Ireland’s Greenest Places: From Dún Laoghaire’s active travel to Kiltimagh’s biodiversity park - some of the entries so far
Competition an invitation to groups and communities to get recognition for their environmental endeavours
Biodiversity
World on verge of ratifying key treaty to protect oceans
Failure to significantly scale up protection of oceans from deep sea mining and sea beds from 'bottom trawling' was widely criticised
What do aliens look like - a crab or an octopus?
When imagining extraterrestrials, our minds often leap to little green men or sci-fi monsters. But these two familiar animals are a better fit
Ireland to ratify high seas treaty and scale-up marine-protected areas, Taoiseach tells UN summit
UN secretary general António Guterres urges world leaders to move ‘from plundering to protection’
UN Ocean Conference 3: will it lead to protecting the high seas from all extraction, forever?
Climate change is reducing productivity of the high seas through warming and depletion of nutrients and oxygen
Ireland’s plan to weaken legal protections for waterways will push many of them beyond recovery
Ella McSweeney: The Department of Housing is proposing to give up trying to restore or naturalise many of our rivers
Extinction of nature’s giants tracks human expansion across the globe
Due to their size and abundance, these creatures shaped the ecosystems in which they lived – but today all are nearly gone
Climate change adds to Syria’s problems as Damask rose harvests fade
Syria’s harvest has shrunk as a result of climate change-related drought, further complicating the country’s economic recovery
Communications, transport and health of older people at increased risk from global warming, says EPA
Storms Éowyn and Darragh highlighted vulnerabilities, with widespread disruptions to power and water
Why are Ireland’s whales disappearing?
Whales are disappearing from Ireland’s southwest coasts, as trawlers take much of their food
Ireland’s remaining bogs can have a second tale - of creation rather than extraction
Unlike trees, a living, healthy bog will soak up more carbon per square metre than almost any other ecosystem on Earth
What are Ireland’s Greenest Places in 2025? Share the places you feel are contributing to a better environment
We are asking readers to nominate the places across Ireland they believe deserve to be acknowledged
World lost a record amount of forests in 2024 as fires raged
World lost equivalent of 18 soccer fields of forested land every minute
Students from UCD and TCD are joint winners of 2025 Mary Mulvihill science media competition
Deeply personal essay on the use of animals in biological research and biodiversity game announced as winners
What do changing rainfall patterns mean for the world’s nourishing grasslands?
Breakfast porridge, our daily bread and rice sustaining more than half of the world’s population are all bred from natural grasses
Spider venom could aid future drug discovery, say Galway researchers
New study finds that spider venom is ‘prey-specific’
Irish hares are unique but the law of the land is against them
Ireland is one of the last remaining countries in Europe where these mystical creatures can be legally chased by dogs
Live near a town? Got food or smelly shoes? Foxes and badgers may pay you a visit
Eanna Ní Lamhna on how to handle moths that want to make a meal of the food in your kitchen, the mice at risk from your lawnmower, and a bee-bashing bird
How can businesses change their business model to support biodiversity?
Climate crisis requires bigger efforts from business
Ireland needs multi-functional farms with biodiversity benefits. But how can they be supported?
Calls grow for farming supports to help landowners push ahead with national climate goals
How nature took the lead in the return of the crane to Ireland
Cranes were culturally significant in Ireland, kept as pets by nobility and may have been associated in folklore with death
Art can communicate messages about our dying planet that are otherwise hard to hear
Climate change: Art is humanity’s oldest companion and, as we ignore a crisis that threatens both, can be a powerful means of expression
Cornish hedges are works of art, with abundant nature providing the painterly flourishes
Two layers of stone filled inside with compacted earth and topped off with vegetation or turf, these are irresistible places for plants and animals to live
Garden chemicals can seem like a magic wand. But this is the lesson I’ve learned
It’s liberating to accept that you’re never going to be master of your own garden, and this isn’t a failing
Ireland has a dismal amount of tree cover but ‘wild’ is partly between our ears
A Polish forest gives a glimpse of what Ireland and Britain might have looked like 10,000 years ago
Shellfish dredging wiping out key carbon-catching seagrass meadows, Coastwatch warns
Environmental group calls for increase in shellfish diving and ban on ‘licensed damage’ after destruction in Co Mayo
Beautifully sonorous blackcaps have discovered the key to a comfortable life
Ella McSweeney: These astonishingly small creatures are an example of a species thriving in a world that is changing faster than ever
In search of the Congolese corncrake
Our mission: To discover whether this small migratory bird was faring any better in its (probable) winter home
My quest to see kingfishers helped me discover the river Dodder’s amazing diversity of wildlife
Photographing one of these unforgettable birds on a Dublin river led me on journey of reconnection with the natural world
Pollination: How to bringing the buzz back into our countryside, towns and cities
Pollination is a crucial and vibrant interaction between plants and animals, one that is also captivating
Pope Francis’s green legacy is his radical encyclical Laudato Si’ that upended centuries of Catholic teaching
Published in 2015, Laudato Si’ spoke of our serious moral responsibility to protect the planet
Why is this bug causing a big stink?
Éanna Ní Lamhna on the hawthorn shield bug, underground bees, and the red-listed yellowhammer
The antidote to Trump’s tariff chaos is a clean and green trade agreement
We need to muster the political mettle we saw during the financial crisis to avert the trade wars that threaten everyone
‘Our health is intrinsically linked to the natural world. Quite simply, no nature, no health’
If you think hospital waiting lists and access to GP care are challenging now, climate change will bring more difficulties
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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