Did u know? To combat the harmful effects of heat during our ever hotter summers, let your plants grow large & spread out, cheek-by-jowl, creating an uninterrupted cool canopy that protects small souls who shelter in its depths; it also traps moisture in & keep temps down - Looks fab too. 🌿🌱🇬🇧🌱🌍🪲🐸🦔🐦‍⬛

A lone wild native pine in Beara, backdropped by the usual sheep-denuded wasteland. With Europe burning up, how long will we have to wait to see landscape-scale rewilding in Ireland?

I know you're busy, but this is REALLY important. Ireland is very possibly *the* most ecologically destitute country in Europe, but we have a chance to help fix that with the Nature Restoration Plan. However, the deadline for submissions is in a few days, so please take 5 minutes to get yours in.

Bright yellow bog asphodel is one of the many plants that thrive in healthy #peatlands. 🌟 Flowering from June to September, its star shaped blooms attract a range of pollinating #insects, adding a splash of colour to Scotland's bogs, damp heaths and moors.

And yes, Italy's doing just fine, despite nature's comeback. share.google/a9A0ShIc1vku...

After the searing heat, back to rainforest weather. But it breaks my heart that the future of this – and so many other amazing natural ecosystems – is very seriously threatened by climate collapse.

The Government Estate Nature Plan has been published – revealing the first official map of all central government land, and that 37% of the public estate is being protected & managed for nature (thereby counting towards the 30by30 goal). Thread 1/ assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a3ce5...

Did u know? Growing up, as well as along is great for wildlife in your outside space. It adds extra flowers & food for pollinators & other animals; it creates shade for small souls in ever hotter summers; it provides material for nest building & it creates a wildlife highway for safety 🌿🌱🇬🇧🌱🌍🪲🦔🐦‍⬛🐝🐸

However, it's critical to understand the damage invasives do to ecosystems as due to severe underlying human-caused dysfunction. No species is inherently "bad", just released from ecological constraints by artificial circumstances (often even within its own native range, like bracken in Ireland).

A native forest completely choked and dying from infestation by rhododendron. I still hear some say that the invasive species problem is "exaggerated", that "it's all just nature". They're very wrong. Invasives are a *human* impact, and one of the top causes of biodiversity loss on Earth.

🌿What invasive species threaten native woodlands including #ScotlandsRainforest? 🌸 Rhododendron ponticum is right up there, but there are plenty more too, see 👉️ buff.ly/usrdG4C ✅ What can you do? Don’t plant or buy; report sales/sightings; clean boots/tyres; support local removal. #INNSweek

Time spent in nature reduces stress and calms the body and mind. As #WorldWellbeingWeek encourages us to think about our health and happiness, you can download our ebook #MeWilding for tips on bringing more nature into your life. 👉 Free with code MWFOC26: www.scotlandbigpicture.com/store/ebooks...

We also have the potential to help put things right, as many people are through nature conservation, rewilding, or other positive inputs. As a species, we have immense capacity for radical, rapid change. Let's never forget that.

When reality surpasses fiction! Top: fictional forecast for August 2050, broadcast by French TV in 2014 to warn about the consequences of global warming. Bottom: Real French forecast for yesterday, June 22, 2026.

As the mercury soars this week, let's hear it for the cooling properties of trees. 👏 We believe everyone deserves access to these, and the many other benefits of trees. Find out about our drive for tree equity in Scotland's towns and cities. 👉 buff.ly/LenZGcZ

How very ironic to see sheep finding relief from the current heatwave under trees they themselves are ensuring will die out.

Today, Members of @parliament.scot will debate how to meet the challenges of a changing climate. We know nature is our best ally. Sign our open letter calling on the government to appoint a dedicated #MinisterForNature: ✍️ actionnetwork.org/petitions/sc...

SAVE THE DATE! Friday 30 October 2026 We are delighted to announce that we will again be hosting our annual Black in Plant Science Conference this October at The Guildhall in York. Our moment, dedicated to connection, celebration, and cultivation. Stay informed: buff.ly/PMAxXkd

This year's @blackinplantsci.bsky.social Conference should be a great event! Want to find out more about BiPS? Check out this talk by Professor @yoselin.bsky.social, the network founder: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSu... Save the date & location: 30 October, Guildhall, York

Moss covered trees, rare lichens, and an extraordinary diversity of life 🌧️🌳 Scotland's rainforest is one of our most precious habitats. Found along the west coast, these ancient woodlands are full of wonder. Yet only a fraction remains. #WorldRainforestDay @asrainforest.bsky.social

Today is the start of #INNSweek. Find out how you can help by learning about & recording invasive non-native plant species: bsbi.org/blog/2026/06... Check out the GB Non-native Species Secretariat website for webinars, resources & more ways to get involved: www.nonnativespecies.org/what-can-i-d...

Bit late for #wildflowerhour but I thought I'd share my encounter with #pollinatorpals visiting this determined foxglove anyway... @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social

My Flower of the Week has got to be this gorgeous Sand Spurrey. Thrilled to have such beautiful flowers within a five minute walk from my home. Very tiny, so I sat down on the ground for some up-close appreciation and was blown away - just stunning little flowers. 💜 #Wildflowerhour

Did u know? Stop & consider the amazing lives of small souls in our outside spaces. This munching Mullein moth, for example - it will molt 4 times before turning into a pupa & then it's in the ground, in this stage for up to 5 years before the brown adult moth emerges! Celebrate the small. 🌿🌱🇬🇧🌱🌍🪲🐛🦋

Yes, far more deer need to be culled – especially invasive species like sika (and feral goats) – to protect dying native forests and other natural habitats. But we also need to start actively planning to reintroduce missing predators like lynx. Both are essential. share.google/BK4PoAuzhvJr...

What makes my heart soar? Spending regular time in a rewilding landscape, seeing all the diverse life flooding back in, and remembering how barren it was not long before. Rewilding isn't just brilliant for nature, but for us too.

The screensaver that comes up automatically on my computer depicts what we are conditioned to consider a "beautiful, iconic" landscape. But notice how the sole tree is growing horizontally into space from an escarpment, the only way of escaping sheep or deer. This is an ecological wasteland.

Only a few places remain on this next Saturday. So if you'd like to spend some time in beautiful Glengarriff learning about our natural ecosystems, the threat that invasive species pose to their survival, and dining on local fare, snap up a spot while you still can!

ONE MONTH TO GO 📆🦋 Will you be joining us for the world’s biggest survey of butterflies? Spend 15 minutes outside counting butterflies and help take nature's pulse by taking part in the #BigButterflyCount from 17 July – 9 August. You'll find it surprisingly, surprisingly pleasant. 🍃

Here's an exciting new role - Native Woodland Partnership Officer with @n-t-s.bsky.social - developing large-scale projects including #ScotlandsRainforest restoration projects in West Lochalsh & on Arran. Closing date: 21 Jun 2026 | Fixed-Term til Jan 2029 ➡️ buff.ly/3B0cE4f #NatureJobs #ForestryJobs

Once you start looking, it's everywhere: an insane contrast between sheep-grazed deadzones, and a rich profusion of native wildflowers, trees, butterflies and other nature just out of reach along road verges. Entire mountain ranges could be heaving with life, if the sheep were gone.

A window onto the wild, green world of an Irish Atlantic rainforest.

Meet one of the Caledonian forest's hardest workers 🐜 #Woodants spend summer foraging for food, maintaining their nests and raising the next generation of ants. These #ecosystemengineers play a crucial role in forest health, helping control insect populations, spread seeds, and enrich the soil.

While across the rest of the northern hemispere beavers are increasingly helping alleviate flooding, massively boosting natural ecosystems and local economies, in Ireland they're still barely even mentioned. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Last few spaces available on this Field Identification Skills Certificate (FISC) running near Aberfoyle, Scotland on Friday 26th June! Book now or miss out til next year... www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-...

Do you know someone looking to return to research? After a career break of two or more years for family, health or caring reasons... We have part-time funded Fellowship opportunities with Cancer Research UK (CRUK), UK Health Security Agency and in the School of Engineering at Lancaster University.

Want to help restore nature from seabed to summit? We're looking for a Nature Restoration Officer to support the delivery of projects with our Loch Abar Mòr land and community partners. Interested? ✍️ Apply by midday on Monday 6 July: https://scotlandbigpicture.pulse.ly/fmnwwhwwbu

Based in Scotland? Keen to have your #WildFlowerID skills assessed, whether for work or just for your own interest? Then we'd urge you to snap up the last few spaces on this #FISC (Field Identification Skills Certificate) in Aberfoyle on 26 June. www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-...

With its distinctive reddish bark and often fantastic shapes, (Scots) pine is easily one of our coolest native trees. It's also brilliant for wildlife like red squirrels, pine martens, and a plethora of insect and bird species!

Our final ask is the appointment of a dedicated #MinisterForNature. This one needs public as well as political support. Join more than 1,500 people who've already signed our open letter to the First Minister to help give nature a seat at the Cabinet table. ✍️ actionnetwork.org/petitions/sc... 🧵2/2

The extremely remote, deserted pre-famine village of Coimín na Gaorthaidh, meaning "commonage of the wooded river valley". Almost no trees now remain. The clues to the ecological catastrophe that has befallen the Irish landscape are so often in the place names.

Belfast, we're coming your way! AN IRISH ATLANTIC RAINFOREST screens at @docsireland.bsky.social, Queen's Film Theatre, on June 18th at 6:15pm, followed by a Q&A with director Gary Lennon. Mesmerisingly shot, this film will make you feel actually immersed in an Irish rainforest.

As part of Invasive Species Week, I'll be at Esk Mountain in Glengarriff on Saturday 27th of June at 3pm, talking about how alien invasives like sika deer, feral goats & rhodo are destroying native ecosystems. Come along, I believe sika venison will be on the menu!!! eskmountain.com/product-cate...

Our new Impact Report highlights how we moved the needle on nature recovery in Scotland in 2025, by driving support and committing more land and water to rewilding. View the report to see how we’ve been #MakingRewildingHappen: 👉 https://scotlandbigpicture.pulse.ly/3hmp6rka3e

How it should be

Unfurling broad buckler fern makes a temporary home for a map-winged swift moth. (Great name!) A beautiful thing with rewilding is, you just never know what you'll find next, as life returns to the land: it's an endless magical mystery tour.

It seems inconceivable that only a decade ago, this was just species-poor grass. Now it's a wild mass of trees, flowers, flying insects and birdsong. That's the transformative power of rewilding.

Today is #InternationalLynxDay – but how much do you really know about Europe’s comeback cat? Discover four facts about the Eurasian lynx. #LynxToScotland @treesforlife.bsky.social @lifescape.bsky.social @rewildingbritain.org.uk

Happy #InternationalLynxDay 🐆 Discover key facts about lynx 👇