Mairéad O'Donnell

The making of novel ecosystems: A process‐based framework for measurement, analysis and application Ecological novelty is emerging rapidly due to global change drivers such as climate shifts, species introductions, defaunation, and land-use transformation. These changes challenge how we assess, ...

Our new paper presents a framework for analysing the processes that generate novel ecosystems, discussing different conceptual and practical approaches across ecological disciplines. You can read it, open access, in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

From control to cohabitation: Social-ecological insights on urban wildness narratives Narratives surrounding urban green space management have experienced significant shifts in recent years. While the command-and-control approach to urb…

Our first paper of 2026 is open access: "From control to cohabitation: Social-ecological insights on urban wildness narratives". Led by @maireadod.bsky.social along with Melissa Pineda Pinto, Erik Andersson, & @marcuscollier.bsky.social : www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#novelecosystems

Reconnecting people to nature is key for biodiversity action. Our new study identifies 5 ways people relate to #Natura2000:
🐾 Learning
🏞️ Heritage
🪴 Care
🧑‍🌾 Multifunctionality
👭 Collaboration
Revealing such narratives can build new alliances & place PAs at the heart of society.
doi.org/10.1002/pan3...

Future novel ecologies: exploring multispecies futures in urban places through a co-design workshop - Urban Ecosystems Transforming complex adaptive social-ecological systems, such as urban areas, requires collaboration with stakeholders to address multifaceted challenges. Co-design is a participatory decision-making ...

📢📢 New Publication Alert! 📢📢
👇 Check out my latest publication 👇 The paper details the #multispecies #co-design workshop methods I used during my PhD research and provides a planning and preparation guide as well as potential modifications for other settings 🌿

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I'm very excited to be presenting my PhD research titled 'Urban Wilding for Systems Transformation' next week as part of the TCD E3 Balanced Solutions for a Better World webinar series 🌿

Date & Time: Friday, November 14th, 2025, 13:00 - 14:00 hrs

Registration Link:
www.tcd.ie/e3/online-we...

We’re hiring!

Our new resume portal is live, and we’re looking for top talent in NYC to help build this administration and deliver on our affordability agenda.

Could that be you? Apply using the link below.
transition2025.com/apply

Are you a creative based in Europe? 🎨

Join the REWRITE + WILDCARD art initiative exploring #rewilding & renewal through art, photography and film

No experience needed, just creativity & vision
Submit your work ➡️ bit.ly/4qni4oj

#OpenCall #ArtForNature #HorizonEurope

Thanks @smurph.bsky.social! It still hasn't sunk in yet!

What great memories from that time, you'll have to get over for another visit soon 🤗

This is honestly the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time- banning the use of the words burger & sausage on plant based products.

The world is burning & war ravaged, & this is what our Parliamentarians think they need to 'fix'?

P.S. Fish also don't have fingers, right @oisinc.bsky.social?

The False Promise of “AI for Social Good” Abeba Birhane refutes industry claims about the technology's potential to solve complex social problems.

AI is the wrong tool to tackle complex societal & systemic problems. AI4SG is more about PR victories, boosting AI adoption (regardless of merit/usefulness) & laundering accountability for harmful tech, extractive practices, abetting atrocities. yours truly
www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/ai-...

Inspiring Jane Goodall, RIP!

We are hiring!
Applications are open for an Assistant. Prof. In Plant #Biodiversity and #Conservation at Trinity College, School of Natural Sciences in the Discipline of Botany! my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...
Any enquiries, please DM me!
#academicjobs #universityjobs #environmentalscience

Breaking News: Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most revered conservationists, died at 91. Her discoveries in the 1960s about how chimpanzees behaved in the wild broke new ground and represented what was called “one of the Western world’s great scientific achievements.” nyti.ms/42kpGxt

Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi (Official Lyric Video) YouTube video by Joni Mitchell

youtu.be/2595abcvh2M?...

"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got til it's gone? Paved paradise, put up a parking lot."

This has to be one of the most evocative songs ever written and sung on the insane, frenzied destruction of nature going on all around us. Year in, year out.

Our new paper shows strong support for #urbanrewilding among local communities; however, lower #acceptance of younger residents, non-users & deprived neighborhoods calls for context-specific adaptations to prevent environmental injustices in cities. @bokuvienna.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1002/pan3...

This is amongst the most impactful two minutes of broadcasting I’ve ever seen.

By Emma Murphy, International Editor, ITV News. #Gaza

Weaponised aid is not aid Stop the siege of Gaza

The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime and must be stopped immediately.

Our Full statement on bit.ly/44SCwVk

#CeasefireNow #EndTheSiege

📰 Just out in @pnas.org special issue: @nfrantzeskaki.bsky.social , Katinka Wijsman, Nadja Kabisch, and @timonm.bsky.social explore how #NatureBasedSolutions can support just urban transformations.

🔗 buff.ly/1eEhcBx
#NbS #UrbanJustice #UrbanSustainability #PNAS #JustTransitions

📰 Just out in @pnas.org special issue: @timonm.bsky.social + 23 authors synthesize 60+ reviews & global regional knowledge on urban #NatureBasedSolutions.

🔗 Read more: buff.ly/jGfYSqO
#UrbanSustainability #NbS #PNAS

📰 Just out in @pnas.org special issue: Elizabeth M. Cook, Yeowon Kim, Nancy B. Grimm, and Weiqi Zhou introduce how #NatureBasedSolutions can make cities more resilient.
🔗 buff.ly/KJPOGHX
#NbS #UrbanSustainability #Equity #ClimateResilience #GreenCities

Today, 18 July, is Nelson Mandela Day.

#ItsInYourHands #MandelaDay2025

Fat Filled Milk Powder (FFMP) is one of the Irish dairy industry’s largest exports. Almost no one has heard of it because it’s exported mainly to African countries and marketed as milk for its health and sustainability - but it’s made of skimmed milk powder (a byproduct of butter) with palm oil or..

Optimism: A Duty? | Erik Agner | TEDxKI YouTube video by TEDx Talks

My TEDx talk is out! There’s no way I’m going to watch it, but maybe somebody else will 🙂 (I’ve asked them to fix the spelling mistake.) youtu.be/Rs_qMeqKc_I?... #optimism #happiness #howeconomicscansavetheworld

I’m delighted to be part of the writing team for TWO exciting new papers published today as part of the Natura Project Network; #openaccess thanks to the NSF. ‘Nature-based solutions for #urban #sustainability’, led by Dr Elizabeth Cook, is here: www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10.... #naturebasedsolutions

Great weather for doing some research on drystone wall ecology. Here, with two recently graduated students working as excellent research assistants, Órla R. Fitzgerald and Evelyn Sweeney, we are collecting some very preliminary data and testing methods.

Why Texas’ floods are a warning for the rest of the country The disaster that unfolded in Kerr County, Texas, shows how many communities will struggle to prepare for extreme weather as the federal government pulls back.

"Gutting of the national infrastructure around weather emergencies comes at the same time that climate change is making severe disasters more common and more dangerous" www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

Texas floods ring alarm bells over global early warning systems As extreme weather increases, countries are urged to invest in technology to warn populations of impending disasters

"We need federal investment and commitments to help local vulnerable communities build systems that can decrease impacts.” www.ft.com/content/f9d9...

UN AI summit accused of censoring criticism of Israel and big tech over Gaza war - Geneva Solutions A prominent AI scientist says she was pressured by the organisers of the UN’s flagship conference on AI to censor parts of her presentation that criticised Israel over its war in Gaza and the role of ...

I talked to a journalist at the Geneva Solutions about the censorship i experienced at the AI for Good Summit 2 days ago

genevasolutions.news/science-tech...

Is sustainability thinking too WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic)? New article by Rachelle Gould, Yolanda Jimenez Naranjo and @pattybal.bsky.social