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Holly Kirk

@hollykirk.bsky.social
5.7K followers 1.1K following 842 posts

Ecologist/ornithologist/naturalist. Not necessarily in that order. 🌿🦜She/Her🪲🗺️ Researcher in urban ecology & conservation. Follow for map mumblings, urban nature-based solutions & natural history nerdery. Check the alt text! 📍Whadjuk Noongar Country, WA

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Reposted by Holly Kirk
Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New blog post!🚨 These researchers wanted to answer the question 'How much of a vocalisation do we need to hear before we can recognise the individual?' in birds 🐦️ 🔊 🧪 Find out more 🌏️ 👇️ buff.ly/XhyDoHb
methodsblog.com
Identifying individual birds even when vocalisations run long
Post provided by Jonathan Gallego Londoño Most of us can recognise the voice of a friend or family member without seeing them. Sometimes, just a few words are enough to know who is speaking. But co…
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Dr Charlie Gardner @charliejgardner.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This year has been brutal, and like most people you probably want to do more about climate change. But what, and how? Great news – I’ve written just the book for you! It’s called What One Person Can Do and it’s a clear and simple how-to guide, a roadmap to help you make influential changes...
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Great article about carbon offsets, the INFM, & Great Koala NP fiasco. I don't agree with this statement by Prof. Frank Jotzo: "There is nothing that incentivises or compels state governments to create national parks; there is really no push factor in that regard," www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
How a controversial scheme will fund Australia's largest koala park
Experts, conservationists and politicians are divided on using carbon credits to help fund the Great Koala National Park.
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Stupid questions that my brain has thought of today: Number One: Are veruccas still a thing? They were totally a thing growing up as a swimming kid in 90's UK, but did we get better at floor hygiene since then? 🤔
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
'Governments must not ignore the social sciences when they marshal researchers to address grand challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, housing pressures, energy security and social inequality, a new report says...'
timeshighereducation.com
Grand challenges ‘require social science response’
Sustainability issues too often framed as technical challenges, researchers say
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McClure 🦉🦅🦤 @mcclure.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Maxent produces a map with no error bars, despite there often being great uncertainty in species distributions. We examine the trouble with using Maxent for delimiting species distributions, especially for Red List assessments. Open access: doi.org/10.1111/ddi....
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ABC News Australia @news.abc.net.au · 12/09/2026
World-first trial on Phillip Island discovers floating wetlands can cut emissions
abc.net.au
World-first trial finds floating wetlands can cut greenhouse gas emissions
A floating garden of native plants in Victoria's east cuts a wastewater lagoon's emissions by about 30 per cent, with researchers now testing the approach on farm dams.
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Dr Dave @ecosystemunraveller.com · 11/09/2026
Time for another #AwesomeBirds #WildOz edition and this scamp is an entry-level contender. Most bird noticers know this bird well, black and white, Australia-wide except Tasie; notoriously bold…
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Environmental Impact Assessment doesn't protect nature. It manages how much we lose. Our new paper proposes a fix: a "nature positive pathway" asks what a development site could gain for #biodiversity, not just what damage to offset. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... 🌏 🧪
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Rethinking Environmental Impact Assessment for nature positive development
Achieving “nature positive” development within existing regulatory frameworks will be challenging. Halting and reversing biodiversity loss requires protection, restoration, and enhancement of ecosyst...
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The Conversation AUNZ @aunz.theconversation.com · 03/09/2026
A new study reveals thousands of native animals are taking up residence in Australian homes.
theconversation.com
Your house may be a haven for wildlife. It’s time we design homes with nature in mind
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I went looking for numbats this weekend, and all I got was a numbum. 🌏🐾🦘 #wildaus
The retreating rear-end of a numbat is satisfyingly stripey. In this image the naughty numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is scurrying off into the scrub, flicking its bushy tail. You can just see its ears peaking above the rounded grey and white striped rump. The soft pale brown of the ~30cm long animal is perfect camouflage for the drab greens of the surrounding Wandoo woodland foliage.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Snail Facts! Get your snail facts heeeeere! Scratch a shell a day for a fact about snails! There's been a lot of talk this week about university and government failure to fund critical institutions. Keep @skypeascientist.bsky.social afloat while having fun learning about snails 🐌 SquidFacts.net
An 11x14 inch poster featuring snails, slugs, nudibranchs, and other snails! There are 24 yellow-green snail shells that you can scratch off. There's a leaf sheep and sea bunny and sea angel and fire snail and banana slug and mystery snail and ramshorn snail and candy cane snail
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Dr swift parrot @teamswiftparrot.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Something nice to read over your Sunday coffee - we just published an updated gang-gang cockatoo chapter with @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social Read about these gorgeously silly birds - some cute videos in there too. birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/...
birdsoftheworld.org
Gang-gang Cockatoo - Callocephalon fimbriatum - Birds of the World
Species accounts for all the birds of the world.
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
It’s an insult, a national disgrace. This is @albomp.bsky.social & Murray Watt making it crystal clear that they do not see helping Australian wildlife in the face of this massive threat a high priority. Submarines, anyone? au.news.yahoo.com/australias-2...
au.news.yahoo.com
Australia's $20 million virus announcement ridiculed: 'Forgot a zero'
The Albanese Government's "serious" funding commitment has been slammed as "deeply unserious".
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Along the same lines as my post yesterday, I found this piece from @aunz.theconversation.com a few weeks ago very helpful (if not hopeful). 🌏🧪 Anyone else starting to see ecological grief turning up now in their non-enviro science friends and family? theconversation.com/i-feel-deep-...
theconversation.com
I feel deep sadness about bird flu and environmental loss. Is this normal?
Grief is an understandable response to witnessing harm to places and species that matter to us.
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Lately I have been finding it hard to stay motivated, in what feels like increasingly fragile times. Which is why I'm trying to bookmark anything that shines a little light in the dark. Here's a nice one from the enviro journos @australia.theguardian.com: 🧪🌏 www.theguardian.com/membership/n...
theguardian.com
We asked our climate reporters to highlight one idea for positive change. We got a chronicle of global transformation
There are countless initiatives around the world that can inspire people and spur them into action. Amid the devastation of the climate crisis, our journalists strive to highlight these stories of hop...
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Wait. What?! #InternationalCatDay #indoorCats
My cats, Eigg (ginger + white) and Muck (black and white) sitting on my lap on the bed (blue trackies, grey blanket and striped bed linen in the background). 

Did someone write a children's book about them?! 

NB. Eigg and Muck are proud and happy INDOOR cats who live in Perth, Western Australia
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Shawan Chowdhury @shawan-chowdhury.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Our new Nature Eco Evo paper documents range shifts in 1,758 butterfly species across 105 countries, primarily due to climate change. 🦋80% expanded 🦋27% contracted 🦋22% shifted elevation 🦋342 showed multiple shift types. doi.org/10.1038/s415... @monashbiol.bsky.social @monashscience.bsky.social
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Quentin Bacquelé @quentinbacquele.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
1/ The world's songbirds sing in just 8 basic sounds. And where a bird lives decides which ones it uses. My first PhD paper is out now in @science.org (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aee6239) Here is what we found:
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Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
The collapse of nature in our lifetimes has a sound – or rather a lack of it. Year on year, mesmeric natural soundscapes are ever more dumbed down, as this heart rending recreation of the dawn chorus over recent decades shows. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Listen to Britain’s dawn chorus of 1976: the dramatic loss of birdsong in 50 years
Guardian recreates audio landscape of past filled by loud morning symphony before 73m wild birds were lost
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Curtin University RTP scholarships are open for application! EOI submissions accepted until 31st July through the online portal. I have two projects advertised. To find out more, head to the link and scroll down to see the HDR project opportunities. staffportal.curtin.edu.au/staff/profil... 🧪🌏🏙️🪶🗺️
Pink and white everlasting daisies blooming in a garden bed on Curtin University campus. The afternoon sun is shining through the flowers, making the colours glow.
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed..." This paper was born from frustration, grew through deep introspection, and was created with much joy. ✍ Overcoming pride and prejudice for impactful urban nature conservation doi.org/10.1093/bios... #urbanNature 🧪🌏
doi.org
Overcoming pride and prejudice for impactful urban nature conservation
Abstract. Responding to the biodiversity crisis in cities requires a new model of environmental researcher. Conservation scientists have a critical role to
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Some generally good reporting from @news.abc.net.au on the HPAI detection here in Aus. Still some work to do when it comes to #womenInSTEM representation though - my @birdlifeoz.bsky.social bestie Dr Lindall Kidd was just on 7.30... Can you see what's missing in the screen grab? 🤦‍♂️🤔🌏🧪🪶🎓
Screen shot from ABC 7.30 (national nightly news show in Australia) showing Dr Lindall Kidd... And missing her title from in the caption.

Dr Kidd is a white woman with dark hair pulled back into a pony tail. She is wearing a black top with the Birdlife Aus logo, and standing in front of an urban wetland.
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Vince McMahon reaction meme, with the judge showing increasingly dramatic impressed faces. 

First panel: Peatland rewettung improves drainage (he looks interested)

Second panel: It also sequesters carbon (he looks excited)

Third panel: It can also be a solar farm (he looks ecstatic)

Fourth panel: The solar panels increase wildlife! (He’s glowing red and gaping with glowing eyes)
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Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 19/06/2026
Bury me in the whale graveyard – let the weird starfish chew my bones | First Dog on the Moon
theguardian.com
Bury me in the whale graveyard – let the weird starfish chew my bones | First Dog on the Moon
Scientists have discovered an enormous whale graveyard about 1,200 km long, which seems big but then so are whales * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
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British Ecological Society @britishecologicalsociety.org · 03/06/2026
We face multiple crises that demand action: biodiversity loss, climate change, land degradation. But tackling these in isolation is perilous. @zslofficial.bsky.social's new report, authored by leading scientists and policy experts, details how approaches to address one crisis can exacerbate others.
Mangrove trees in the Philippines at low tide. Still reflective water beneath large white cumulus clouds and blue sky.
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
New paper! Here we meld our ecology, stats & design brains together to solve a problem encountered working with landscape architects on public open space design. 🧪🌏 We've created a preliminary tool for quantifying how different landscape designs support #urban nature www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Example score card from Figure 1 of the paper, showing how a typical neighbourhood park design from a greenfield residential development in Victoria, Australia performs agains each of the metrics.
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
New paper!🌏🪶🧪 We once again combine the powers of land use data with citizen science observations, finding that informal green spaces (IGS) may be providing resources for some bird functional groups that could be missing from traditional #urban green spaces. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Relative probability of observing a bird species from each foraging guild, comparing between land types. The figure from this paper shows the relative importance of informal green space (IGS) for frugivore, granivore, nectarivore, and omnivore bird species compared to formal green spaces in Melbourne, Australia. The IGS seem particularly important for granivores and frugivores.
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Judy Dunlop @judydunlop.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
This week I'm surveying for toxic cane toads around and behind the invasion front line. Here's some nightmare fuel for you- with up to 8 small toads in every cow hoofprint. #wildoz #tcz
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Waahoo! After some admin battles, I've finally had approval to travel to the UK to present @britishecologicalsociety.org Nature-based Solutions symposium! 🌏🧪 I'll be staying on for a week in July after the event, so if you want to catch up please get in touch! #naturebasedsolutions #urban
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Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Our latest special feature is published! It includes 10 articles spanning key areas of emerging methods in business and biodiversity, presenting a range of methods that are translating this complexity into formats that are digestible and usable by business and finance 🌍🏢 buff.ly/Vy0V0Ql
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Robert Francis @birdhistory.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
#2: Plains-wanderer Mythical, austere, even heroic. Stars opposite John Wayne in a couple westerns. Even more mysterious than the name suggests. According to eBird, “unlikely to be observed without deliberate search and professional help.”
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Bronwen Scott @snailseyeview.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Reposting this thread because I think we could all do with a lil green snail with two shells.
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Evelyndroid's Aperture Science and Bugge-Finding 🏳️‍⚧️🕷️ @apsciencebylyn.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Floof Lump, with snack, from today 🤍 (Hamataliwa grisea) #EmotionalSupportSpood
Floofy grey lynx spider with legs bunched around her, snacking on a small spider
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Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
"there seems to be tacit support for the idea tt it may not be politically correct but that it’s “natural” for the public to direct its frustration at migrants. I don’t accept this. There are plenty of ways to express anger at a failing political system without scapegoating particular communities."
theguardian.com
Yes, Pauline Hanson’s voters are struggling with economic pressures. But blaming migrants won’t ease their pain | Sisonke Msimang
One Nation supporters are not unique or special. And there are plenty of ways to express anger at a failing political system without scapegoating particular communities
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Emma Mitchell @silverpebble2.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Beltane or Bealtaine was a Celtic/Gaelic festival held on the 1st May to mark the beginning of summer. One of the key parts of the festival (alongside massive bonfires, feasting & making merry with beer 👀) was the exchange of posies to bring good luck. Here's a Beltane posy for you from my garden 🌿
A posy of flowers from my garden in a glazed blue/green jug, including cow parsley, red campion, alkanet, borage and speedwell
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Read and share this open letter from former oil and gas leaders, calling on the Australian Government to not keep us locked into outdated fossil fuel as they consider how to respond to the latest energy shocks. energycrossroads.com.au
energycrossroads.com.au
A Letter to Government from Former Oil & Gas Professionals
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Never forget that when Seoul, Korea removed the Cheonggyecheon expressway in 2003 and replaced it with a restored stream, 1000 acre park and improved public transit, not only did it TRANSFORM the city’s public life and economic success, but the car traffic got better. The car traffic got BETTER.
Former elevated highway in central Seoul, South KoreaDaylighted stream and public space where highway used to be
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Society for Conservation Biology Oceania @scboceania.org · 30/04/2026
That's a wrap for SCBO's 30 days of #ConservationOptimism! Amongst the climate challenges and biodiversity crises, we hope this has been a reminder that conservation practitioners, citizen scientists & communities are working tirelessly for our threatened species and ecosystems, and having success!
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Finally caught Eigg and Muck in the act of transferring the brain cell. 🐈🐈‍⬛ #indoorCats
Two cats snuggle on a grey blanket, foreheads tightly pressed against each other. The image is framed so the upper half features the white and ginger cat (upside-down Eigg), the lower half the black and white cat (right-way-up Muck). There is a pleasing 'yin and yang' symmetry to their positions.
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gavin jones @ecologyofgavin.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Idk man, where’s the evidence of the evidence for evidence based conservation doi.org/10.1002/2688...
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
I have a favour to ask those of you who AREN’T from the city-building professions, who probably have LOTS of followers who don’t spend much time thinking about better ways for more people to get around cities with less space, fewer crashes & emissions, etc. Please share the article below. Thanks!
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Holly Kirk @hollykirk.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
YAAAASSSSSSS!! Splendid fairywrens made the list!
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Robert Francis @birdhistory.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
#94: Willie-wagtail Birds with people names are one of the best sub-categories, and none wears theirs so explicitly as this guy. (Robin, JACKdaw, and MAGpie are others, I wrote about them here): open.substack.com/pub/birdhist...
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Evelyndroid's Aperture Science and Bugge-Finding 🏳️‍⚧️🕷️ @apsciencebylyn.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
BABY 🖤 Dusky pygmy rattlesnakes are already small, and this is a tiny child at that. She could comfortably curl up on my watch face. Pretty chill, though I did not test this thoroughly.
Tiny grey rattlesnake with large black spots and tiny orange spots, curled up and peering at you from the white sand Closer shot of the fierce peering face Wider shot of the creature, with my black watch for scale. The snake could curl up on the watch face comfortably
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Ecological Society of Australia @ecolsocaus.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Good news for *not so* good times 🐭 Some feel-good stories you might have missed! #ecology
Western Quoll is back baby

Once extinct in NSW, the chuditch or western quoll is now breeding in the wild thanks to a conservation program.

The animals were released into an area the size of 11,000 football fields within the Sturt National Park in 2024.Giant Echidnas lived in Victoria during Ice Age

Scientists confirm skull found in Gippsland cave a century ago belongs to giant echidna (Megalibgwilia owenii). 

The discovery fills a major gap in the species' known range and adds new insight into the state's ancient megafauna.Bilby Bouncing Back

Greater bilby numbers across six animal sanctuaries have quadrupled since 2021, according to an Australian Wildlife Conservancy census, in part driven by the reintroduction of the species to Newhaven Animal Sanctuary in the NT's Tanami Desert.Night parrots detected in QLD

A new population of one of the world's most elusive birds may have been discovered, according to researchers who say they have captured recordings of its call in Queensland's arid outback.
Ecologist Steve Murphy said dozens of fresh audio recordings had revealed the presence of critically endangered night parrots.
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Nick Volpe @nvolpe.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
YESSSSSSSS!!!! I FOUND ONE OF THE BEST BUTTERFLIES IN THE WORLD AHHHHHHHH!!!! 🤯😭 Caria plutargus amazonica I’m CRYING!! 🦋
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Dr nick nobody @nicknobody.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
#LaborValues Everyone in so-called Australia will experience disability at some point in their life, either personally or in their family. We are a rich enough country to fund proper, equitable & humane support. Making disability an industry for profit is neoliberal bullshit. #auspol
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Wilderness Society @wilderness.org.au · 22/04/2026
LOOK AT THIS EARTH! 🌏 This #EarthDay, we’re celebrating the Channel Country—where floodwaters from northern Australia are continuing their journey to Kati-Thanda / Lake Eyre, spreading life across a landscape formed to receive them. Thanks to Birdsville Aviation for sharing these videos with us 💚
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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Rewilding Britain’s monitoring guidance for rewilding projects is now published Covering ecological, social & economic aspects & reflecting the dynamic, open-ended nature of rewilding I’m pleased to have helped develop this www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/about-us/wha...
rewildingbritain.org.uk
The Rewilding Monitoring Framework
We’ve developed Britain’s first framework for monitoring rewilding progress, demonstrating its vital role in creating ecological, social and economic…
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