I have never seen one of these in Ireland before. Calliteara pudibunda, I think. My (gardening) fingers for scale at one point. Beautiful creature.

I wish I had been able to go on a weekend like this when I was an undergraduate. If you've ever wondered about the houses of ordinary folk in history, or (if you know me) wondered what it is that I actually get up to, then book in and have an amazing weekend in Oxfordshire!

An absolutely pleasure to speak to Bracebridge Heath U3A today about mud and stud, and a delight to be speaking to Horncastle History & Heritage Society tomorrow evening - in the heart of Mud & Stud country!

Who doesn’t love an Irish cottage? ‘Lost Houses’ showcases forgotten homes & overlooked architectural fragments in Galway City’s rich cultural & social landscape, in the Architecture At The Edge exhibition 2025 👏 Visited with students from BA Design @atu-ie.bsky.social @oflynnatu.bsky.social

Calling all #arachnophiles Is it just me or are spiders getting bigger? Is it climate change or just a propitious year for them? This chap was photographed just before being caught and released 40 or so meters away. For scale the worktop is 3cms. what species & have these always been in Ireland?

@trcava.bsky.social any idea what is happening here? I accept the they are not unusual on a fallen log, but at the base of (what I hope is) a healthy tree It's in Ireland.

Storm Amy in County Antrim. It is not so much the wind as the noise. The dog is a bit spooked.

Are spiders in Ireland bigger than they used to be? I don't ever remember seeing any as big as this when I was wee (unfortunately this one is no longer with us, but it is more compliant at being measured). 8cm leg span!

The story of Sam’s Cottage. If outside the UK you may need a VPN. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

𝗧𝗩 | Can a crumbling 19th-century cottage become a dream home? Join Ballymena’s Stephen and Marie as they team up with architect Patrick Bradley to save a piece of Northern Ireland’s heritage in Restoration Rescue. Photos and more below!

We welcome the Climate Change Advisory Council’s Annual Review of the Built Environment, which strongly echoes long-standing civil society calls for decisive government action to decarbonise Ireland’s homes & protect people from energy poverty. Find out more👇 bit.ly/45NkTqu

Epstein survivors say they’re compiling their own client list. “We know who abused us. We saw who came and went. This list will be survivor-led—for survivors”

Reason #12,398 never to step foot in Florida ever again apnews.com/article/flor...

'This country needs migrants' Zack Polanski, the new leader of the Green Party in England and Wales, speaks to #BBCBreakfast about his views on immigration

So our military just bombed a boat in international waters and extrajudicially killed suspected drug traffickers without so much as a conversation, let alone a trial? Then posted it on social media? And we’re all supposed to just trust their account?

That Pritzker press conference was... surreal, and I think marks a significant moment of escalation in the constitutional omni-crisis. This was the governor of a state saying plainly the Union itself is being torn apart and his state is being militarily invaded by an authoritarian regime.

Climate change deniers now going from “the earth is not warming up” to “ yes the earth is warming up but it’s cyclical. It’s natural and not man made”. Why do they think scientists with no political association are lying to them? Why do they think scientists are wrong and Richard Tice is right?

A mast year, but the storms have taken their toll.

You have to start to wonder if the interior decorator is actually trolling him.

Late evening sun in Ireland.

Looking towards Mull. Beautiful.

Glorious. Sam's Cottage. Co. Antrim.

We’re giving a shoutout to one of nature’s hands-on dads! Male Curlews take an active role in raising their young. They help incubate the eggs, protect the nest, and look after the chicks once they hatch. Their commitment is crucial to the survival of these special birds. 📷 Tony Pope

💙✊💙✌️💙🦋

Portrait of the now extinct British subspecies of the Large Copper from John Curtis's British Entomology (1824) when it was still flying

The worst case scenario is a fine of over €26 billion - the equivalent of 11 National Children’s Hospitals given that the final cost of that project is forecast to come in at around €2.3bn. http://jrnl.ie/6716603

A *Save Our Sprat* campaign was recently launched, to push for an immediate ban on all sprat fishing in Irish waters, with a very well-attended public meeting held in Bantry just over a week ago. You can find out more and sign the petition here: www.saveoursprat.ie

This #EarthDay, we're celebrating repair, resilience & Rathlin! Rathlin Island hosted their first island Repair Café & it was a huge success! ✅ 23 items repaired 🌱 142kg waste saved from landfill 💨 1,581kg of CO₂ emissions prevented #WeAreUU | @futureislandisland.bsky.social

Great news from Rathlin Island as the Corncrake has returned! Listen out for the rare “crex crex” call when you’re walking the island. Thanks to volunteers, farmers and our staff for making this possible once again.

In #Okinawa, coastal fishermen now farm #coral, restoring #reefs like planting trees in a forest. With #ocean temperatures rising, half the world’s coral reefs have already vanished. These farmers are fighting back, one fragment at a time. [Heppoko Taylor]

A pocket of filmy fern clings on up on the mountain commonage. A relic of the spectacularly rich Atlantic rainforest ecosystem that once covered these artificial sheep-wrecked wastes, and which is just *waiting* to return. 🌍

New insights into #Land Use and Land Cover Change in the #Niger Delta of #Nigeria from 1986 to 2024 show an alarming rise in built up area and loss of #mangroves. This enhances flood risk and impacts on livelihoods. @yesiuoy.bsky.social @anthropocenebio.bsky.social www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14...

Yes, because what's holding the US back from greatness is our lack of "wood independence". 🙄 Logging these >100 year old trees will be disastrous for climate.

After a series of horrific decisions coming from Trump’s America it is hearting to see the swell of people in support of pushback #handsoff

For some 6000 years the #olive tree has supported good life. It provide tasty fruit and oil that also cures. In winter its wood produces heat without smoke, and in summer its branches provide shade. A truly a great #tree - from juveniles to venerable veterans from the country to the city

Mackerel stocks near breaking point because of overfishing, say experts www.theguardian.com/environment/...

European Oak forests, be it Holly oaks in the Tramuntana or Atlantic rain forest in the Peak District, are shaped and crafted by long term human forest interactions, either for resource use or by grazing animals influencing their regeneration @worldheritage.bsky.social @peakdistrict.bsky.social

Desert like conditions as glacial coversands are on the move in Yorkshire ! After a hot dry few weeks, with temperatures higher and rainfall lower than average, the land needs some rain #climatechange @yorkswoldsweather.bsky.social

"Mackerel stocks near breaking point due to overfishing." Only decades ago, the waters here around Beara were at times "boiling with fish", there were so many. But that was likely nothing compared to previous abundances. Homo sapiens needs a 'pause' button. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Absolutely devastating to the planet, those who live on it, and the people who have dedicated their lives to saving it. All, so that a small number of people can live undisturbed in their lies and greed.

Wild garlic flowering, and a few little babies around.

Takes a little longer in Antrim… but we got there. @irishrainforest.bsky.social

Across Ireland, countless ash plantations have been wiped out by ash dieback. A similar threat hangs over sitka. When will forestry 'experts' grasp that planting monocultures is madness on every level, and that a radically new direction – diverse, wild native forest *ecosystems* – is needed NOW?

Back in 1940, FDR wasn’t convinced that de Gaulle could be an effective leader in exile. It turns out he was wrong.

"We're going to get" Greenland, threatens the President of the United States. Totally normal.