10 years ago, there was only a single 'leathceann' (windswept) birch tree in the foreground. Now, there's a full-on exploding diverse native rainforest, none of which was planted. All it took was fencing out sheep. Let's rewild the world 🌏

This went completely under my radar. A rewilded Glen of the Downs Golf Course that creates an unexpected corridor between the GOTDs, Kindlestown Wood and the Little Sugar Loaf 🤯 www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

Epiphytic goldenrod in flower on a sally in the woods. The very rainforest itself blooming. 🌍

A patch of wild native rainforest in Glenbeg, Beara, looks okay from across the lake. But it's dying because of sheep, with zero ground flora or regenerating trees. The farmer should be offered double his farm payments to take the sheep out, but chances are he'd actually get nothing. It's insane.

Let’s be the first generation in Ireland to experience more, wilder and healthier nature, not less. The benefits would be endless! My piece in the Journal this week.

Keeping honeybees to save wild bees is like keeping chickens to save wild birds. One island has banned them. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Here's a plot of fertiliser imports into #Ireland over recent years. By far the greatest tonnage is for N-compounds, with a marked up tick in 2023-'24. Intensive ruminant production sucks nitrogen & our rivers/lakes show it, but let's hold onto the #NitratesDerogation & sacred cows. [Data CSO]

"Rewilding brings us back to the primacy of nature being able to look after itself." It takes a lot of work to get this started @whittledaway.bsky.social #Rewilding event @tcddublin.bsky.social

Don't know why its so hard to recruit volunteers these days..... Snapshot Galway started again yesterday- 20 cameras for 2 months in the windswept valleys! @irishwoodlandtrust.bsky.social

Welcome to Ireland- there's no amount of water we can't pollute! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

A brilliant piece by @ellamcsweeney.bsky.social in the @irishtimes.com this morning highlights the lack of enforcement of environmental legislation. North Cork Creameries (a member of Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme) has been issued with 125 non-compliance notices since 2020.

This woodland is amazing (biased of course)

Perks of the (volunteer) job

Listen to Eoghan - you know he's right!

In Ireland, we have a choice: to allow the loss of nature to continue, or to ensure that future generations witness a resurgence of the natural world. 🌱 My piece in the Journal this morning.

There's something off here -a slow response,an ever changing story - and no answers to the worst fish kill in our history. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

The first confirmed birth of a white-tailed eagle in Co Waterford for over 150 years has taken place

Ooh… If you want to be heartened by human kindness towards a stranger, read this Cough.. just, something in my eye ..

Whether or not they caused the horrific fish kill, serious questions need to be asked why North Cork Creameries has been repeatedly in breach of their EPA discharge licence. Do we need 46,000 fish to be directly attributable to their pollution to stop it? 🧵 www.thejournal.ie/fish-kill-ri...

One of the most famous Dracaena spp is D. cinnabari, the dragon’s blood tree, endemic to Socotra, a tiny island off the Horn of Africa. The species epithet & common name refer to the red resin. 📷: James Bailey CCBYNC4. #Dracaena #Asparagaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

A combination of two alien invasive species, sika deer and rhododendron, are killing this beautiful native forest in Lauragh, Kerry. The trees can't regenerate due to the overgrazing, and as they age and die, only the proliferating rhodo remains. Invasives are a *top* driver of global nature loss.

An old hawthorn, absolutely dripping with epiphytic lungwort and other lichens, polypody, mosses. This is rainforest.

Didn't initial reports say all EPA monitored sites were in the clear ? What exactly is going on here ? www.rte.ie/news/regiona...

From what we've been told - its not a fish kill- its an everything kill for over 40 miles of river. Insects, birds, mammals also impacted. This should, by now, be a serious criminal matter.

Ever wonder why we developed such a domesticated and poor relationship with nature? Here's a page from a comic book from the 1980s, pointing out all the dangers of the countryside! Watch out for the killer stoat !

While this is being reported as a "fish kill" in the media, it is actually a *river* kill. This is ecocide and – at best – someone will pay a small monetary fine for wiping out a massive ecosystem. www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster...

Allowing properties to remain derelict for decades should be considered a crime against the state. Ireland's housing system is in a state of disrepair, primarily due to ineffective Government policies. 📷 78 Dorset Street Upper, Phibsborough, Dublin 1 #DerelictIreland #VacantIreland #Dublin #Ireland

Round-leaved sundew with unfortunate butterfly prey, Lemanaghan bog, Co. Offaly. The plant releases juices to digest its meal, before the wings and other hard parts eventually blow away in the wind.

Ever wonder why we developed such a domesticated and poor relationship with nature? Here's a page from a comic book from the 1980s, pointing out all the dangers of the countryside! Watch out for the killer stoat !

Through both luck and design, the Burren is the best managed landscape in Ireland and a magical place to visit. This is my report from the Burren National Park, the latest in my series and the 7th of our 8 NPs. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...

Always awesome to see restoration work like this succeed Anyone in Ireland paying attention? www.bbc.com/news/article...

I'm terrible at updating you all on conservation and ecology work, but I can promise you this: It is the biggest year for Irish camera trapping since records began, and it's not even close. Why is this important? With this data, we can guide management and learn more about Irish nature.

Trees, water, rocks, mist... Let the beauty of our world spirit you away 🌍

Check out this interview from last Saturday with our Chairperson - a nice insight into where we've come from, what we do and how we do it ! m.independent.ie/life/climate...

Due to unprecedented demand, we've put on a second walk in Ballinakelly Wood this Sunday, 17th August- this time starting at 2.30. Book your slot now, while you can and experience this amazing woodland which is rarely accessible to the public! www.eventbrite.ie/e/1590940729...

Due to unprecedented demand, we've put on a second walk in Ballinakelly Wood this Sunday, 17th August- this time starting at 2.30. Book your slot now, while you can and experience this amazing woodland which is rarely accessible to the public! www.eventbrite.ie/e/1590940729...

Due to unprecedented demand, we've put on a second walk in Ballinakelly Wood this Sunday, 18th August- this time starting at 2.30. Book your slot now, while you can and experience this amazing woodland which is rarely accessible to the public! www.eventbrite.ie/e/1590940729...

Check out this interview from last Saturday with our Chairperson - a nice insight into where we've come from, what we do and how we do it ! m.independent.ie/life/climate...

Well that's not good. Asian hornet spotted in Co. Cork. gov.ie/en/departmen...

Nearly 250 white-tailed eagle chicks released into wild via Kerry scheme

Stunning images by Julian Friers of extinct and lost Irish animals from #Megaloceros, #Mammoth, to Great Auk, with the full story of Ireland’s ice age animals and human impacts on the fauna by Mike Simms. Published by National Museums Northern Ireland August 2025 ISBN 0-900761-69-5

Even with wings closed, the Red Admiral is a stunning butterfly!

A very tall Broadleaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) in Glenfarne Forest, Co Leitrim, complete with happy harvestman #Wildflowerhour #HelleborineChallenge #botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildorchid @npwsireland.bsky.social @irishwoodlandtrust.bsky.social

Unbelievably, we're still selling highly invasive species in garden centres. Never not shooting ourselves in the foot. . . . . www.thejournal.ie/readme/invas...

They are pretty cute! 'As cute as the bees with the red holes'! @irishwoodlandtrust.bsky.social #spèirghorm