About the thesis, basically my PhD research challenges the myth of pristine #wilderness by revealing how England's "natural" #landscapes have been consistently shaped by human activity for 8,000 years. Using archaeological, environmental, and historical evidence, I demonstrate that effective #conservation must abandon fantasies of returning to imagined pristine states and instead work with our contemporary ecological realities. #holocene #archaeology
I've passed my #viva (yay!) and can now share two recent publications:
First, our article on reconstructing prehistoric land cover in the Humberhead Levels is now out in Vegetation History and #Archaeobotany.
We applied the Multiple Scenario Approach to produce spatially-informed quantitative reconstructions across four #prehistoric periods, working through the complexities of #wetland-rich 'blue-green' #landscapes where #freshwater and #marine systems intersect.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00334-026-01087-6
Second, I contributed to the #archaeology chapter in The Palgrave Handbook of #Anarchism (March 2026), which connects #anarchist theory and #history to contemporary political developments.
https://link.springer.com/book/9783031980299
More publications on the way as well and on to what comes next, whatever that might be (pls send me your #postdoc postings 🙏 😅 ).
About the thesis, basically my PhD research challenges the myth of pristine #wilderness by revealing how England's "natural" #landscapes have been consistently shaped by human activity for 8,000 years. Using archaeological, environmental, and historical evidence, I demonstrate that effective #conservation must abandon fantasies of returning to imagined pristine states and instead work with our contemporary ecological realities. #holocene #archaeology
A new study in Panama finds nitrogen limits forest regrowth early on.
Adding nitrogen accelerated recovery in cleared and young forests, but had little effect in older forests. And adding phosphorus did not limit growth at any stage — underscoring the value of nitrogen-fixing species in reforestation.
by Ruth Kamnitzer
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/blew-us-away-researchers-find-nitrogen-boost-spurs-faster-tropical-forest-growth/
friend: sends me a heartwarming video of wild sea turtles being lovingly warmed up at an aquarium in Texas after swimming in too-cold seawater
me, an asshole: you know that aquarium is funded by the oil industry, right
<checks> nodding, assholishly
#OilBeach #Texas #oil #petroleum #conservation #greenwashing
A new study in Panama finds nitrogen limits forest regrowth early on.
Adding nitrogen accelerated recovery in cleared and young forests, but had little effect in older forests. And adding phosphorus did not limit growth at any stage — underscoring the value of nitrogen-fixing species in reforestation.
by Ruth Kamnitzer
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/blew-us-away-researchers-find-nitrogen-boost-spurs-faster-tropical-forest-growth/
A tiring but very satisfying day of coppicing willow, sorting whips for weaving and building a deer fence from the more substantial limbs. Knackered but happy. 😃 #Conservation #Volunteering
A tiring but very satisfying day of coppicing willow, sorting whips for weaving and building a deer fence from the more substantial limbs. Knackered but happy. 😃 #Conservation #Volunteering
It’s good to see bird window strikes getting some attention in the NZ media, here with a story today in #RNZ about lots of kererū hitting modern windows in Dunedin. A lot of birds hit windows. In Akaroa it’s been glass balustrades on decks that tūī have been flying into.
What’s missing from this story is that this is a solved problem–there are ways to manufacture glass windows that birds can see–and some cities and states internationally require this in their building codes.
The second link below is a recent new story from Winnipeg in Canada which last year past a bylaw requiring bird friendly windows. After building industry lobbyists pushed back this year, claiming this was too expensive, bird advocates put together the costings for the Winnipeg council showing that, with proper planning at the design stage, the extra costs are negligible. The bylaw was upheld.
It’s good to see bird window strikes getting some attention in the NZ media, here with a story today in #RNZ about lots of kererū hitting modern windows in Dunedin. A lot of birds hit windows. In Akaroa it’s been glass balustrades on decks that tūī have been flying into.
What’s missing from this story is that this is a solved problem–there are ways to manufacture glass windows that birds can see–and some cities and states internationally require this in their building codes.
The second link below is a recent new story from Winnipeg in Canada which last year past a bylaw requiring bird friendly windows. After building industry lobbyists pushed back this year, claiming this was too expensive, bird advocates put together the costings for the Winnipeg council showing that, with proper planning at the design stage, the extra costs are negligible. The bylaw was upheld.
COLOMBIA PROTECTS AMAZON FROM EXPLOITATION
🌿 New law turns the Amazon biome within its territory into a reserve, unavailable to new oil and large-scale mining projects.
❌ Announcement means 43 oil blocks and 286 mining proposals won't move ahead.
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Country seeks to prioritize long-term environmental health and sustainable economic solutions.
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/colombia-amazon-ban-new-extractive-projects
#SolarPunkSunday #Environment #Amazon #Conservation #EnvironmentalProtection #EnvironmentalConservation
COLOMBIA PROTECTS AMAZON FROM EXPLOITATION
🌿 New law turns the Amazon biome within its territory into a reserve, unavailable to new oil and large-scale mining projects.
❌ Announcement means 43 oil blocks and 286 mining proposals won't move ahead.
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Country seeks to prioritize long-term environmental health and sustainable economic solutions.
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/colombia-amazon-ban-new-extractive-projects
#SolarPunkSunday #Environment #Amazon #Conservation #EnvironmentalProtection #EnvironmentalConservation
America’s oldest warship, sunk in 1776, is getting a 250th-birthday makeover.
Conservator Angela Paola is lying on her back under the 16-tonne gunboat, picking debris from between its nearly 250-year-old planks. She is wearing blue surgical gloves, grimy white overalls, and a half-face respirator.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/americas-oldest-warship-sunk-in-1776-is-getting-a-250th-birthday-makeover/5JVEX2IRT5DJ5IWVZHCAGGMNI4/ #globalmusum #maritimehistory #conservation #museums #USA250
I figured someone, somewhere, is trying to grow food that doesn’t murder the soil. Someone has terabytes of wildlife camera monitoring and drowning in footage. Someone has a brilliant idea and absolutely no software skills or budget.
Maybe we can help.
We’re just people who can code, but maybe “just people who can code” might be exactly what someone needs right now.
We’re already collaborating with some rewilding projects, and we’d like to do more of it and meet more people trying to do things that matter.
The few people we talked to, who are fighting the important fights, are using broken tools, or no tools at all.
Maybe we can be of use to people protecting and restoring ecosystems, innovating sustainable food systems, or those tracking what’s actually happening to the living world around us.
We don’t have all the answers. I don’t even have most of the questions most days, and I’m trying my best to learn. But we’re good at software, we can build things that work, and we’d rather build things that matter.
To end this thread, I’m casting a wide net but if you’re trying to save one specific part of the world and software is the thing standing between you and doing it better—please talk to us! We want to meet you.
#OpenScience #Conservation #RestorativeAgriculture #RegenerativeAgriculture #EcologyInAction #CitizenScienc #Biodiversity
#ForestRestoration #Agroecology #SoilScience