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...

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?

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...

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...

Should Ecology be more proactive & vocal on one of the key issues of our times? What systemic & institutional changes are needed for the ecological community to be at the forefront of the response? If these are questions that speak to you, this new paper may be of interest lnkd.in/eXfXG4xM

1. All eagle deaths, esp in a small population, are a loss but some are harder to take than most. Sadly, our 1st breeding male, released in 2008, was recently picked up dead. This bird deserves a proper obituary to put his life (and death) in context www.thejournal.ie/investigatio...

"We will explore more, find more and extract more" Norway announces its largest ever expansion of fossil fuel extraction. We don't get to claim we're climate heroes while we aggressively and almost anxiously seek to increase supply of the stuff that causes it.

“What many of us are now realizing is that coexistence is more of a process than a solution, and that this process must begin by consulting with people closer to the ground, especially those who are being asked to share space with large carnivores and other wildlife.”

🚨 New paper! 🚨 The #lynx and #wolf have been extinct in #Scotland for over 400 years. Could divisions over their #reintroduction, linked to #rewilding, be in part the product of shifting baseline syndrome? 🐺 Check out this new paper to find out 👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Big fan of Desert Island Discs, so I really enjoyed this interview with conservation biologist and rewilding pioneer Carl Jones about his life’s work saving species and rebuilding ecosystems. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Curtailing people’s ability to read widely and carefully, to locate, assess, and compare different sources for themselves, and to write in their own voice about what they find and what it means, is arguably more effective than censorship. It is also one of the most obvious effects of generative AI.

Speaking to my dad earlier, he told me of a family near Rostrevor nearly burned out by the recent Mourne fires. Told to evacuate, the woman of the house took to sprinkling holy water round the garden. The flames came within metres of the house - then turned. Luck, faith, or the land minding its own?

Fed up of the sheer numbers of journalists & media outlets that are losing it over de-extinction & giving uncritical PR to Colossal. Stupidity or collusion? They ought to be asking better & tougher questions on the underlying purposes of this. Spoiler: it’s not about conservation or the animals.

With wildfires impacting people and nature in Scotland, Norway, and the Mourne Mountains in NI over the last few days, this is a timely new paper exploring the complex role of fire in rewilding. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

As everyone is talking about Ireland this St Patrick's Day... theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/... "Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems." theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...

I’ve written a few words in the Irish News about human-wildlife coexistence in Ireland, which might be worth a look for those interested in conservation and rewilding, both in Ireland and beyond. It’s behind a paywall, so I’ve shared a version of the article below. www.irishnews.com/life/the-rev...

A question for those doing, or interested in doing, research on conservation issues in Ireland. Has anyone, e.g. a professor, reviewer etc, ever told you that Ireland isn’t a priority area for conservation research? 1/2

“The return of nine out of the eleven lost birds listed is quite possible” 25 years since Gordon D’Arcy’s excellent book ‘Ireland’s Lost Birds’ (1999) was published, it’s pretty remarkable how this prediction turned out to be almost spot-on!

Happy, and slightly surprised, to find out that my submission for the Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics has been accepted! Looking forward to interesting discussions on degrowth, environmental justice and sustainability in Oslo on June 24th-27th!

Had a brief chat with the new Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, at an Irish Embassy reception in Oslo this evening. Actions may speak louder than words, but at least his words showed sincerity and a solid grasp of environmental issues in Ireland.

I’m all for sharing and celebrating conservation success stories. However, if we’re serious about fostering more just approaches to conservation then we need to learn from our mistakes and strive to tell the full story - particularly about the social impacts of conservation.

Chuffed to be able to share the first publication from my PhD! Illegal reintroductions of #lynx are irresponsible and the wrong path forward for #rewilding in #Scotland link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Sorry, but while I believe it is spread in good faith, I think this is a good time to call out this common mistruth in the Irish ecological community. Indulge me for a minute, I just finished 5 years in Europe working with wolves, lynx, and deer. "Lack of wolves" is not the problem. Short🧵

“The study uncovers a paradox inherent in nature-based tourism: by facilitating improved access to nature, nature-based tourism can harm the very nature it seeks to showcase.” Interesting research on the proposed gondola in Sula, Norway. Similar issues have arisen with Mourne Gateway project in NI.

New paper from my PhD, in Transactions (@tibg.bsky.social) coauthored by @csandbrook.bsky.social. On wolves, farmers and interspecies violence. "From biopower to affirmative biopolitics: A (bio)political ecology of becoming with wolves" rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... A thread below

6/ Emma Cary of @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social w/ amazing talk on decision-making in 🇬🇧 restoration & rewilding is inherently social, leave little room for alternative knowledge systems and disregard implications of social-ecological justice. More on this their paper www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Belfast launch of 'Living with Lynx' by Dr. Jonny Hanson, will be taking place at QUB on 17th February at 18:00 in the Canada room at @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social as part of the NI Science Festival. You can book your free tickets here. nisciencefestival.com/events/livin...

Interested in human-wildlife coexistence? The new CoCo Horizon project aims to promote policies, practices, and stakeholder engagement for integrating wildlife and livestock into sustainable European landscapes. Learn more about the project here: cocoproject.eu

This map is like a bad penny. Not only is it woefully reductive, it also effectively erases the hard work of countless farmers, landowners, volunteers, environmental activists, conservationists etc who are striving to protect and enhance nature in landscapes across Ireland (and Europe).

We wrote a short piece in the Conversation about illicit and unregulated species reintroduction, in the context of the recent #lynx incident. theconversation.com/lynx-in-scot...

After spending most of 2024 learning Norwegian (and changing nappies), it was nice to find out last week that I’d passed my exams. Now I’ll finally be able to understand what the dogs are talking about…// Nå kan jeg endelig forstå hva disse hundene snakker om…🙃 🇳🇴