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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Really enjoyed meeting and speaking with this knowledgeable, engaged group of nature restoration volunteers from across Norway in Drøbak last weekend. They are part of Restaureringslaget, a national volunteer network coordinated by Sabima as part of “Ta naturen tilbake”. www.nina.no/var-forsknin...

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Tiny natterjack toads. One of Ireland's three native amphibian species.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

“The privatization of land has been justly described as “perhaps the weirdest of all undertakings of our ancestors”. The idea that individuals could claim exclusive ownership of parts of nature on which all humans depend was very weird indeed.” Even weirder in a living world shared by many species.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Very glad I made the trip from Oslo to Ennistymon last week for @hometreecharity.bsky.social’s Changing Landscapes conference, which focused on the politics and power dynamics of nature restoration. I’ve shared some reflections here: open.substack.com/pub/darasand...

open.substack.com

Nature Restoration Reaches A Crossroads in Ireland

Forging common ground for nature restoration in Ireland: reflections from Hometree’s Changing Landscapes conference 2026

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

I wrote this article for the Irish News last year, but since it’s behind a paywall I’m sharing it below. It explores the return of species like red kites and eagles to Ireland, and the tensions that often surround conservation and nature restoration. open.substack.com/pub/darasand...

open.substack.com

Reviving Coexistence in Contested Landscapes

Learning to live alongside each other is a crucial step in learning to live alongside wildlife

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

With the aim of writing more, I’ve joined Substack to share some thoughts on nature restoration and other topics that come to mind. My first piece takes a brief look at Northern Ireland's draft Nature Recovery Strategy and argues that it needs a radical rethink… open.substack.com/pub/darasand...

open.substack.com

Northern Ireland’s Nature Recovery Strategy Needs a Radical Rethink

Northern Ireland’s Nature Recovery Strategy must confront the politics of land, growth-driven nature loss, and questions of power and justice.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

“To live as human beings on this planet is to change the world around us.” William Cronon’s work is worth reading for many, many reasons, not least because it approaches environmental issues as moral dilemmas rather than technical problems that can be solved through better scientific knowledge.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

I came across what looked like “smoke” rising off damp moss in the sun yesterday morning. Does anyone know what this phenomenon is called? Is it a form of evaporation fog or something else?

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When you say no more tv and your child finds a creative way to show their disapproval…

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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

1/ Paul Ehrlich died this week at 93. The takes split into hagiography and dismissal. But the interesting question isn't whether he got it right, he didn't, it's why he got it wrong, and who was asking the right questions instead 🧵

Biologist Paul Ehrlich speaking at the University of San Diego circa 1972

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

A lynx cub, described as “very likely motherless and definitely starving”, was put down by authorities in Norway after attacking a dog and remaining in a residential area. If lynx are ever reintroduced to the UK and Ireland, how would a situation like this be handled? www.drm24.no/gaupe-angrep...

drm24.no

Gaupe angrep hund – alvorlig skadet

Med skader i hodet og øyne håper eieren at hunden overlever. Gaupa kom tilbake etter 40 minutter fra angrepet og slo seg ned på verandaen. Mandag formiddag ble gaupa skutt av Statens Naturoppsyn.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Would you believe that in the capital of one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a life-saving public service would be cut due to budget constraints? It’s happened in Norway, where lifeguards will no longer be present on 4 of 5 beaches in Oslo. Shameful. www.aftenposten.no/meninger/deb...

aftenposten.no

«Oslo fjerner Strandtjenesten. Da står ingen igjen når noen går under.»

Hvem tar ansvar når noen drukner?

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Quick question for those working in nature restoration, rewilding, or related fields: Are there restoration frameworks that offer alternatives to the Society for Ecological Restoration’s international standards, particularly ones informed by approaches like convivial conservation? Similar to this👇

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Tommy's Outdoors @tommysoutdoors.com · 09/12/2025

Can we find a middle ground between those who see the EU's wolf downlisting as a catastrophe and those who celebrate it as good news? With @hannalp.bsky.social, we discuss the frustratingly polarised debate about wolf conservation in the EU. 🌍🦤🧪🦊 🎧➡️ pod.fo/e/362998

Podcast episode cover art for Tommy's Outdoors Conservation and Science featuring a woman with glasses and dark hair pulled back, wearing a black blazer over a white top, smiling while looking downward in an indoor setting. The episode title 'EU Wolf Downlisting: Time to Stop Crying Wolf' appears in white and gold text on a dark olive green overlay in the lower left corner. The design uses an olive green background with gold border framing, and includes 'PODCAST' text at the bottom.

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Bram Büscher @brambuscher.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

I appreciate much of @ipbesfr.bsky.social but this business and biodiversity nonsense goes beyond 'missing the point'. It is simplistic, ineffective & dangerous As long as we continue to talk about 'business' when the issue is 'capitalism', nothing will change. It only creates empty virtue signals

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

“Unintended consequences of human action continue to have a devastating impact on the natural world” No. Biodiversity loss is not “unintended”. It is the built-in cost of an economic system that demands perpetual expansion. Conservation leaders should call this out. www.ox.ac.uk/climate-and-...

ox.ac.uk

Professor Dame EJ Milner-Gulland - Accentuating climate positives

Dame EJ Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, talks about her career and the need to frame the climate conversation more positively.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

"Regjeringen poengterer at planen er avhengig av «det økonomiske handlingsrommet», men ser ut til å ha glemt en ting: Hvis naturtapet fortsetter i samme tempo som i dag, vil det økologiske handlingsrommet – ikke det økonomiske – begrense utviklingen i Norge." www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/hvor-...

dagsavisen.no

Hvor ble det av naturen, Støre?

Statsministeren har lagt store planer for Norges framtid, men ser ut til å ha glemt at vi er avhengige av at naturen forsyner oss med livsviktige varer og tjenester.

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Rosaleen Duffy @rosaleenduffy.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

I have very mixed feeling about this report & the coverage it is getting. It’s good to see biodiversity loss getting attention. BUT experience in tackling #IWT shows linking biodiversity & security issues carries significant risks, often for the most vulnerable www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn

Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Strange choice to frame this interview around the apparent harmony between nature restoration and economic growth, when Tony Juniper’s new book challenges the idea that endless growth is compatible with a healthy planet. open.spotify.com/episode/3wnJ...

open.spotify.com

Headwinds and hope: Tony Juniper on Why Nature Restoration is a Path to Economic Growth

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Olve Krange at NINA led a study that sheds some light on this. “Results show that lack of trust in environmental institutions is strongly associated with ACC denial…and is partly a function of anti-elitist attitudes, opposition to migration and views of nature.” www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

“Don’t confuse me with facts”—how right wing populism affects trust in agencies advocating anthropogenic climate change as a reality - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - “Don’t confuse me with facts”—how right wing populism affects trust in agencies advocating anthropogenic climate change as a...

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Dr George Iordachescu 🏳️‍🌈 🟥 @georgeiorda.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

🚨 We are looking for 3 new colleagues to join the GreenFrontier team as Postdoctoral Researchers! Deadline for applications: 25 Nov 2025 Each of the 3 openings will involve extended ethnographic fieldwork + plenty of opportunities to consolidate research & leadership skills! Please share widely!

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Excited to start as a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research next week! One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!

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John Barry @profjohnbarry.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Cork (Ireland), will host the 12th International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity in August 2027 with satellite gatherings in Covilha (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania) degrowth.info/en/conferenc...

degrowth.info

Cork 2027

Coming in August 2027 the 12th Conference will take place in Ireland, with satellite gatherings in Covilha (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania). With a thematic focus on "policy, practice and culture"...

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

The findings from the #GreenToGrey project have been leading the news in Norway today. Yet, Ireland isn’t far behind when it comes to converting nature and farmland per capita to make way for construction, housing, roads, luxury developments, etc. Has this been getting much coverage back home?

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Waiting to hear back about job applications feels like...

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Nice to be back at @uninmbu.bsky.social this week as a guest lecturer on the Master's course "Green transformations in theory and practice". The campus has changed a lot over the last few years, but there are still a few reminders that this place used to be the Norwegian Agricultural University 🐑

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

Just back from a few days in Norway’s oldest national park, Rondane, doing visitor surveys for the "Sounds like Norway" project. A key takeaway was that natural sounds (wind, water, birds etc) and, in particular, quiet really matter for how people enjoy and connect with the outdoors.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

"It is insulting that the commitment to the term rewilding is stronger than the commitment to reconciliation & truth-telling...At a time when we need empowerment, the label of rewilding does nothing but strip it from us." Thought-provoking piece by Michael-Shawn Fletcher in @consletters.bsky.social

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

A hunter in Norway received a 45-day prison sentence for shooting a lynx he mistook for a fox. What stands out about this story isn’t the rare conviction for a wildlife crime, it’s that the hunter turned himself in - an even rarer act of accountability in today’s world. www.tv2.no/nyheter/inne...

tv2.no

Trudde dette var rev - no er jegeren dømd til fengsel

Mannen erkjenner at han burde ha sjekka betre før han fyrte av.

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Nathalie Pettorelli @pettorelli.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Should Ecology be more proactive & vocal on one of the key issues of our times? What systemic & institutional changes are needed for the ecological community to be at the forefront of the response? If these are questions that speak to you, this new paper may be of interest lnkd.in/eXfXG4xM

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Allan Mee @kerryeaglemee.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

1. All eagle deaths, esp in a small population, are a loss but some are harder to take than most. Sadly, our 1st breeding male, released in 2008, was recently picked up dead. This bird deserves a proper obituary to put his life (and death) in context www.thejournal.ie/investigatio...

thejournal.ie

First male white-tailed eagle to breed in Ireland in over a century found dead in Co Clare

While white-tailed eagles don’t often die from poisoning, a ‘disturbing’ increase in poisonings has been observed over the last three to five years.

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 09/05/2025

"We will explore more, find more and extract more" Norway announces its largest ever expansion of fossil fuel extraction. We don't get to claim we're climate heroes while we aggressively and almost anxiously seek to increase supply of the stuff that causes it.

Extractive emissions for Norway are approximately 4,200 higher than emissions avoided by domestic EV use

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

“What many of us are now realizing is that coexistence is more of a process than a solution, and that this process must begin by consulting with people closer to the ground, especially those who are being asked to share space with large carnivores and other wildlife.”

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Big fan of Desert Island Discs, so I really enjoyed this interview with conservation biologist and rewilding pioneer Carl Jones about his life’s work saving species and rebuilding ecosystems. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

Desert Island Discs - Professor Carl Jones, conservation biologist - BBC Sounds

Professor Carl Jones, biologist, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Curtailing people’s ability to read widely and carefully, to locate, assess, and compare different sources for themselves, and to write in their own voice about what they find and what it means, is arguably more effective than censorship. It is also one of the most obvious effects of generative AI.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

Speaking to my dad earlier, he told me of a family near Rostrevor nearly burned out by the recent Mourne fires. Told to evacuate, the woman of the house took to sprinkling holy water round the garden. The flames came within metres of the house - then turned. Luck, faith, or the land minding its own?

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Rosaleen Duffy @rosaleenduffy.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Fed up of the sheer numbers of journalists & media outlets that are losing it over de-extinction & giving uncritical PR to Colossal. Stupidity or collusion? They ought to be asking better & tougher questions on the underlying purposes of this. Spoiler: it’s not about conservation or the animals.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

With wildfires impacting people and nature in Scotland, Norway, and the Mourne Mountains in NI over the last few days, this is a timely new paper exploring the complex role of fire in rewilding. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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The Ecologist @theecologist.org · 17/03/2025

As everyone is talking about Ireland this St Patrick's Day... theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/... "Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems." theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...

theecologist.org

Irish flax in resilient food systems

Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

I’ve written a few words in the Irish News about human-wildlife coexistence in Ireland, which might be worth a look for those interested in conservation and rewilding, both in Ireland and beyond. It’s behind a paywall, so I’ve shared a version of the article below. www.irishnews.com/life/the-rev...

irishnews.com

The revival of Ireland’s birds of prey and the flight from conflict to conservation

Learning to live alongside each other is a crucial first step in learning to live alongside nature

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

A question for those doing, or interested in doing, research on conservation issues in Ireland. Has anyone, e.g. a professor, reviewer etc, ever told you that Ireland isn’t a priority area for conservation research? 1/2

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

“The return of nine out of the eleven lost birds listed is quite possible” 25 years since Gordon D’Arcy’s excellent book ‘Ireland’s Lost Birds’ (1999) was published, it’s pretty remarkable how this prediction turned out to be almost spot-on!

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Happy, and slightly surprised, to find out that my submission for the Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics has been accepted! Looking forward to interesting discussions on degrowth, environmental justice and sustainability in Oslo on June 24th-27th!

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Had a brief chat with the new Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, at an Irish Embassy reception in Oslo this evening. Actions may speak louder than words, but at least his words showed sincerity and a solid grasp of environmental issues in Ireland.

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Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

I’m all for sharing and celebrating conservation success stories. However, if we’re serious about fostering more just approaches to conservation then we need to learn from our mistakes and strive to tell the full story - particularly about the social impacts of conservation.

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Adam F. Smith 🇺🇦🇮🇪 @adamfsmith.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Sorry, but while I believe it is spread in good faith, I think this is a good time to call out this common mistruth in the Irish ecological community. Indulge me for a minute, I just finished 5 years in Europe working with wolves, lynx, and deer. "Lack of wolves" is not the problem. Short🧵

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