iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Happy International microorganism day! (17 Sept) These invisible electro-chemists modify our world in important ways on the daily, and in ways that we are only just now starting to appreciate.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I will not apologise for spending more time on soil chemistry. It takes more time because you have to consider the organic chemistry, the inorganic chemistry and the physical chemistry all at once. I'll just have to cut time from unnecessary admin tasks to get it done!

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Have you shown your support yet? Join the 30,000 others asking the Australian Government to get RnD funding into the 21st century. restorescience.com.au

restorescience.com.au

Back Australia's Ability

Help us restore investment in Australian science

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

That feeling when you weren’t sure if you would survive the week but you made it to Friday afternoon in the end! AND you managed to fit in a little soil chemistry, huzzah!

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Sunday booktime ☺️ Folding the laundry can wait another week or so. #cosy #learning #wealthinknowledge

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

There is a lot of truth in that last one. Operating environments count for a lot. But also, we can celebrate the bravery to try, to take that risk against the odds. It's a rare thing, afterall.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Bravery = being ready to accept failure. If someone has tried an ambitious thing, and not succeeded, some supporters jump to console with phrasing like "you laid the first stones on the path", "someone else will pick up the torch", "you didn't fail, the system failed".

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

When assessing the power density of a system using cheap carbon felt electrodes surely it’s more accurate to factor in the greater surface area rather than just using the diameter to get a simple area measurement? Any tips? #electrochemistry #bioelectricity #exoelectrogens

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Awesome! I wasn’t aware there was a day of celebration but it’s great that there is. My favourite microbiome story this year was the work done on tree bark microbes and how that is relevant to climate change. #microbiology #chemistry #ecology

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

It's still tempting to put the unpolished material out - but to what aim? If it only creates confusion that is the opposite of beneficial either to myself or to the potential audience members. Anyway, it's also a good reminder that there is usually a LOT more under the surface.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

When covering complex material with one person, where there is going to be an in-person follow up you have much more leeway! And if you're hoping to build on the material and get productive engagement it's obviously necessary.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

This post inspired by writing a mini article and collating resources on a topic that could have been a widely dispersed post or article but was an email to one person. It would take me longer than 90 min to create the social version because I would want to check for ambiguity and suitability.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

But building relationships one person at a time, and going deeper is often more valuable. Social media is great for surface level awareness. Excellent communicators can draw you in deeper. But forming a connection and brainstorming, mind melding, being open to each others perspectives = magic!! 🪄🐰

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

90 min to write one email. Pondering communications today: In the past I have been an advocate for social media, and I still am. We have these powerful tools to reach many, and to build audiences around niche topics, consolidating supporters across the whole globe.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Too many engineers in the organics recycling space are blind to new scientific discoveries in microbial metabolism and biochemical processing.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

If you design your composting facility from an engineering handbook then you don’t know what you’re missing. Good engineering takes solid science for optimised implementation. When the science is still developing you need to return to the drawing board.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

The speaker demonstrated that they didn’t understand the point of the question. (To raise the spectre of these other benefits, which very commonly suffer from lack of awareness). Once you understand the benefits in question then ‘alternative treatment options’ pale in comparison. #compost rules

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Watched a webinar today and saw a fellow compost advocate ask a pertinent question about if the benefits over and above nutrient supply were considered. Answr: ‘studies looking at nutrient supply in soils are complicated’.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Fascinating tidbit learnt today: the word 'telephone' predates what we would now consider a telephone by about 40 years (1835 cf 1875). I found this a good reminder that initial ideas often have a long (and tortuous) path to implementation. #innovation

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

also, June 11th is the day you are most likely to hear what I REALLY think

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

That feeling when you’re pretty happy with the wording of an email but hit schedule send just in case

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Fun fact for the day: compost produces 'metabolic water', water that is formed 'de novo' in the heap from free floating protons that get electrically combined with oxygen. (5/5)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

LMK if you have ever thought about your humble compost heap in a different way. I'd love to know if your preconceptions of what is happening in there changed. Perhaps as you observed a heap change over time, perhaps as you experienced the magic of hot compost for the first time? (4/5)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The ways that electrons, small chemicals and water move through a compost heap is a whole other universe that becomes more beautiful the more you understand it. As always, diligent science leads to greater outcomes. (3/5)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

My favourite remains the complexity of microbial metabolism and the many ways that that underpins important functions of our soils, waterways and atmosphere. (2/5)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Today is world environment day. I have worked across biodiversity, bioremediation, biosecurity and climate action. (1/5)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

But compost chemistry is by no means ‘unknowable’! I’m having tons of fun learning more and more of it. And to think I once turned down a good job because I thought it would be onerous learning all the requisite chemistry. The ends certainly justify the persistence!

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Compost chemistry is THE most complex chemistry (fight me in the comments if you think otherwise). If you were to attempt a Sankey diagram following just the main modes of conversion and transformation it would quickly become indecipherable.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

All great work rests on good assumptions. The relevant prompt here being: when was the last time you checked your assumptions? Sometimes I think I do it too much, but other times I am very grateful.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

If you answered f. then hopefully you also figured out the name of this account! 🤣 Is there a better way? F yes. (2/2)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

What do you call a bunch of food waste dumped in a plastic bin: a. a stinkbomb in just a little while b. maggot heaven c. rodent buffet (plastic won't stop them!) d. a source of nutrient pollution e. a potent source of greenhouse gases f. compost (1/2)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

I wonder how long till practice catches up with the science and people start buying and selling on the QUALITY of the carbon (2/2)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Somebody recently (and confidently) told me that no-ones buys soil amendments on the basis of carbon content. Yet there are increasing examples of people *selling* on the basis of carbon. That's encouraging. (1/2) #soil #carbonremoval #carboncycle #molecules #organicmatter

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

I'm getting the sense that the scientific community is re-rallying around the 'humus concept' and I couldn't be happier. Yes, it's not a defined molecule (even less than other random copolymers), but that doesn't mean it's worth abandonning the concept of a fraction with useful properties. #soil

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Sounds like a prime candidate for testing with the right blend based on highly mature composted materials. Problem being that these are hard to come by. But if available in future, could help revegetation projects, particularly where topsoil has been lost or altered. (2/2)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Eucalpytus grandis, the flooded gum, naturally thrives in lowland, rich alluvial soils. It's growth and early establishment are limited when available phosphourus is lacking. (1/2) #revegetation #restoration #soils #carbon #forestry #ecology #regreening #circulareconomy #plantnutrition #rehydrating

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

As if they learnt all the biochemistry they need in high school. Sick burn, I know. But asking a scientist in another discipline what you might be missing can often be illuminating.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Observations that soil science needs to integrate biology a bit more have been made for over 100 years. Yet I still read papers that assay bog standard hydrolases (throw in a glucosidase test, a xylanase) as if that covers off on the possibilities of microbial metabolism. (1/2)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

I’m going to assume it doesn’t cover the microbiologically mediated processes of humus formation though, because this area has lacked adequate research funding to date. It’s not surprising as it requires strong interdisciplinary effort from micro, biochem, organic and inorganic chemistry.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Really fab to see leading Aussie companies featured here too. Cauldron ferm Samsara Eco Main Sequence Ventures

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

🫀💚 bio manufacturing Great explainer episode here from the Grow everything podcast: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/g... And I particularly love the phrasing ‘Dirty biology’. It’s not as it sounds, anything like the opposite of ‘green chemistry’. In fact the two are perfectly compatible IMHO.

podcasts.apple.com

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast

Life Sciences Podcast · Updated Weekly · Grow Everything explores the world of biology as technology. Hosts Erum Khan and Karl Schmieder interview leaders and influencers biologizing industries with t...

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Now it appears that there is more recognition of common and familiar bacterial genera having at least part of the mechanisms at play. (3/3)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Also, it's funny how much slow moving things change if you don't pay attention for a while. 15 years ago you could have been labelled a 'bit creative' for thinking that this kind of metabolism/activity was more widespread. (2/3)

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Wait, did I know that Aeromonas species have been shown to be exo-electrogenic?? Lol, my Phd thesis featured a new/not named Aeromonas species, I'd love to know the capabilities of that strain. It would help explain some things. #microbiology #biochemistry #metabolism #biotransformation

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

The mighty ether bond! My first thought reading this piece was ‘how is sporopollenin so strong and enduring?’ Of course it is because it is a random copolymer involving various either linkages. This is a structural pattern common to lignin and humic substances also.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

😍🦉🦎Hong Kong native subtropical forest restoration effort credited with the highest level certification from The Global Biodiversity Standard. Thanks to the SER Restoration Now newsletter for highlighting this good news story. #biodiversity #ecology #restoration www.scmp.com/opinion/arti...

scmp.com

My Take | Native forest restoration project is literally, and figuratively, bearing fruit

The work done by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden on Tai Mo Shan has been awarded top certification by an international body.

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Better than compost @brookclinton.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Heroes of microbiology: Martinus Beijerinck. From Wikipedia "He became a teacher in microbiology at the Agricultural School in Wageningen (now Wageningen University)". Wageningen University still produces some of the best environmental microbiologists.

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