On our return trip to Tblisi, we’d planned on taking one of the Marshrutkas or shared minibuses which ply popular routes between towns and cities in Georgia but, in the event, with my stomach still…

On Tuesday we were driven from Tblisi to Akhaltsikhe (translated as New Castle) in western Georgia by Saren, the owner of the hotel where we were to stay. This involved first driving north to Mshke…

A brief look at Tblisi Botanical gardens and their history

On Sunday, our second in Georgia, Shota drove us to the nearby Nekresi monastery high in the foothills on the edge of the Alazani river, with fabulous views over the vineyards of the plain. There w…

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We’re now in the rural village of Shilda, in the Kakheti region of Georgia, south and east of Stepantsminda. We spent much of Friday travelling here, retracing our drive on Monday as far as A…

Our second long walk from our base in Stepantsminda took us along the scenic Truso valley, following the Terek river up towards its source. An area of great natural beauty, it’s also a bit of a geo…

Wednesday was deemed to be a rest day rather than having any big adventures planned so we started in leisurely fashion with a hotel breakfast. The coffee was rather weak but the food excellent- a w…

Kazbeg isn’t the highest mountain in the Caucases but, at over 5000 m, it has snow on the summit and glaciers flowing from it, all year around. It is one of a group of dormant volcanoes but, fortun…

When you tell people you are going to Georgia on holiday, reactions are polarised; either, “wow” or “why”? Those who know how it has sat at the junction of Europe and Asia for centuries, or who’ve …

NSF dismantling Ocean Observatories Initiative as very strong El Niño forms. Edson, Robbins, McLean: an irreparable blind spot in U.S. climate observation.

This week: the strange love lives of flowers, how healing may cause harm, connecting plants and humans, and more.

In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.

She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Carella Group at the John Innes Centre, working on cutting-edge science in the field of Evo-MPMI (Evolutionary Molecular…

Jonathan and I sorted the kit into piles for the students first thing Wednesday morning, then waved off little groups after breakfast, heading off into the forest on the various trails, like they w…

One of the main reasons our trip to Pontresina has been so fantastic for budding ecologists is the incredible biodiversity of the area. Kieran has ticked off many of the 115 or so birds on the list…

an open letter: we have been commanded

One thing we wanted the students to learn about in Switzerland is the process of primary succession, in which newly-exposed bare ground is gradually colonised by successively larger and more comple…

We’re just back from my fourth visit to China in two years and what once seemed a very alien place is starting to feel strangely familiar, despite my minimal grasp of the language. Of course it hel…