Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · 12d

I have a houseful of celiacs and we can attest for Poppy Market in Ladysmith. 100% gf and their bread is as close as it comes. Make it a stop for all your friends coming your way!

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

Jen Golbeck @jengolbeck.bsky.social · 18d

I found this birding book along the side of the road on the Tamiami trail in the Everglades on 8/25/25. It is so well loved with sightings going back decades. If you're a birder (I am not) please spread the word and hep me find the owner so they can be reunited

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · 18d

Thanks for sharing your work with me, Dustin!

Dustin Wolkis @dustinwolkis.bsky.social · 27d

🌺 In-depth @biographic.bsky.social article by @toughcitywriter.bsky.social on #pollen banking for plant #conservation; fun, thoughtful, with voices of 3 pollen bankers worldwide.

🌴 Pollen banking is a critical tool for conserving plant diversity.

www.biographic.com/banking-on-p...

Banking on Pollen

When seed saving doesn’t work, pollen may be the answer to preserving botanical heritage.

www.biographic.com

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · 19d

Consistently one of the best conferences I’ve attended!

Society for Conservation Biology @society4conbio.bsky.social · 22d

The Society for Conservation Biology - Marine Global Program is excited to announce that #IMCC8 will take place in #Edinburgh, Scotland from November 13-17, 2026!
Join us to help Make Marine Science Matter!
#marinescience #conservation #conference

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 19d

It's the last day of our fundraising campaign, and we're still shy of our goal of adding 100 new recurring members.

Any amount is the right amount! Come hang out and become a bioGraphic Insider

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 29d

At bioGraphic, we publish stories that inspire a deep appreciation for life on Earth—and hope for its future. 🌿

📣 To support our work, become a monthly donor and help us reach 100 new Insiders by September 19

You choose the amount, and every little bit helps:

give.calacademy.org/campaign/719...

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · 28d

Pleased to see this story in @biographic.bsky.social go live. Thanks to @dustinwolkis.bsky.social and @jonletman.bsky.social for taking time with me and for welcoming journalism fellows to the @ntbgarden.bsky.social Thanks to @judeisabella.bsky.social & @shannabaker.bsky.social for the wise edits.

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Sep 7

Yes to this — unsweetened chocolate on top is the best way to temper the sweetness! And since I was born in Nanaimo I should get an extra vote, right? (I’m also a Bird’s Custard girl.)

ullie-b.bsky.social @ullie-b.bsky.social · Sep 7

The perfect Nanaimo bar discussion begins. Number one her chocolate is way too thick and needs to be unsweetened chocolate. unsweetened chocolate counteracts the sickly sweet buttercream and when mixed in the mouth is the perfect balance.

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Aug 27

For the eleventy billionth time:

Attacks on science funding and science jobs in the United States don’t mean that science will just move elsewhere.

It means a lot less science for everyone.

There aren’t enough jobs or funding everywhere else )combined) for US scientists to just move.

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · Aug 25

Some are embracing the fantasy that the cuts to #NIH funding will only have an impact here in the USA. As Nature reports, the NIH is the largest global funder by far and dwarfs the rest of the world’s funders of biomedical research.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How the NIH dominates the world’s health research — in charts

Abrupt cuts by the Trump administration to the US National Institutes of Health threaten progress in medical research globally.

www.nature.com

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 26

Parcels does not equal “mail.”

Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 26

Great thread about these beloved Canadian pencil crayons. I still have nubs around with my name written in the white label space.

Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · Aug 26

Throughout this week, I am taking a nostalgic look at school supplies in Canada.
Today, it is Laurentien coloured pencils/pencil crayons/leads.
This brand existed for decades, but disappeared when an American company bought the brand.
This is the story.

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 22

Great—although somewhat concerning regarding its pandemic brewing potential—story from recreational epidemiologist @judeisabella.bsky.social And who knew there was such an animal as a genet? What a beauty. www.biographic.com/aardvark-bur...

Aardvark Burrows Could be Ground Zero for the Next Pandemic - bioGraphic

Animals of all kinds mix and mingle in underground burrows, offering troubling opportunities for diseases to jump species.

www.biographic.com

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · Aug 22

Aardvark Burrows Could be Ground Zero for the Next Pandemic

Animals of all kinds mix and mingle in underground burrows, offering troubling opportunities for diseases to jump species.

by @judeisabella.bsky.social

www.biographic.com/aardvark-bur...

Aardvark Burrows Could be Ground Zero for the Next Pandemic - bioGraphic

Animals of all kinds mix and mingle in underground burrows, offering troubling opportunities for diseases to jump species.

www.biographic.com

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · Aug 14

With several wildfires burning in coastal British Columbia, time to re-up this 2024 Hakai feature about what happens when a hotter climate collides with temperate rainforests--and how to help such forests endure. hakaimagazine.com/features/not...

Not Too Wet To Burn | Hakai Magazine

Amid an uptick in wildfires, scientists search for lessons on how to save old-growth rainforests from a fiery future.

hakaimagazine.com

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

Rhett Ayers Butler @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social · May 2

Last month marks 20 years since I started the Mongabay news service.

Our growth has been shaped by countless people: brave reporters risking their safety to tell urgent stories, editors refining every detail, partners who believed in our vision, & readers who care deeply.

mongabay.cc/gvDbLS

Reflections on 20 years of Mongabay News (commentary)

Founder’s Commentary: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis and perspectives. This month marks 20 years since I started the Mongabay news service. At the time,...

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

Robin Berghaus @robinberghaus.bsky.social · Aug 19

Writers, bring your 1-minute pitches for live feedback from editors on November 9 @1:30pm in Chicago at Pitch Slam. @sciencewriters.org #NASW #SciWri25

🔗View the program 👇
sciencewriters2025.org

🖥️ Registration opens September 4.

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At the top of the graphic is a train and this text:
Pitch Slam
November 9 at 1:30pm
ScienceWriters25
November 7-9, Chicago

In the middle of the graphic are portraits of editors, including their names and publications:

Steven Bedard | bioGraphic
Kendall Powell | Nature
David Grimm | Science
Sarah Zielinski | Science News Explores
Clara Moskowitz | Scientific American

At the bottom of the graphic is the following text:

Moderated and organized by: Sarah Scoles, Virginia Gewin, and Robin Berghaus

LIVE in Chicago, writers will pitch one-minute article ideas and receive immediate feedback from editors!

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 16

Words matter!

Erik Hoffner @erikhoffner.bsky.social · Aug 14

Terms like “human-wildlife conflict,” “crop-raiding” & “pest” are detrimental to the understanding of animals & their conservation

I just published this interesting new @mongabay.com op-ed by @mckinneymonkey.bsky.social, a primatologist w/ some updates to #conservation language to suggest:

It’s time to update the language of human-wildlife interactions (commentary)

Language shapes the way we view our world. In the field of wildlife conservation, even very subtle word choices drive peoples’ perceptions around individual species or situations. These word choices c...

news.mongabay.com

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 16

Great read, Erik. My husband has worked in this field for a couple of decades now and it’s been good to see the language slowly shift from conflict to coexistence. “Bear Aware” (which wasn’t awful, mind you) has shifted to “Wild Safe” and such.

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 14

Excellent! I think ours does as well, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen homework!

Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 14

I was just talking about this with friends last night! Thinking about all those old (well, “old”) letters, ledgers, and diaries written in cursive I’ve used in my work. No doubt there is, or will be, some work around—but it helps knowing how to write cursive to decipher it.

Megan Smolenyak @megansmolenyak.com · Aug 13

#genealogy attire

Purple t-shirt that says “I can read ancient text”

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

Dean Stoltz @deanstoltz.bsky.social · Aug 13

This massive #pyrocumulous cloud is towering over #PortAlberni right now. A result of the Mount Underwood wildfire burning out of control just south of the city. @cheknews.ca

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 13

The enchantment of bumblebees illuminated beautifully by @judeisabella.bsky.social
www.biographic.com/plight-of-th...

Plight of the Bumblebees

A journey into the wild and not-so-wild world of bumblebees and the unintended consequences of domestication.

www.biographic.com

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Adrienne Mason @toughcitywriter.bsky.social · Aug 5

We need to talk about the financial reality of pet ownership a lot more. (And ditto potential stress around housing.) theconversation.com/pets-dont-ne...

Pets don’t necessarily improve their owners’ well-being

It is commonly believed that pets provide important benefits to their owners — but research suggests we may need to reconsider.

theconversation.com

Reposted by Adrienne Mason

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Aug 5

In case you're wondering how scientists can say that many shark populations are threatened with extinction while some US fishermen report that they've never seen so many sharks, the answer is shifting baselines: how much things have changed depends on when you start counting.

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Jude Isabella @judeisabella.bsky.social · Aug 4

For @biographic.bsky.social, writer @craigwelch.bsky.social followed @hakai.org scientist @rhizalyssa.bsky.social's quest to unveil the the killer that decimated populations of sea stars off the West Coast. It took a few years but the lab's hard work paid off: www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer

After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

www.biographic.com

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Reposted by Adrienne Mason

Erik Hoffner @erikhoffner.bsky.social · Aug 1

I grow a lot of shiitakes, on logs on my land

Appreciate how easy & rewarding they are & don't 'naturalize' in North America, their spores literally refuse to germinate here for some reason no one knows

But these oyster #mushrooms which people grow *do* invade our forests & it's not a good thing:

Golden oyster mushrooms are crowding out native fungi in North America

Golden oyster mushrooms, known for their bright yellow caps and earthy flavors, are native to Asia. However, these prized edible mushrooms have gained popularity throughout North America, where they’r...

news.mongabay.com

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