Don't miss out on BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland's #IrishSpringConference on 20 April! Only a few days left to book your place: visit bsbi.org/irish-conferen… for booking and info. THE place to find out the latest goings-on in Irish botany, meet like-minded folk & learn something new (Clues below)

For the past 6 months, I've been lucky enough to work on this project looking at the exploitation of peatlands by two Irish state agencies, Coillte and Bord na Móna. Big thanks to Maria Delaney for all the editing work, and to Journalismfund Europe for funding the project

How is our culture diminished when we lose species from our land & how can these lost connections be re-enlivened?

In 2022 my wife Michelle & I made a radio doc, 'Calling the Curlew Home', asking this. It's full of songs & stories & is re-broadcast Sunday @ 6pm on RTÉ Lyric FM

It’s an honour to be here at the Mary Raftery Awards, nominated for my Noteworthy work with Maria Delaney on prison visiting for children and families.

Read the investigation: noteworthy.ie/calling-time-p…

Just floating around with my feet dangling through a wave 🌊 #puffin National Trust bobbing around the Farne islands in Northumberland open to visitors again (and 100,000 puffins)

The second in a series of articles spotlighting iCRAG researcher's work and lives, interviews Dr Koen Torremans, an Assistant Prof. at UCD Earth Sciences

Read about Koen’s story here:
icrag-centre.org/news-and-media…
Article by Dr Anthea Lacchia (she/her)
#reasearchstories #reasearcherspotlight

📢Calling all artists!

iCRAG in conjunction with University of Galway are pleased to offer an artistic residency on a research cruise led by Chief Scientist Dr Brian Ward of iCRAG at the University of Galway.

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I can't believe I find myself in the position to share this with you, but here is what I believe to be the first Irish sound recording of a Golden Eagle!

It begins with a husky chattering from an angry Peregrine which was warding it off, & the eagle sounds like a yappy terrier!

Have you entered the #nationalfossilartcontest2024 yet? Each entrant must complete an Application Form for each entry that they submit. Max 2 entries per person. Please read the guidelines and rules carefully when preparing your submission. ucc.ie/en/fossil-heri… Science Foundation Ireland

March shout-out to Magnolias, among the most ancient of flowering trees: up to c.95m yrs old.
They evolved long before bees did & were chiefly pollinated by beetles––thus the tough carpels & petals of their goblet-shaped flowers.
Magnolias bloom in both spring time & deep time.

Just to give things a visual perspective - Ireland is literally bottom of the pile in terms of global biodiversity. And what little we do have left is drifting away into nothingness. Death by a thousand cuts. Why not life by a thousand heals?

“I have been enforcing the law for 20 years and this the most wilful, cruel act that I’ve ever witnessed in 20 years”

Great to see this conviction but this is only a glimpse of the crimes that go on against wildlife in Ireland. Most go unnoticed.

irishtimes.com/crime-law/cour…

A thread 🧵1/13:

A dream for a better Ireland, for wildlife and for people.

Yesterday we presented our film to Leinster House to bring the serious issues our birds face to our national policy makers. They were very receptive and we are very grateful for this opportunity.

.Pippa Hackett Charlie McConalogue what action is your department doing to stop this? If hawthorns start dying off, it will be catastrophic for so much biodiversity.

🍃Japanese knotweed and rhododendron have become a common sight across many parts of Ireland - in particular in the West.

We will investigate the funding allocated to deal with invasive species and find out if this is sufficient to tackle the problem: noteworthy.ie/proposal/invas…

Jess Franklin presenting her work with Ireland's Fossil Heritage at #IGRM24 . Very interesting outreach work!

Great to see Galway Bay fm News raise awareness of the stark declines in Hen Harrier. And they embedded our You Tube video showing the HH Skydance & food pass. Watch it, it's glorious.

galwaybayfm.ie/galway-bay-fm-…

Pesticide residues are found in nectar and soils. But are there implications for bees, and what can we do to help? Read on to find out more from the PROTECTS project in Ireland! protects.ucd.ie vimeo.com/788284760/97ec… 1/16

We’re delighted to launch the #NationalFossilArtContest2024 with a grand prize worth €500! Open to anyone 18yrs & under. Closing date is 5pm Fri 29th March. Winners will have their artworks exhibited The Glucksman in May. All Information is on our website ucc.ie/.../fossilart/….

NEW PAPER: Ever wondered why insects fly in all sorts of crazy patterns around lights at night? So did we! We set about recording flying insects to work out what's going on. I'll summarise what we found in this 🧵. Spoiler: We don't think they confuse lights with the moon.