Dara Sands
@darasands.bsky.social
Researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)
Interested in human-wildlife coexistence, nature restoration, conflict management, sustainability, and environmental justice.
Irish living in Norway 🇮🇪 🇳🇴
Interested in human-wildlife coexistence, nature restoration, conflict management, sustainability, and environmental justice.
Irish living in Norway 🇮🇪 🇳🇴
Pinned
Dara Sands
@darasands.bsky.social
· Oct 31
Excited to start as a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research next week!
One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!
One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!
"Regjeringen poengterer at planen er avhengig av «det økonomiske handlingsrommet», men ser ut til å ha glemt en ting: Hvis naturtapet fortsetter i samme tempo som i dag, vil det økologiske handlingsrommet – ikke det økonomiske – begrense utviklingen i Norge."
www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/hvor-...
www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/hvor-...
Hvor ble det av naturen, Støre?
Statsministeren har lagt store planer for Norges framtid, men ser ut til å ha glemt at vi er avhengige av at naturen forsyner oss med livsviktige varer og tjenester.
www.dagsavisen.no
January 23, 2026 at 8:41 AM
"Regjeringen poengterer at planen er avhengig av «det økonomiske handlingsrommet», men ser ut til å ha glemt en ting: Hvis naturtapet fortsetter i samme tempo som i dag, vil det økologiske handlingsrommet – ikke det økonomiske – begrense utviklingen i Norge."
www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/hvor-...
www.dagsavisen.no/debatt/hvor-...
Reposted by Dara Sands
I have very mixed feeling about this report & the coverage it is getting. It’s good to see biodiversity loss getting attention. BUT experience in tackling #IWT shows linking biodiversity & security issues carries significant risks, often for the most vulnerable www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn
Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt
www.theguardian.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:11 PM
I have very mixed feeling about this report & the coverage it is getting. It’s good to see biodiversity loss getting attention. BUT experience in tackling #IWT shows linking biodiversity & security issues carries significant risks, often for the most vulnerable www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Strange choice to frame this interview around the apparent harmony between nature restoration and economic growth, when Tony Juniper’s new book challenges the idea that endless growth is compatible with a healthy planet.
open.spotify.com/episode/3wnJ...
open.spotify.com/episode/3wnJ...
Headwinds and hope: Tony Juniper on Why Nature Restoration is a Path to Economic Growth
open.spotify.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Strange choice to frame this interview around the apparent harmony between nature restoration and economic growth, when Tony Juniper’s new book challenges the idea that endless growth is compatible with a healthy planet.
open.spotify.com/episode/3wnJ...
open.spotify.com/episode/3wnJ...
Reposted by Dara Sands
Olve Krange at NINA led a study that sheds some light on this.
“Results show that lack of trust in environmental institutions is strongly associated with ACC denial…and is partly a function of anti-elitist attitudes, opposition to migration and views of nature.”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
“Results show that lack of trust in environmental institutions is strongly associated with ACC denial…and is partly a function of anti-elitist attitudes, opposition to migration and views of nature.”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
“Don’t confuse me with facts”—how right wing populism affects trust in agencies advocating anthropogenic climate change as a reality - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - “Don’t confuse me with facts”—how right wing populism affects trust in agencies advocating anthropogenic climate change as a...
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Olve Krange at NINA led a study that sheds some light on this.
“Results show that lack of trust in environmental institutions is strongly associated with ACC denial…and is partly a function of anti-elitist attitudes, opposition to migration and views of nature.”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
“Results show that lack of trust in environmental institutions is strongly associated with ACC denial…and is partly a function of anti-elitist attitudes, opposition to migration and views of nature.”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Dara Sands
🚨 We are looking for 3 new colleagues to join the GreenFrontier team as Postdoctoral Researchers!
Deadline for applications: 25 Nov 2025
Each of the 3 openings will involve extended ethnographic fieldwork + plenty of opportunities to consolidate research & leadership skills!
Please share widely!
Deadline for applications: 25 Nov 2025
Each of the 3 openings will involve extended ethnographic fieldwork + plenty of opportunities to consolidate research & leadership skills!
Please share widely!
November 3, 2025 at 7:32 AM
🚨 We are looking for 3 new colleagues to join the GreenFrontier team as Postdoctoral Researchers!
Deadline for applications: 25 Nov 2025
Each of the 3 openings will involve extended ethnographic fieldwork + plenty of opportunities to consolidate research & leadership skills!
Please share widely!
Deadline for applications: 25 Nov 2025
Each of the 3 openings will involve extended ethnographic fieldwork + plenty of opportunities to consolidate research & leadership skills!
Please share widely!
Excited to start as a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research next week!
One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!
One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!
October 31, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Excited to start as a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research next week!
One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!
One of the main projects I’ll be working on will explore how to engage volunteers, children and young people in nature restoration across Norway – a task I’m ready for after years of chasing my kids outdoors!
Reposted by Dara Sands
Cork (Ireland), will host the 12th International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity in August 2027 with satellite gatherings in Covilha (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania)
degrowth.info/en/conferenc...
degrowth.info/en/conferenc...
Cork 2027
Coming in August 2027 the 12th Conference will take place in Ireland, with satellite gatherings in Covilha (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania). With a thematic focus on "policy, practice and culture"...
degrowth.info
October 15, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Cork (Ireland), will host the 12th International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity in August 2027 with satellite gatherings in Covilha (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania)
degrowth.info/en/conferenc...
degrowth.info/en/conferenc...
The findings from the #GreenToGrey project have been leading the news in Norway today. Yet, Ireland isn’t far behind when it comes to converting nature and farmland per capita to make way for construction, housing, roads, luxury developments, etc. Has this been getting much coverage back home?
Again Norway tops a not so nice list, of nature and farmland consumption per capita for construction and "development". But all countries in Europe are on a slippery slope to piece by piece nature destruction. There is an urgent need to stop this nature crisis.
Full story www.nrk.no/dokumentar/x...
Full story www.nrk.no/dokumentar/x...
October 1, 2025 at 6:41 PM
The findings from the #GreenToGrey project have been leading the news in Norway today. Yet, Ireland isn’t far behind when it comes to converting nature and farmland per capita to make way for construction, housing, roads, luxury developments, etc. Has this been getting much coverage back home?
Waiting to hear back about job applications feels like...
September 16, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Waiting to hear back about job applications feels like...
Nice to be back at @uninmbu.bsky.social this week as a guest lecturer on the Master's course "Green transformations in theory and practice".
The campus has changed a lot over the last few years, but there are still a few reminders that this place used to be the Norwegian Agricultural University 🐑
The campus has changed a lot over the last few years, but there are still a few reminders that this place used to be the Norwegian Agricultural University 🐑
September 11, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Nice to be back at @uninmbu.bsky.social this week as a guest lecturer on the Master's course "Green transformations in theory and practice".
The campus has changed a lot over the last few years, but there are still a few reminders that this place used to be the Norwegian Agricultural University 🐑
The campus has changed a lot over the last few years, but there are still a few reminders that this place used to be the Norwegian Agricultural University 🐑
Just back from a few days in Norway’s oldest national park, Rondane, doing visitor surveys for the "Sounds like Norway" project.
A key takeaway was that natural sounds (wind, water, birds etc) and, in particular, quiet really matter for how people enjoy and connect with the outdoors.
A key takeaway was that natural sounds (wind, water, birds etc) and, in particular, quiet really matter for how people enjoy and connect with the outdoors.
August 10, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Just back from a few days in Norway’s oldest national park, Rondane, doing visitor surveys for the "Sounds like Norway" project.
A key takeaway was that natural sounds (wind, water, birds etc) and, in particular, quiet really matter for how people enjoy and connect with the outdoors.
A key takeaway was that natural sounds (wind, water, birds etc) and, in particular, quiet really matter for how people enjoy and connect with the outdoors.
"It is insulting that the commitment to the term rewilding is stronger than the commitment to reconciliation & truth-telling...At a time when we need empowerment, the label of rewilding does nothing but strip it from us."
Thought-provoking piece by Michael-Shawn Fletcher in @consletters.bsky.social
Thought-provoking piece by Michael-Shawn Fletcher in @consletters.bsky.social
August 4, 2025 at 8:42 AM
"It is insulting that the commitment to the term rewilding is stronger than the commitment to reconciliation & truth-telling...At a time when we need empowerment, the label of rewilding does nothing but strip it from us."
Thought-provoking piece by Michael-Shawn Fletcher in @consletters.bsky.social
Thought-provoking piece by Michael-Shawn Fletcher in @consletters.bsky.social
A hunter in Norway received a 45-day prison sentence for shooting a lynx he mistook for a fox.
What stands out about this story isn’t the rare conviction for a wildlife crime, it’s that the hunter turned himself in - an even rarer act of accountability in today’s world.
www.tv2.no/nyheter/inne...
What stands out about this story isn’t the rare conviction for a wildlife crime, it’s that the hunter turned himself in - an even rarer act of accountability in today’s world.
www.tv2.no/nyheter/inne...
Trudde dette var rev - no er jegeren dømd til fengsel
Mannen erkjenner at han burde ha sjekka betre før han fyrte av.
www.tv2.no
June 16, 2025 at 11:36 AM
A hunter in Norway received a 45-day prison sentence for shooting a lynx he mistook for a fox.
What stands out about this story isn’t the rare conviction for a wildlife crime, it’s that the hunter turned himself in - an even rarer act of accountability in today’s world.
www.tv2.no/nyheter/inne...
What stands out about this story isn’t the rare conviction for a wildlife crime, it’s that the hunter turned himself in - an even rarer act of accountability in today’s world.
www.tv2.no/nyheter/inne...
Reposted by Dara Sands
This is a really important & useful paper: the persistence of the idea that poverty causes biodiversity decline inhibits just and effective conservation. @upascual.bsky.social @estherturnhout.bsky.social @pettorelli.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Unveiling pervasive assumptions: moving beyond the poverty-biodiversity loss association in conservation
This paper reflects on the continued persistence of the idea in conservation research and practice that poverty drives biodiversity loss (the poverty-…
www.sciencedirect.com
June 11, 2025 at 10:44 AM
This is a really important & useful paper: the persistence of the idea that poverty causes biodiversity decline inhibits just and effective conservation. @upascual.bsky.social @estherturnhout.bsky.social @pettorelli.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Dara Sands
Should Ecology be more proactive & vocal on one of the key issues of our times? What systemic & institutional changes are needed for the ecological community to be at the forefront of the response? If these are questions that speak to you, this new paper may be of interest lnkd.in/eXfXG4xM
June 6, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Should Ecology be more proactive & vocal on one of the key issues of our times? What systemic & institutional changes are needed for the ecological community to be at the forefront of the response? If these are questions that speak to you, this new paper may be of interest lnkd.in/eXfXG4xM
Reposted by Dara Sands
1. All eagle deaths, esp in a small population, are a loss but some are harder to take than most. Sadly, our 1st breeding male, released in 2008, was recently picked up dead. This bird deserves a proper obituary to put his life (and death) in context
www.thejournal.ie/investigatio...
www.thejournal.ie/investigatio...
First male white-tailed eagle to breed in Ireland in over a century found dead in Co Clare
While white-tailed eagles don’t often die from poisoning, a ‘disturbing’ increase in poisonings has been observed over the last three to five years.
www.thejournal.ie
May 30, 2025 at 2:50 PM
1. All eagle deaths, esp in a small population, are a loss but some are harder to take than most. Sadly, our 1st breeding male, released in 2008, was recently picked up dead. This bird deserves a proper obituary to put his life (and death) in context
www.thejournal.ie/investigatio...
www.thejournal.ie/investigatio...
Reposted by Dara Sands
"We will explore more, find more and extract more"
Norway announces its largest ever expansion of fossil fuel extraction. We don't get to claim we're climate heroes while we aggressively and almost anxiously seek to increase supply of the stuff that causes it.
Norway announces its largest ever expansion of fossil fuel extraction. We don't get to claim we're climate heroes while we aggressively and almost anxiously seek to increase supply of the stuff that causes it.
May 9, 2025 at 9:57 AM
"We will explore more, find more and extract more"
Norway announces its largest ever expansion of fossil fuel extraction. We don't get to claim we're climate heroes while we aggressively and almost anxiously seek to increase supply of the stuff that causes it.
Norway announces its largest ever expansion of fossil fuel extraction. We don't get to claim we're climate heroes while we aggressively and almost anxiously seek to increase supply of the stuff that causes it.
“What many of us are now realizing is that coexistence is more of a process than a solution, and that this process must begin by consulting with people closer to the ground, especially those who are being asked to share space with large carnivores and other wildlife.”
Coexistence with Europe’s carnivores is possible (commentary).
news.mongabay.com/2025/04/coex...
news.mongabay.com/2025/04/coex...
Coexistence with Europe’s carnivores is possible (commentary)
Few people working in wildlife conservation in the 1980s could have imagined a future where breeding wolf packs roam the Netherlands and Denmark — but this is now part of Europe’s new reality. Over th...
news.mongabay.com
April 24, 2025 at 1:16 PM
“What many of us are now realizing is that coexistence is more of a process than a solution, and that this process must begin by consulting with people closer to the ground, especially those who are being asked to share space with large carnivores and other wildlife.”
Reposted by Dara Sands
🚨 New paper! 🚨
The #lynx and #wolf have been extinct in #Scotland for over 400 years. Could divisions over their #reintroduction, linked to #rewilding, be in part the product of shifting baseline syndrome? 🐺
Check out this new paper to find out 👇
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The #lynx and #wolf have been extinct in #Scotland for over 400 years. Could divisions over their #reintroduction, linked to #rewilding, be in part the product of shifting baseline syndrome? 🐺
Check out this new paper to find out 👇
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A shifting baseline theory of debates over potential lynx and wolf reintroductions to Scotland - Ambio
In Scotland, efforts to reintroduce extirpated species have been marred by guerrilla rewilding and social conflicts. We ask whether these conflicts could at least in part be the product of shifting ba...
link.springer.com
April 23, 2025 at 10:09 AM
🚨 New paper! 🚨
The #lynx and #wolf have been extinct in #Scotland for over 400 years. Could divisions over their #reintroduction, linked to #rewilding, be in part the product of shifting baseline syndrome? 🐺
Check out this new paper to find out 👇
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The #lynx and #wolf have been extinct in #Scotland for over 400 years. Could divisions over their #reintroduction, linked to #rewilding, be in part the product of shifting baseline syndrome? 🐺
Check out this new paper to find out 👇
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Big fan of Desert Island Discs, so I really enjoyed this interview with conservation biologist and rewilding pioneer Carl Jones about his life’s work saving species and rebuilding ecosystems.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Desert Island Discs - Professor Carl Jones, conservation biologist - BBC Sounds
Professor Carl Jones, biologist, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.
www.bbc.co.uk
April 21, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Big fan of Desert Island Discs, so I really enjoyed this interview with conservation biologist and rewilding pioneer Carl Jones about his life’s work saving species and rebuilding ecosystems.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Dara Sands
Curtailing people’s ability to read widely and carefully, to locate, assess, and compare different sources for themselves, and to write in their own voice about what they find and what it means, is arguably more effective than censorship. It is also one of the most obvious effects of generative AI.
April 11, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Curtailing people’s ability to read widely and carefully, to locate, assess, and compare different sources for themselves, and to write in their own voice about what they find and what it means, is arguably more effective than censorship. It is also one of the most obvious effects of generative AI.
Speaking to my dad earlier, he told me of a family near Rostrevor nearly burned out by the recent Mourne fires. Told to evacuate, the woman of the house took to sprinkling holy water round the garden. The flames came within metres of the house - then turned. Luck, faith, or the land minding its own?
April 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Speaking to my dad earlier, he told me of a family near Rostrevor nearly burned out by the recent Mourne fires. Told to evacuate, the woman of the house took to sprinkling holy water round the garden. The flames came within metres of the house - then turned. Luck, faith, or the land minding its own?
Reposted by Dara Sands
Fed up of the sheer numbers of journalists & media outlets that are losing it over de-extinction & giving uncritical PR to Colossal. Stupidity or collusion? They ought to be asking better & tougher questions on the underlying purposes of this. Spoiler: it’s not about conservation or the animals.
Of course mainstream media keeps rolling over for Colossal, providing uncritical hype and coverage in exchange for exclusivity and “wow.” What Colossal is doing is wrong and they can’t even deliver what they promise. How many times do we have to go over this?
April 8, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Fed up of the sheer numbers of journalists & media outlets that are losing it over de-extinction & giving uncritical PR to Colossal. Stupidity or collusion? They ought to be asking better & tougher questions on the underlying purposes of this. Spoiler: it’s not about conservation or the animals.
With wildfires impacting people and nature in Scotland, Norway, and the Mourne Mountains in NI over the last few days, this is a timely new paper exploring the complex role of fire in rewilding.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
April 6, 2025 at 7:42 PM
With wildfires impacting people and nature in Scotland, Norway, and the Mourne Mountains in NI over the last few days, this is a timely new paper exploring the complex role of fire in rewilding.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Dara Sands
As everyone is talking about Ireland this St Patrick's Day...
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...
"Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems."
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...
"Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems."
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...
Irish flax in resilient food systems
Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems.
theecologist.org
March 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
As everyone is talking about Ireland this St Patrick's Day...
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...
"Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems."
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...
"Two farmers are regrowing the Irish linen industry while restoring wildlife, reconnecting communities, and regenerating food systems."
theecologist.org/2025/mar/17/...