A wonderful, if completely exhausting, week at the #POLLEN26 conference. Lots of really great, engaged, interdisciplinary, critical research on conservation and the environment. A friendly, welcoming, supportive conference that has largely restored my faith in human geography.

This Friday @cascade-hei.bsky.social & Defra are organising the first of a joint series of seminars on topics of interest to Defra & academics in the biodiversity world. Join us at 1pm for a lively discussion of AI, biodiversty & ethics! 🌎 🧪 events.teams.microsoft.com/event/4bb0d8...

Off to Pathways Europe in Oxford and have a frustration about discussions about coexistence? Then come to our session on "Uncomfortable ecologies, taboos, and controversial pathways to coexistence" and share your thoughts. Monday, 13:45, room 407.

two fantastic PhD opportunities on human-eel interactions. Don't let this opportunity slip away, etc etc etc. euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/435262

super paper in @peopleandnature.bsky.social by Theo Stanley on recent turns in Scottish #rewilding to integrate markets, technology but also some romanticism. A superbly rich analysis. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The problem of black/white binaries in species translocations: Natural England has decided, on balance, that no Storks are native, but people like White Storks and releases may be approved. Black Storks aren't native but consent for release is unlikely. naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/08/w...

🚨FUNDED PHD🚨'Economic carrying capacity & the future of rhinos in privately governed OECMs' @dice-kent.bsky.social, UK & International applications welcome - closing date 14th May🦏 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

I think the fact that @sicilyfiennes.bsky.social etc latest paper has the phrase "a more than human political ecology" in its title neatly demonstrates the shift towards interdisciplinary in @conbiology.bsky.social in recent years. conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

In episode 7 of our podcast, 'Edges of Exinction' @jdroberts.bsky.social talks to @sicilyfiennes.bsky.social about the complex and ambiguous 'wicked problem' of bird trade in Indonesia, and how to create just outcomes for humans and birds alike extinctionstudiesleeds.podbean.com/e/edges-of-e...

SCB's Art, Science + Conservation WG is seeking members! We bring together artists, researchers + conservation practitioners to explore how creative arts can support biodiversity conservation. forms.gle/af6xkoosh7Yn...

Excellent thread by @toriherridge.bsky.social . As well as criticising the tech bro hype and dodgy agendas, I'm yet to hear anyone in mainstream conservation (e.g. IUCN) talking about this kind of de-extinction. The real discussions are about ecological replacement, assisted colonisation etc

I reviewed @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social most recent book, about how extinction is represented in museums, and I liked it a lot.

This instance hasn't been discussed much in the European sphere, but it is pretty wild - a group of scientists write a unassuming exploration of some issues around rewilding in Argentina, and get sued by a very large and influential NGO. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Very excited to announce that we are hiring for three faculty positions at @universityofleeds.bsky.social in @bioscienceleeds.bsky.social: A/Prof Plant Science, A/Prof Animal Biology and Lecturer in Ecology, Zoology, Biodiversity or Ecosystem Management. Please do get in touch to chat. Links below:

1/ Calling all ECRs - we have 4x3 year post docs on Multispecies Mutualisms working with us at Sheffield. Don't want to read through all the stuff to work out if its right for you? Here is a short video explainer 🎥 digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk/media/Multis...

Our research group looks at a broad range of topics, is fairly diverse in terms of views, approaches and demographic characteristics. But we will continue to strictly enforce our "no Nazis" rule.

Congratulations to Dr @natalie-york.bsky.social for passing her PhD with an awesome viva. Really interesting work on politics of biocultural conservation in northern Kenya. Check out her paper in @conbiology.bsky.social conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

We are recruiting a new head of school! This is an exciting opportunity to join us at University of Leeds in @earthandenvleeds.bsky.social - please check out the advert and get in touch if you are interested! jobs.leeds.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Another classic meeting of the England Species Reintroduction Taskforce, part of which involved looking for Natterjack Toads in some surprisingly sunny and warm Surrey wetlands.

Do you work for a conservation organisation? Take part in this global survey of conservation labour - on who does what in conservation, where, and how: www.cmi.no/projects/292...

Rather lovely to go back to @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social geography department, a quarter century after it all started there for me, to talk about the future of species reintroduction in Scotland. Since my student days in, ahem, 2000-5, much has changed for reintroduction in Scotland, and much hasn't.

This is the latest salvo in what I'm calling The Great British Herpetological Hoo-Hah - disagreements on what amphibians and reptiles should be 're'-introduced to Britain, where, and how. Lots of fascinating details. Worthy of a PhD study or a 4-part BBC1 drama www.arc-trust.org/lost-frogs-r...

CFP 📢 Join us for a panel on conservation histories for the European Congress of Conservation Biology in Leiden @eccb26leiden.bsky.social If you're interested, email @georgeholmes.bsky.social or me with an abstract by Feb 9. #envhist #histsci #animalhist #conservationhumanities

Want to join our panel @eccb26leiden.bsky.social on "Conservation Histories and Humanities: Understanding the Present, Unearthing the Past"? We are looking for presentations exploring the histories of conservation. Email me ([email protected]) with an abstract by 9th Feb.

A PhD opportunity involving several of my favourite things - Scotland, tricky debates about land management and ideas of landscape, and Phil Stephens. Deadline is end of month.

super interesting paper in @conbiology.bsky.social on how different groups feel about 'native' versus non-native species decline in Canada, particularly how White people put a much greater emphasis on nativeness in their response. conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

our letter in @theguardian.com on the rise of 'beaver bombing' and other illicit and unregulated species reintroductions in Britain and elsewhere. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Interesting to see another HUGE purchase of land for a privately protected area in Patagonia. I saw the early stages of this campaign, led by local climbers etc, when doing fieldwork there in 2011. It is misleading to say that it was 'inspired' by gringos. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

How can we make conservation fieldwork more inclusive and just? New document by the SCB Europe's DEIJ Committee summarizes key barriers to participation and practical, evidence-based actions and ways forward. See a couple of examples below. 🔗 www.scbeurope.org/en/deij-comm...

Another day, another illicit species release: I suspect there are a few people who know exactly where this one came from (Bavaria, originally, I bet - it seems all Europe's illicit beavers can be traced back there), and quite a few more who have strong suspicions. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

One of my PhD chapters: 'Designing user-centered technologies to address the illegal wildlife trade' is OUT NOW in the @society4conbio.bsky.social journal Conservation Science and Practice! Please check out the graphical abstract and give it a read: conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Fieldwork can be a unique opportunity, but it can also be a very significant challenge to well-being. My colleagues have developed this interactive reflection tool to help manage well-being whilst on fieldwork, preparing to fieldwork, and when you get back inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/wellbeing/

Are you an ecologist? Do you collect biodiversity data for your role in a charity, research, a government body, or a specialist organisation? Read on for a thread that might interest you… 🧵 [1/6] #biodiversity #forests #darkextinction #ecology #research

when leaving comments on an early draft of Dr @sicilyfiennes.bsky.social amazing thesis, I described a sentence in it as “so good it should be embroidered on a tea towel”. As a end-of-PhD present, they gifted me this amazing tea towel, with that sentence embroidered on it! Best academic gift ever!

Profits from scientific publishing are eye-watering, costing us billions. In ‘The Drain of Scientific Publishing’ (arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820), (building on ‘The Strain of Scientific Publishing’ doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00327) we show how it is harmful – and unnecessary.

@extinctionleeds.bsky.social is an interdisciplinary doctoral training programme focusing on topics relating to extinction and its meanings, histories and legacies. Watch the whole🎬👉 media.leverhulme.ac.uk/video/extinc... @katatrepsis.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social

Fancy coming to POLLEN in Barcelona and joining our panel on "Political Ecologies of Restoration: Reintroduction, Assisted Migration, and Rewilding"? Then submit an abstract via the link below! pollenpoliticalecology.network/pollen-2026/...

A curious thing I share about #okapi is their long history with the U.S., esp. New York: @amnh.org, Bronx Zoo, @wcs.org. Deals w Belgian Congo, Lang's Congo trip, Gilman's philanthropy, #Warhol & Anne Eisner Putnam's art, & Madison Square Gdns where Mr G, the only circus okapi, died. Book out today

this paper in @consletters.bsky.social is a superb primer on what power means in conservation - a big job to summarise centuries of social theory and decades of conservation social science research into a few thousand words! conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Fancy coming to POLLEN in Barcelona and joining our panel on "Political Ecologies of Restoration: Reintroduction, Assisted Migration, and Rewilding"? Then submit an abstract via the link below! pollenpoliticalecology.network/pollen-2026/...

🚨 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!

Short piece in @consletters.bsky.social exploring social, cultural, political and ecological apsects of illicit and unregulated species translocations - what others (not me, due to homophone errors) might call guerilla rewilding. conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A fun visit to the University of Kent, to discuss species reintroductions. Here's me in front of the campus mural of a European Bison. There's a small herd of them living just three miles from this mural, but it is not a simple story of a 're' introduction.

This is an important petition on academic freedom, for a professor at Syracuse, NY, USA, who has been indefinitely suspended for a very mildly sarcastic four-word social media post relating to US politics. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Today I am mostly thinking about the popular inter-war literary genre 'animal stories written by fascists'. Join me.

new virtual exhibition on wetlands, exploring how people interact with their wetlands, their rhythms, dynamic changes, and flows of many kinds. www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/...

This paper - on what habituation does and should mean - is a must-read for anyone working on wildlife conservation, human-wildlife interactions/conflict/coexistence, translocations, in the humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences.

I've long thought of our research as artworks 😉. But now it is actually true - our research on Caspian seal conservation has been integrated into an artwork in Berlin, on ecological degradation and human-nature interactions. w/ @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social. www.studio1-0-6.com/carried-by-t...

Another productive meeting of the Defra/ @naturalengland.bsky.social Species Reintroduction Taskforce, this time at Wild Ennerdale, Cumbria. Classic Taskforce behaviour, crouching in a forest looking at a successfully translocated Hairy Wood Ant colony.