Hiked 12k from Castletownbere to Allihies over the Slieve Miskish mountain range. This is a picture of us at the top. Yes It was hot!

Look what I just saw in the window in beautiful Castletownbere?

Delighted to see *Nature's Acre* in the front window at Ennis Bookshop. 🌻 Huge thanks to the team for supporting Irish authors. If you're in Clare, do call in. If not, you can order online from Ennis Bookshop too. www.ennisbookshop.ie/p/ciaran-de-...

One of the books we have in stock is The Crows of Beara. It's new, $18.95, and literary fiction partially set in Ireland. carpelibrumbaltimore.com/products/the...

A beautiful morning removing Himalayan balsam and giant hogweed from the banks of the Tolka in Drumcondra with the Treasure the Tolka group 🏞️

Look what I just saw in the window in beautiful Castletownbere?

How many Irish people have ever experienced the wonder of old-growth natural forest in our own country? Given that it now covers less than 0.1% (<1/1,000th) of Ireland, likely only a tiny few. What a terribly sad thought. Allowing surviving remnants to expand naturally should be a *top* priority.

It’s time for another edition of Good Climate News!

Delighted to see *Nature's Acre* in the front window at Ennis Bookshop. 🌻 Huge thanks to the team for supporting Irish authors. If you're in Clare, do call in. If not, you can order online from Ennis Bookshop too. www.ennisbookshop.ie/p/ciaran-de-...

🐦 Little cartoony doodle of some of Ireland's bird life, with their names as Gaeilge (useful if you're chatting to them because they weren't colonised so they don't understand English). Prints: ciaraioch.com/artprints/p/... Value bundle with aquatic and animal life: ciaraioch.com/artprints/p/...

AI is attractive to capital because it turns work into an ownable asset. Do we want this? Do we live in democracies. If so, we need to act!

I just started reading “Neurodivergent, by Nature: why biodiversity needs neurodiversity” by @joeharkness.bsky.social . It’s a work of genius to put together something that seems so obvious only AFTER reading it! Also laugh out loud funny in parts.. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/neurodive...

Access to justice must be “fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive” But new cost rules breach Constitution, Aarhus Convention & EU law by putting public & civil society organisations under financial constraints that don’t apply to State or others www.antaisce.org/news/an-tais...

This is the front garden of our ordinary suburban house. What would you say if you lived next door?

I’m chatting with Bere Island Community Radio this afternoon at about 12:30 about Nature’s Acre, my family’s links with Bere Island, and the remarkable journey that started with a question from a child and turned into a movement via a neglected walled garden tunein.com/radio/Bere-I...

If you’ve read Nature’s Acre, I’d love to hear from you. What stayed with you after you finished it? A particular chapter, sentence or idea? Every message helps me understand where the book has found a home. gardeningwell.ie/natures-acre

Flip flops worn around the house. Slap, slap, slap, slap… Shoes that make noise. Why??? Drives me nuts. Is it just me? #actuallyautistic

Six years ago this was mostly grass. Today it hums with bees, hoverflies, butterflies and birds. It’s an ordinary Irish garden supporting more life every year. Imagine if thousands more gardens did the same. #biodiversity #gardening

Things alive at the garden but I don’t even know what they are! :-).

It takes a very good book to make you question how you think. Gardens That Can Save the World by Lottie Delamain did exactly that. Beautifully written, beautifully produced, and full of ideas that show gardens can tackle some of humanity’s biggest challenges. gardeningwell.ie/gardens-can-...

Gardens are where many of my stories begin. They rarely end there. I’ve brought together my essays, articles and book into one place exploring nature, place, community and stewardship. gardeningwell.ie/nature-writing

I’m doing an author event at the bookshop in Castletownbere - the town where my mother went to secondary school and right beside where my grandmother taught primary school. Pity my mother isn’t around to attend. www.facebook.com/share/p/1PQt...

We’re experiencing a dangerous climactic shift and anyone who wants to do anything about it is portrayed by large parts of the media as a complete lunatic

I'm giving my favourite talk in the #Hitchin Festival: How to create a bird-friendly garden, beautifully illustrated with my dad's bird photography. Tickets £5, proceeds go to Triangle Community Garden, Hitchin. Please share, like & do come along: www.ticketsource.com/hitchinfesti... #gardenbirds

Look after one place. In one place are all places.

Climate.us exists because the team behind Climate.gov refused to let years of trusted public climate information simply disappear. Science belongs to everyone, not to any government of the day.

Homegrown potato, butter, salt!

Gardens are where many of my stories begin. They rarely end there. I’ve brought together my essays, articles and book into one place exploring nature, place, community and stewardship. gardeningwell.ie/nature-writing

Nature boys and girls – here’s your chance to get published in the Guardian www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Monster water tank set up at the walled to make us mostly self-sufficient for water. We can save up to 20,000 Litres a year ! youtube.com/shorts/D868W...

Monster water tank set up at the walled to make us mostly self-sufficient for water. We can save up to 20,000 Litres a year ! youtube.com/shorts/D868W...

Water harvesting project done on the hottest day ever.

Delighted to have been invited by Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust - to write a guest article for #InsectWeek. Can a wildlife garden also grow food? Yes! www.buglife.org.uk/blog/can-a-w...

duine istigh inniu ag lorg leabhar foghlama nach mbeadh an iomarca den ghramadach ann duine istigh inniu a rinne casacht díreach isteach i m’aghaidh duine istigh inniu ag lorg Brave New World, as Béarla, nár thuig gur siopa Gaeilge atá againn (threoraigh mé iad chuig siopa eile)

This #InvasiveSpeciesWeek, are asking everyone to welcome native species into the garden instead of planting invasives. There are positive, practical actions that anyone can take, whether they have a garden, a community space, or a schoolyard: iwt.ie/be-plant-wis...

Delighted to have been invited by Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust - to write a guest article for #InsectWeek. Can a wildlife garden also grow food? Yes! www.buglife.org.uk/blog/can-a-w...

A slice of life.

It’s great to hear stories like this. What was the biggest thing you took away from it?

I’m gifting the ebook version of Nature’s Acre to 5 people tonight. Just can tell me why you want it.

I’m gifting the ebook version of Nature’s Acre to 5 people tonight. Just can tell me why you want it.

So far, our transition to a ‘a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy’ feels less like a journey and more like the TV series ‘Lost’. No one is really sure what’s happening or if anything is happening at all. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...

After a recent school visit to Nature’s Acre, one fifth-class pupil wrote: “The garden makes me feel like I’m in my happy place.” I can’t think of a better reason to keep opening the gates.

Took my achy body out to move slowly, more deliberately, through the meadow this morning. Hemlock all around, towering above my head; rabbit dashing for the cover of its stems; many species of birds singing & calling; redtailed hawk in the tallest pine, issuing its strange long scraping/hissing cry.

🌼🐝 It’s Insect Week. You don’t need to rewild your whole garden to help insects. Just do one small thing this week. Small actions, repeated by thousands of people, can transform nature far more effectively than a few perfect gardens.

Let it grow!

Not a bad spot for the morning coffee.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day. The best thing my father gave me wasn’t something he bought. It was time spent outdoors together. If you can, spend an hour outside with your children tomorrow. Years from now they probably won’t remember the present. They’ll remember the day.

💯 lots of small acts lead to meaningful change for the birds, bees, bats & everything else in natural 🌎 We're creating a parklet with river rock foraged from the excavation, used steel parts bins, coffee sacks & native plants. More nature can always find a home in our cities #reuse #urbanwildlife

Wildlife doesn’t need more awareness. We’ve spent decades raising awareness. It needs more people doing one small thing. What will you do?