Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 7d

new virtual exhibition on wetlands, exploring how people interact with their wetlands, their rhythms, dynamic changes, and flows of many kinds. www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/...

Wetland Times

www.environmentandsociety.org

1 2

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 8d

This paper - on what habituation does and should mean - is a must-read for anyone working on wildlife conservation, human-wildlife interactions/conflict/coexistence, translocations, in the humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences.

People and Nature @peopleandnature.bsky.social · 22d

🦊 Reimagining habituation: The case for a reciprocal and contextual understanding ➡️ buff.ly/6rbtYxu

@livwildlab.bsky.social @ethanddoney.bsky.social @vdonfrancesco.bsky.social @hannalp.bsky.social @csandbrook.bsky.social

2

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 11d

The original paper is this one, in @peopleandnature.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Stakeholder consensus suggests strategies to promote sustainability in an artisanal fishery with high rates of poaching and marine mammal bycatch

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 11d

I've long thought of our research as artworks 😉. But now it is actually true - our research on Caspian seal conservation has been integrated into an artwork in Berlin, on ecological degradation and human-nature interactions. w/ @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social.
www.studio1-0-6.com/carried-by-t...

1 1 2

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 14d

Another productive meeting of the Defra/ @naturalengland.bsky.social Species Reintroduction Taskforce, this time at Wild Ennerdale, Cumbria. Classic Taskforce behaviour, crouching in a forest looking at a successfully translocated Hairy Wood Ant colony.

4

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 17d

Provocative but very necessary argument in @consletters.bsky.social on rethinking politics and definitions in carnivore conservation in Europe, moving away from crisis mode now that meta-populations are healthy. By @hannalp.bsky.social and von Essen
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Now What? The Conundrum of Successful Recovery of Wolves and Other Species for European Conservation

The recent decision to downlist the wolf from a “strictly protected” to “protected” status in the Bern Convention and Habitats Directive marks a turning point for European conservation. While reflect...

conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

3 7

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 17d

Happy Fat Bear Week, for all of those who celebrate: explore.org/fat-bear-week

Fat Bear Week 2025

explore.org

1 2 1

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 21d

along with @monicavasile.bsky.social and @hannalp.bsky.social I a huge fan of underwhelming species reintroduction videos. Here is my contribution, releasing some native ramshorn snails into my garden pond.

1 2 6

People and Nature @peopleandnature.bsky.social · 22d

🦊 Reimagining habituation: The case for a reciprocal and contextual understanding ➡️ buff.ly/6rbtYxu

@livwildlab.bsky.social @ethanddoney.bsky.social @vdonfrancesco.bsky.social @hannalp.bsky.social @csandbrook.bsky.social

3 3

Élie Pédarros @eliepedarros.bsky.social · 28d

Excited to share the preprint of our first @cascade-hei.bsky.social paper on “Potential for academic institutions to support international biodiversity commitments” 🌿 🌍.

Potential for academic institutions to support international biodiversity commitments

doi.org

2 3 5

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 29d

My academic sphere crosses between critical geography and conservation biology. Of the two, I've seen more racism in geography arenas than in biology. For all the anti-racist rhetoric, there can be some major lack of reflection. Doesn't help its ability to address all the horror in the world.

6

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Sep 1

See "The Rider on the White Horse" (Der Schimmelreiter), a classic late 19th century German novella by Theodor Storm - which @untamed.bsky.social suggested I read before our trip to the dykes and marshes of the Wadden Sea. Also, my geophysicist friend Adam Booth can image beaver tunnels underground.

1

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Sep 1

There is a long history of animals in/on dykes in that general area - e.g. sheep are good (they compact dyke soil, suppress vegetation), mice and rabbits bad (tunneling/loosen soil). Plus stories of burying live animals (including humans!) in dykes as a superstition to ensure strong dykes.

1 1

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Sep 1

Piece in @theguardian.com on 17-metre long beaver tunnels in Dutch dykes. Shows the potential issues with beaver re-introductions, and how risks/benefits vary vastly between places. Also, neatly reworks the metaphor of beaver dams/tunnels as ecological engineering www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Beavers were welcomed back to the Netherlands. Until they started digging 17m-long tunnels | Renate van der Zee

Reintroduced to help boost biodiversity and retain water, beavers are now in danger of causing serious flooding. Should there be more culls? asks Dutch writer and journalist Renate van der Zee

www.theguardian.com

1 1 4

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Aug 8

My comment on a student's draft of a PhD thesis chapter, and their reply. Some books are a classic for a reason. I judge a book on how often PhD students borrow/steal it from my bookshelf.

4

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Jul 30

Academic and scientific freedom and censorship are critical issues in biodiversity and conservation research, in all disciplines, but it is rarely discussed. Please your experiences of academic and scientific freedom, and constraints on it in our survey
app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/leeds/acad...

Academic and Scientific Freedoms in Biodiversity and Conservation Research

Online surveys is a powerful, easy to use tool for creating online surveys. Run by Jisc, online surveys is used by over 300 different organisations in the UK...

app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk

3 3

Leverhulme Extinction Studies DTP @extinctionleeds.bsky.social · Feb 4

Congratulations to #Extinction Studies PhD student (now Dr) Jonathan Roberts on successfully defending his thesis yesterday on "Biological and Social aspects of human #hookworm #infection and eradication". Many thanks to @rohandroy.bsky.social for being a thorough and constructive external.

A photograph of Jonathan Roberts (second from left) with his supervisors, enjoying a glass of fizz and a cake.

2 11

Tony Juniper @tonyjuniper.bsky.social · May 13

Natural England is delighted today to declare England’s newest National Nature Reserve: the Bradford Pennine Gateway NNR. 1200 hectares of priority habitats on the doorstep of tens of thousands of people, many with limited access to high quality natural areas.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

1 16 89

Society for Conservation Biology - Europe @scbeurope.bsky.social · Jun 26

We received exceptional applications for the 2025 SCB Europe Early Career Conservation Award and decided to award two candidates.

Congratulations to the winners Dr Hanna Pettersson (University of York UK) and Dr Volen Arkumarev (Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds / BirdLife Bulgaria) 👏🥳

3 11

Anna Barker @annabarker.bsky.social · Nov 21

Last night at the @universityofleeds.bsky.social Awards we celebrated the positive impact the #SaferParks project is having on policy and practice. 🏆

The real strength is the collaborative partnership’s commitment to bring about change and the value of doing this by engaging with women and girls.

7 8 34

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Jul 22

Cary, Emma, et al. "Five critical questions we should ask of rewilding projects—And that social science can help us answer." People and Nature (2025).

2

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Jul 22

There are a lot of general review type papers on social science and rewilding out there, but this is one of the best ones as a primer on the most important questions to ask: ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid...

ora.ox.ac.uk

1 4

Dan Brockington @danbrockington.bsky.social · Jun 27

POLLEN 2026 is happening in Barcelona 🌅

The call for panels is open and closes on July 31st.

See here for more information: tinyurl.com/5b8c5w7j

Spread the word.

POLLEN 2026: Open for Panels - POLLEN

When will POLLEN 2026 be launched? IT ALREADY HAS - get ready to come to Barcelona and join us! Panel Submissions are Currently Open (until July 31st) The announcement is here. Or take a look at this ...

tinyurl.com

2 21 21

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Jun 27

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Beaver activists claim they are 'doing God's work'

An underground network illegally releases beavers but farmers say it can lead to trouble.

www.bbc.co.uk

2 3

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Jun 26

So, so, so proud to have worked with Hanna on her PhD, which was a brilliant study of human-wolf coexistence in Spain. She now works on coexistence with carnivores in northern Sweden/Sápmi, including on payments for coexistence.

Society for Conservation Biology - Europe @scbeurope.bsky.social · Jun 26

We received exceptional applications for the 2025 SCB Europe Early Career Conservation Award and decided to award two candidates.

Congratulations to the winners Dr Hanna Pettersson (University of York UK) and Dr Volen Arkumarev (Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds / BirdLife Bulgaria) 👏🥳

4

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Jun 24

I think that self-censorship, 'cancelling', etc are worth discussing, but there is a huge gap between that, and the much more serious issues e.g. threats to life, which are almost never discussed. E.g. the Free Speech Union has literally no mentions of Giulio Regeni on their website!

George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · Jun 24

As we start our research project on academic freedom and censorship in biodiversity conservation research, it is apparent that there is a massive gap between actual experiences of serious censorship, and public and political discussions, e.g. around 'cancelling'.

1

Rosaleen Duffy @rosaleenduffy.bsky.social · Jun 20

🚨Job Alert 🚨 🐕‍🦺 🐄🐎🐦‍⬛
Do you have project management skills & an interest in human-animal relations? We are recruiting a project manager role (5 years) for our new project (info in the 🧵) @sheffielduni.bsky.social
📆 deadline 30 June www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNO134/p...

32 30

Francis Masse @geofrancismasse.bsky.social · Jun 20

Do you work in conservation/for a conservation organisation? Please take our survey!

We need respondents who work in conservation (broadly defined) in any capacity

Survey takes 15/20 minutes, doesn’t ask for name & is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French

www.cmi.no/projects/292...

Conservation Labor: A New Frontier in Labor Theory and Conservation Science (CONLAB)

There is a rapidly developing literature on the 'human dimensions' of conservation, including critical scholarship and appli...

www.cmi.no

1 7 6