Ella McSweeney

A colection of articles by Ella McSweeney

Being in nature can be deeply restorative – something we all too easily forget

Losing routine contact with the living world results in less concern, less protection and less access. The antidote is evidence that conservation works

Ecologists are leaving the field as AI moves in

Technology is revolutionising how we gather and assess data on nature, presenting huge benefits and no little irony

Ireland’s aspen may not be as lonely as feared, but it is overlooked and under pressure

With this native tree threatened by overgrazing, experts have set up a clone bank in Co Wexford

The lichen test: what these colonies tell us about the health of a habitat

Lichens can survive nearly everything - even long periods in outer space - but pollution will kill them

Environmental breakdown isn’t a distant possibility – it’s a threat to world stability

The message is clear: climate change should be prioritised as a security crisis, not just an environmental one

Richard Nairn: How green are greenways?

The proposed Wicklow to Greystones Greenway route runs right along the edge of the ecologically sensitive coastal area known as the Murrough Wetlands

The Dublin half hectare that became a self-sustaining sanctuary for nature

Bequeathed to the nation, the Grove in Donnybrook has been a haven for plants and wildlife. The intention was to keep it that way

The Silver River has been badly devalued but it could thrive again

A stretch of the Slieve Bloom river fails even minimal legal standards but other magnificent parts offer a glimpse of what could be

Boy (7) strikes it lucky by finding one of the world’s rarest minerals near his home in Cork

Within seconds of handing it over to an expert, it was clear quartz discovery was very special

Voiceless and vulnerable, Brent geese find themselves blamed for Irish building delays

Absence of real political leadership leaves Ireland at risk of becoming hostile to wildlife

Light pollution is surprisingly straightforward to fix when communities work together

A Co Mayo community has achieved results that are both visually striking and ecologically responsible

This ‘Irish Whale’ has been spotted off Donegal and the coast of North America

Ella McSweeney: A small encouraging sign these waters might hold value to such rare magnificent creatures

Let’s be ambitious for a plan to establish a real record of the majestic Shannon’s condition

If 14 countries can come together to understand the Danube, surely Ireland can do the same for a far shorter river?

An extraordinary find in the Irish Sea left experts gobsmacked

Ella McSweeney: Is a once-common species returning to the Irish Sea thanks to overspill from marine protected areas elsewhere?

The golden plover’s numbers in Ireland have dwindled to a few isolated strongholds

Ella McSweeney: Golden plovers have begun arriving from Iceland, home to a third of the world’s breeding population

A damp, soggy shed is frustratingly impractical but it has attracted visitors: snails

My garden snails, Cornu aspersum, are still active and show no signs of hibernating anytime soon

Lough Derg is drifting towards the fate of Lough Neagh, that once great lake now all but dead

Lough Derg has been so reshaped by pollution that its original character is almost impossible to discern

It’s proving to be a bumper autumn for nuts. But why?

The process by which trees co-ordinate their efforts across hundreds of miles on what are known as ‘mast years’ is quite an enigma

Ireland needs BOFFFFs (big old fat fecund female fish)

The fishing industry is killing these big ladies before they’re able to do the thing they do best: endlessly reproduce

There’s nothing inevitable about extinction. It’s possible to reverse our way out

Success stories including the leaf-toed gecko in the Galápagos, the wood white butterfuly in Wales and the corncrake in Ireland give hope

Seals share our fondness for Atlantic salmon, bringing them into conflict with fishermen

Ella McSweeney: Grey seals will try to drive away other species that share their liking for fish

As much as I love my dog, I can’t ignore the toll of pet flea treatments on aquatic life

If we follow advice to treat pets continuously, whether or not fleas are present, we inadvertently contribute to significant water pollution

Rules to protect Ireland’s fragile rivers are being repeatedly breached

Public records about North Cork Creameries’ operations paint a disquieting picture of how regulators are performing

A plague is wiping out white-clawed crayfish in a river near Limerick city

Ireland is regarded as the last stronghold of this species, but locals have found hundreds of dead crayfish in the river Maigue

Country roads can become safe and accessible for people who prefer alternatives to a car

The idea is simple: local rural roads are identified and marked with a Rothar Roads sign, indicating a default lower speed limit, and traffic calming measures help maintain it

Wild salmon are on the brink of disappearing from Irish waters

Only ‘urgent and transformative’ action can save them

How yellow rattle can inject new life into Ireland’s green spaces

Yellow rattle can help restore wildflowers and reverse the declines in our bee and butterfly populations

Ireland’s threatened corncrakes desperately need open, diverse and life-filled fields

We need to rethink what we mean by ‘the economy’ to protect birds and other wildlife

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

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

Ireland has 33 species of mayfly. Even under immense pressure from humans, they adapt

These insects face great environmental threats including predators and rising water temperatures, but so far they are adapting

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

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

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

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

Life had drained from a farmer’s soil. He asked for advice - and nature has made a return

Ella McSweeney: It is possible to counteract relentless damage to our soils caused by human activity

Rooks are on par with chimpanzees in terms of intelligence

A study showed an ability to modify sticks and even bend a straight piece of wire into a hook to retrieve food from a tube

‘Incredible - real David Attenborough stuff’: thousands of young sharks discovered off Ireland’s west coast

Scientists on board the Celtic Explorer recorded a nursery of blackmouth catsharks slowly circling each other

Sanctimonious Soc Dems find themselves on shaky high moral ground

Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan

How do you resurrect a graveyard? Simply stop mowing the grass

Given a chance, dormant seeds will sprout, and with them, butterflies, bees, bats, birds and small mammals

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