from Oslo to Ennistymon last week for @hometreecharity.bsky.social’s Changing Landscapes conference, which focused on the politics and power dynamics of nature restoration. I’ve shared some reflections here: open.substack.com/pub/darasand...

Nature Restoration Reaches A Crossroads in Ireland

Forging common ground for nature restoration in Ireland: reflections from Hometree’s Changing Landscapes conference 2026

open.substack.com

I wrote this article for the Irish News last year, but since it’s behind a paywall I’m sharing it below. It explores the return of species like red kites and eagles to Ireland, and the tensions that often surround conservation and nature restoration. open.substack.com/pub/darasand...

Reviving Coexistence in Contested Landscapes

Learning to live alongside each other is a crucial step in learning to live alongside wildlife

open.substack.com

With the aim of writing more, I’ve joined Substack to share some thoughts on nature restoration and other topics that come to mind. My first piece takes a brief look at Northern Ireland's draft Nature Recovery Strategy and argues that it needs a radical rethink… open.substack.com/pub/darasand...

Northern Ireland’s Nature Recovery Strategy Needs a Radical Rethink

Northern Ireland’s Nature Recovery Strategy must confront the politics of land, growth-driven nature loss, and questions of power and justice.

open.substack.com

“To live as human beings on this planet is to change the world around us.” William Cronon’s work is worth reading for many, many reasons, not least because it approaches environmental issues as moral dilemmas rather than technical problems that can be solved through better scientific knowledge.

I came across what looked like “smoke” rising off damp moss in the sun yesterday morning. Does anyone know what this phenomenon is called? Is it a form of evaporation fog or something else?

When you say no more tv and your child finds a creative way to show their disapproval…

1/ Paul Ehrlich died this week at 93. The takes split into hagiography and dismissal. But the interesting question isn't whether he got it right, he didn't, it's why he got it wrong, and who was asking the right questions instead 🧵

A lynx cub, described as “very likely motherless and definitely starving”, was put down by authorities in Norway after attacking a dog and remaining in a residential area. If lynx are ever reintroduced to the UK and Ireland, how would a situation like this be handled? www.drm24.no/gaupe-angrep...

Gaupe angrep hund – alvorlig skadet

Med skader i hodet og øyne håper eieren at hunden overlever. Gaupa kom tilbake etter 40 minutter fra angrepet og slo seg ned på verandaen. Mandag formiddag ble gaupa skutt av Statens Naturoppsyn.

drm24.no

Would you believe that in the capital of one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a life-saving public service would be cut due to budget constraints? It’s happened in Norway, where lifeguards will no longer be present on 4 of 5 beaches in Oslo. Shameful. www.aftenposten.no/meninger/deb...

«Oslo fjerner Strandtjenesten. Da står ingen igjen når noen går under.»

Hvem tar ansvar når noen drukner?

aftenposten.no

Quick question for those working in nature restoration, rewilding, or related fields: Are there restoration frameworks that offer alternatives to the Society for Ecological Restoration’s international standards, particularly ones informed by approaches like convivial conservation? Similar to this👇

Can we find a middle ground between those who see the EU's wolf downlisting as a catastrophe and those who celebrate it as good news? With @hannalp.bsky.social, we discuss the frustratingly polarised debate about wolf conservation in the EU. 🌍🦤🧪🦊 🎧➡️ pod.fo/e/362998

I appreciate much of @ipbesfr.bsky.social but this business and biodiversity nonsense goes beyond 'missing the point'. It is simplistic, ineffective & dangerous As long as we continue to talk about 'business' when the issue is 'capitalism', nothing will change. It only creates empty virtue signals

IPBES@ipbes.net · 6mo ago

When you hear business and biodiversity, which of these images resonates most with you, and why? The #BizBiodiversity Assessment explores the many ways economic activities interact with nature and nature’s contributions to people. 📖 More about the report: ipbes.canto.de/b/HJAGG #IPBES12

“Unintended consequences of human action continue to have a devastating impact on the natural world” No. Biodiversity loss is not “unintended”. It is the built-in cost of an economic system that demands perpetual expansion. Conservation leaders should call this out. www.ox.ac.uk/climate-and-...

Professor Dame EJ Milner-Gulland - Accentuating climate positives

Dame EJ Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, talks about her career and the need to frame the climate conversation more positively.

ox.ac.uk

"Regjeringen poengterer at planen er avhengig av «det økonomiske handlingsrommet», men ser ut til å ha glemt en ting: Hvis naturtapet fortsetter i samme tempo som i dag, vil det økologiske handlingsrommet – ikke det økonomiske – begrense utviklingen i Norge." www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/hvor-...

Hvor ble det av naturen, Støre?

Statsministeren har lagt store planer for Norges framtid, men ser ut til å ha glemt at vi er avhengige av at naturen forsyner oss med livsviktige varer og tjenester.

dagsavisen.no

I have very mixed feeling about this report & the coverage it is getting. It’s good to see biodiversity loss getting attention. BUT experience in tackling #IWT shows linking biodiversity & security issues carries significant risks, often for the most vulnerable www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn

Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt

theguardian.com

Strange choice to frame this interview around the apparent harmony between nature restoration and economic growth, when Tony Juniper’s new book challenges the idea that endless growth is compatible with a healthy planet. open.spotify.com/episode/3wnJ...

Headwinds and hope: Tony Juniper on Why Nature Restoration is a Path to Economic Growth

open.spotify.com

Olve Krange at NINA led a study that sheds some light on this. “Results show that lack of trust in environmental institutions is strongly associated with ACC denial…and is partly a function of anti-elitist attitudes, opposition to migration and views of nature.” www.nature.com/articles/s41...

“Don’t confuse me with facts”—how right wing populism affects trust in agencies advocating anthropogenic climate change as a reality - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - “Don’t confuse me with facts”—how right wing populism affects trust in agencies advocating anthropogenic climate change as a...

nature.com

🚨 We are looking for 3 new colleagues to join the GreenFrontier team as Postdoctoral Researchers! Deadline for applications: 25 Nov 2025 Each of the 3 openings will involve extended ethnographic fieldwork + plenty of opportunities to consolidate research & leadership skills! Please share widely!

Excited to start as a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research next week! One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!

Cork (Ireland), will host the 12th International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity in August 2027 with satellite gatherings in Covilha (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania) degrowth.info/en/conferenc...

Cork 2027

Coming in August 2027 the 12th Conference will take place in Ireland, with satellite gatherings in Covilha (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania). With a thematic focus on "policy, practice and culture"...

degrowth.info

The findings from the #GreenToGrey project have been leading the news in Norway today. Yet, Ireland isn’t far behind when it comes to converting nature and farmland per capita to make way for construction, housing, roads, luxury developments, etc. Has this been getting much coverage back home?

Per-Erik Schulze@pererikschulze.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Again Norway tops a not so nice list, of nature and farmland consumption per capita for construction and "development". But all countries in Europe are on a slippery slope to piece by piece nature destruction. There is an urgent need to stop this nature crisis. Full story www.nrk.no/dokumentar/x...

Waiting to hear back about job applications feels like...

Nice to be back at @uninmbu.bsky.social this week as a guest lecturer on the Master's course "Green transformations in theory and practice". The campus has changed a lot over the last few years, but there are still a few reminders that this place used to be the Norwegian Agricultural University 🐑

Just back from a few days in Norway’s oldest national park, Rondane, doing visitor surveys for the "Sounds like Norway" project. A key takeaway was that natural sounds (wind, water, birds etc) and, in particular, quiet really matter for how people enjoy and connect with the outdoors.

"It is insulting that the commitment to the term rewilding is stronger than the commitment to reconciliation & truth-telling...At a time when we need empowerment, the label of rewilding does nothing but strip it from us." Thought-provoking piece by Michael-Shawn Fletcher in @consletters.bsky.social

A hunter in Norway received a 45-day prison sentence for shooting a lynx he mistook for a fox. What stands out about this story isn’t the rare conviction for a wildlife crime, it’s that the hunter turned himself in - an even rarer act of accountability in today’s world. www.tv2.no/nyheter/inne...

Trudde dette var rev - no er jegeren dømd til fengsel

Mannen erkjenner at han burde ha sjekka betre før han fyrte av.

tv2.no

This is a really important & useful paper: the persistence of the idea that poverty causes biodiversity decline inhibits just and effective conservation. @upascual.bsky.social @estherturnhout.bsky.social @pettorelli.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Unveiling pervasive assumptions: moving beyond the poverty-biodiversity loss association in conservation

This paper reflects on the continued persistence of the idea in conservation research and practice that poverty drives biodiversity loss (the poverty-…

sciencedirect.com