The Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanities and @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social Rewilding collaboration concludes on the 26th of November with a keynote talk by Professor Jens-Christian Svenning. Tickets are extremely limited so book ASAP if you want to attend. www.eventbrite.ie/e/rewilding-...

When examining satellite images of the midlands, you will see bogs with long, uniform striations, which are of course former industrial sites. Those bogs getting cut roughly inwards are turbary. But new peatland morphology is slowly emerging: cell bunding, as part of rehabilitation measures👇

“The EU could fairly ask why one of its wealthiest members, and one of its biggest per-capita polluters, should be granted exceptions, when poorer countries are making greater efforts to cut emissions?” Ouch!! 😝 Scathing analysis by @hannahdaly.ie here 👌🏻 www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

I am familiar with the peatscape of the midlands but every now and then I stop to look at a site in more detail. Moyclare Bog SAC is one I've never visited, but it sure sounds great! You can see significant cutting and drainage to the north, but it's still in remarkably good condition See link...

Interesting study (link in thread). A few critical observations (this is based on a quick read so feel free to correct any errors in my analysis): 1. The most significant discounts were for properties within 1km of a modern wind farm. Set-back distances are now four times the turbine height…

“Intensive dairying is only wildly profitable as long as the sector is allowed a free ride to produce massive pollution impacts.” John Gibbons doesn’t mince his words, giving an honest appraisal of the environmental outcomes of dairy. @thinkorswim.bsky.social www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

I visited Dublin Waste to Energy power station at Poolbeg today along with colleagues from @tcddublin.bsky.social A remarkable plant, turning rubbish into power. Lots of waste is unfortunately fully recyclable as a result of people not sorting their rubbish properly. Thanks to TCD for organising.

Is getting ‘shafted’ a uniquely Irish thing? 🤔 Or is it an Irish descriptor of a wider phenomenon? Either way, I’ve seen it happen to some of the best people you’d ever meet, who acted in good faith. I’ve been on the receiving end myself in the past…Not a nice experience! www.rte.ie/news/2025/10...

Please vote 🗳️ for John Gibbons’ Lie of the Land book 📖 Not only is it an excellent read, but this volume winning will send a message!! 🪧

Delighted to host Peter Cairns and Louise Ramsey @tcddublin.bsky.social for Rewilding in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 This was the second (of three) seminars on the topic. It is a joint collaboration between Trinity’s Centre for Environmental Humanities and @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social Recording coming soon!

I’ve followed the debate around ‘paludiculture in Ireland’ for years. Some thoughts: 1. It’s important that cultivated plants can contribute to new peat formation 2. Fertiliser should be avoided 3. It’s site-specific- widespread rollout is likely unrealistic www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...

Blanket bog rehabilitation in Co. Mayo and the flora that soon emerges 🧐

Connemara is a very beautiful part of the country but it faces its challenges. High animal stocking rates lead to hillside erosion. Rhododendron and other invasive species are widespread. However, efforts are ongoing by local people to lessen the human impact on the environment.

The beautiful autumn plants of Connemara 🥰

In Connemara on the annual Irish Peatland Society road trip checking out water table management on farmed peat soils. Beautiful, vast landscapes. A very different feel to the midland raised bogs that I’m used to 🤔

Ten Thousand Years Deep – The Story of Ireland's Peatlands, the new book by Carsten Krieger. Extract below👇 Thanks to @dermotdoran.bsky.social for the share 👍 www.rte.ie/culture/2025...

The wildest thing I’ve seen in ages 👇 It seems the current government, who are calling the shots here, is happy for nature to be done away with in the name of profit-making. That fish-kill was criminal, and it won’t be swept under the rug.

The very definition of ‘speaking truth to power’ 🫡 @news.rte.ie 🇮🇪🇵🇸🕊️

Rewilding in Ireland by @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social and @tcddublin.bsky.social Centre for Environmental Humanities👇 Thanks to @irishrainforest.bsky.social , @whittledaway.bsky.social @wearetheark.bsky.social for speaking and @kbruisch.bsky.social for chairing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8X8...

An outdoor classroom at Abbeyleix Bog, Co. Laois. If this was what school was like when I was growing up I might have went in a bit more often!! 🤣

Bog drain-blocking can be achieved with both peat and plastic dams. An excavator is required for the former. Peat is removed from an adjacent ‘borrow pit’ (which thereafter becomes a shallow depression), a foundation is dug across the drain and the peat placed into this. 1/2

“Increase in minimum wage welcomed by lowest-paid workers.” Fixed the headline for you @news.rte.ie www.rte.ie/news/busines...

Jaw-dropping stuff👇😑 www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

"The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza," said Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief, now Chair of the Commission. The UN finding what we all known for months, even years (decades?) now. USA and EU also complicit. www.rte.ie/news/middle-...

Notice: Tomorrow evening from 19:00 the @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social in collaboration with @tcddublin.bsky.social Centre for Environmental Humanities will host a two hour seminar on #Rewilding with @irishrainforest.bsky.social Mary Reynolds (We Are the Ark) and @whittledaway.bsky.social 1/2

Just transition efforts are ongoing in across European post-industrial bogs. Here’s some information about the excellent research ongoing into transitioning the Satakunta peatlands in western Finland👇 @utu.fi @syke.fi @alisheridan.bsky.social @climatenews.bsky.social @greenpartyie.bsky.social

Great to see the national broadcaster take this stand. The next thing is to quit with the phoned-in ‘balanced’ reporting in their news app (much of which comes from third party news agencies). www.rte.ie/entertainmen...

On a site visit to Bord na Móna Ballaghurt last week to check out rehabilitation works I spotted this sundew all by itself, doing its thing. Given time and the right (ie wet) conditions post-industrial bogs revegetate quickly. Some areas on higher ground are fertilised to hasten the process.

This week I welcomed colleagues from the University of Turku and the Finnish Environment Institute to the beautiful midland bogs for a study trip. I enjoyed learning about the just transition process in Finland alongside sharing our story here in Ireland. @syke.fi @utu.fi @historytcd.bsky.social

“Badgers can infect cattle through cross-species transmission, either through direct or indirect contact.” Are badgers getting thrown under the bus here or are they a cause of TB in Irish cattle does anyone know? @tommysoutdoors.com @whittledaway.bsky.social www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

The River Blackwater fish kill is one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the state. So where is the outrage? 🤔 Excellent article about this latest catastrophe👇 www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Sphagnum mosses returning to Scohaboy bog in Co. Tipperary following successful restoration efforts by @scohaboybog.bsky.social and @npwsireland.bsky.social 👏

A Bord na Móna wind turbine producing renewable energy at Mountlucas, Co. Offaly. Many thanks to BNM for the tour 🙏

Post-industrial Bord na Móna bogland in Co. Offaly. The future of these landscapes is fraught with tension, albeit undetermined. At the core are visions of amenity and nature restoration versus economic development. Can these (seemingly) opposing value systems be reconciled? 🤔

Well well well…. 🤔 www.rte.ie/news/regiona...

And will those responsible receive much more than a slap-on-the-wrists? Whatever organisation(s) (and individuals) are behind this will probably get a €5,000 fine and that will be the end of it. Habitat wrecked, tens of thousands of wild animals killed 🤷🏻‍♂️ www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster...

Curious how any mention of you-know-where is buried in the BlueSky algorithm, despite the fact that this is meant to be a left-leaning app. Good to see efforts to circumvent the censorship reach a wider audience here👇 Probably only a matter of time before the algorithm is tweaked in response 🤨

My research is concerned with why we aren’t making the progress we all know we need to be achieving. Of course I work in only a tiny fragment - our oftentimes contested relations with peat - of a wider (wicked) problem, but I hope I can contribute something to the broader human/environment debate.

Turf, ready for collection, at Co. Kildare.

Genocide is taking place before our eyes and no one in power is doing anything about it (at best) or they are inflaming the situation by arming those responsible (at worse). Shame on the EU. I’m a staunch supporter of the European project but dismayed at its leadership 😤 www.rte.ie/news/2025/08...

These pollution disasters are getting out of hand - Lough Neagh, Lady’s Island Lake and now this👇 I’m sure there’s others this year that I’m forgetting. The state (both north and south) is clearly not taking ecological legal obligations seriously enough 🤨 www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster...

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.

Fruiting bog asphodel, Lemanaghan, Co. Offaly.

An environmental historian, and a thousand years of environmental history 🧐

Israeli has never wanted a ‘two-state solution’, or at the very least not in the last twenty or so years; if it did, it would have worked towards it in good faith. Sadly the West has facilitated Israel’s infringement of Palestinian hopes for self-determination. www.rte.ie/news/world/2...

A few typos aside, this is an excellent write-up about the shenanigans companies get up to greenwashing. Unsurprisingly claims of ‘sustainability’ are often unfounded and simply a part of marketing strategies. www.rte.ie/news/busines...

Wind power is a major concern for many communities across rural Ireland. Objections are made on a myriad of grounds, but it’s the imposition of energy infrastructure by third parties which seems to be the most common issue. www.rte.ie/news/leinste...

Wagamama is relaunching in Dundrum. Food was phenomenal!! 🍲 Was here today with family for the pre-opening. Will be back 😎 #Gifted #Wagamama #Vegan

Twenty-five years ago the community in Abbeyleix said “No” to Bord na Móna’s plans to develop the bog. Here are some of those same people celebrating the anniversary. Peat would have been extracted and utilised for horticulture. Today the bog is being restored, with peat accumulating once again ☺️

A Bord na Móna silt pond. When draining bogs (some bogs are still subjected to draining as there are plans for wind energy on them), the water is full of suspended materials. By directing it into attenuation zones particulates sink to the bottom (in theory) before the water is let off into a river.