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Nature Watch

Nature Watch

Highlighting Bees

Published in Nature Watch

Herbal medicine has a long tradition in Croatia and is still much in use today. A new detailed handbook aims to promote awareness of the natural resources which can benefit human health.   

From the handbook: bee treatment.
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Jelsa's Trees and History

Published in Nature Watch

The trees which adorn Jelsa have marked significant changes in Jelsan culture and attitudes to the environment over time. Vito Gospodnetić is a dedicated protector of Jelsa's precious natural resources alongside its cultural and historical heritage.

Former times, Jelsa's greenery seen from the air.
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Rue: a Paradox Plant

Published in Nature Watch

A plant family full of amazing magical promises!

Ruta graveolens, Humac on Hvar Island, flowering in June 2023
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Precious Birds: Saving Owls

Published in Nature Watch

The Scops Owl is a welcome visitor to Hvar Island every summer. Arriving between the middle of March or beginning of April its persistent single-note call is the hallmark of the warm season. 

Floof ready to fly...
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Birdwatching report Hvar Island: May - October 2024.

Published in Nature Watch

Reading Steve Jones' report earlier this year, keen birdwatcher Tomislav Sjekloća was inspired to check out the Dračevica pond and other parts of Hvar, and we are delighted he has shared his sightings with us.

Blue Rock Thrush near Fortica in Hvar Town
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Hvar birds, September 2024

Published in Nature Watch

In early September 2024 a birdwatching couple visited Hvar and we are delighted to report that their trip was reasonably fruitful!.

European Turtle Dove
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BATS: know, cherish and protect them!

Published in Nature Watch

In 2023 the honour of celebrating International Bat Night, which aims to raise people's awareness of the vital importance in our ecosystem, fell to the Krka National Park,which organised a superbly imaginative programme beside its exquisite Skradinski Buk Waterfall.

BATS: know, cherish and protect them!
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Orchids need care

Published in Nature Watch

Highlighting Croatia's wild orchids and the need to treat them with love and respect, the highly active and successful BIOM ASSOCIATION published an article in the spring of 2024 with a plea to pay attention to these fascinating and invaluable plants.

Orchis italica
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Orchids: Humble, Amazing, Delightful!

Published in Nature Watch

In 2023 on Hvar there were two special orchid finds by visiting experts from Zagreb, who located the endemic Ophrys pharia and the Himantoglossum robertianum.

Ophrys pharia, 'Forka'
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Eco Environment News feeds

  • BrewDog sold Highland estate for knockdown price after abandoning its reforestation plans

    Self-styled ‘punk’ beer company bought land in 2020, pledging to plant Scotland’s ‘biggest ever forest’

    The self-styled “punk” beer company BrewDog sold its Highland estate for a knockdown price after abandoning its efforts to plant Scotland’s “biggest ever forest” there.

    BrewDog’s co-founder James Watt claimed its Lost Forest project at Kinrara in the Cairngorms national park would cover a “staggering area” and capture tens of millions of tonnes of CO2 during its lifetime.

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  • Sex and the sea snail: how a plucky marine lab brought a mollusk back from the brink

    Once abundant in California, the white abalone had all but vanished. Now, thanks to an innovative breeding program, it’s staged a remarkable comeback

    On a sunny January afternoon in Bodega Bay, some 70 miles north of San Francisco, the White Abalone Culture Lab is humming with activity.

    It’s spawning day. Alyssa Frederick, the lab’s program director, invites me into an industrial room full of troughs and tubs of bubbling seawater. The abalone program is tucked away in the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, a research facility devoted to studying ocean and coastal health. The goal is to bring the endangered sea snails, known for their iridescent shells and delicate meat, back from the brink.

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  • UK must stockpile food in readiness for climate shocks or war, expert warns

    Prof Tim Lang says country produces far less food than it needs to feed population and is particularly vulnerable

    The British government should be stockpiling food, according to a leading expert on food policy, as it is not prepared for climate shocks or wars that could cause the population to starve.

    Prof Tim Lang of City St George’s, University of London said the UK produced far less food than it needed to feed itself, and as a small island that relied on a few large companies to feed its giant population, it was particularly vulnerable to shocks.

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  • Life on Kenya’s largest dump: the invisible workers sorting the world’s rubbish

    Plastic, textiles, e-waste and more end up at the vast Dandora site, where waste pickers spend all hours sifting through toxic debris looking for recyclables

    On my journey documenting environmental stories in Kenya, I attended the Africa Climate Summit in 2023. It ignited a deeper exploration into the lives of waste pickers, revealing a glaring omission in global recycling narratives: the invisibility of these essential workers.

    Living and working in Nairobi, I immersed myself in Dandora, the largest dump in Kenya, spanning more than 12 hectares (30 acres) near the Nairobi River and receiving an estimated 2,000 tonnes of industrial and domestic waste daily. For months I witnessed first-hand how waste is devastating local ecosystems and human lives. Kenya’s waste streams are now overwhelmed by single-use plastics from companies shifting the burden on to informal workers.

    Pre-sorting has reduced the amount of recylables in the waste brought by truck to Dandora

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  • How can we really protect Britain’s environment?

    Well-intentioned laws designed to safeguard nature frequently have the opposite effect

    The importance of protecting nature is not up for debate. One in six species in Britain is threatened with extinction. Since 1970, more than half our flowering plants have decreased in areas where they once thrived. In the 1950s, Britain’s hedgehog population was 30m strong. Now, it is believed to be under a million.

    All this demands action. The problem is that a lot of the action we’ve taken – mainly in the form of legislation – fails to target the biggest drivers of nature loss. Instead, it bites when we try to build: wind turbines, solar farms, railways or nuclear power plants, making their construction lengthier, more expensive or, in some cases, impossible.

    Continue reading...

  • Humanity heating planet faster than ever before, study finds

    Researchers identify sharp rise to about 0.35C every decade, after excluding natural fluctuations such as El Niño

    Humanity is heating the planet faster than ever before, a study has found.

    Climate breakdown is occurring more rapidly with the heating rate almost doubling, according to research that excludes the effect of natural factors behind the latest scorching temperatures.

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  • A century of care: Wildlife Trusts mark 100th birthday with woodland project

    First of the trusts, formed with 12 people in a Norfolk pub in 1926, buys swath of farmland to restore to nature

    The place where Norton Wood once stood is now a vast field of decaying wheat stubble. The ancient wood was grubbed up during the second world war. No trace of it remains – on the surface, at least. This ghost in the landscape lives on only in the name of the local village: Wood Norton.

    But trees will soon be bursting upwards again and the wood will regrow after Norfolk Wildlife Trust celebrated its 100th birthday by buying a swath of farmland to revive for nature.

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  • Private buildings, public land: how Australia’s national parks became a battleground between conservation and commerce

    Developers argue that eco-tourism helps ‘underfunded’ parks but former Greens leader Bob Brown says the idea of wilderness lodges is an ‘oxymoron’

    When the Gardens of Stone in the Blue Mountains was declared a state conservation area in 2022, it should have been cause of great celebration for Keith Muir. Instead, the plans put forward by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) for the nature reserve make him weep.

    “The geology is spectacular,” he says of the nature reserve. “The pagoda landforms are sculptured natural artworks, that is the only way to describe them. They are symphonies in stone.”

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  • How green is your milk? We compare the environmental cost of dairy and plant-based options

    Many Australians are choosing oat, almond and soy over cow’s milk – but which choice is the most sustainable?

    • Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint

    • Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com

    Oat cap, skinny flat white, almond chai, soy matcha. Everyone has a different milk preference: cow, skim, lactose-free, oat, almond, soy, goat or camel.

    Milk choices may be due to environmental reasons, dietary concerns or just taste preferences.

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  • You be the judge: should my eco-conscious husband park his dislike of flying?

    Jenny wants to spread her wings and see the world, but Teddy is happy at home. Where do they go from here? You decide

    •Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

    I worry about my carbon footprint, but you can’t go everywhere by train and I want to see the world

    It’s not an environmental issue. I’ve just had my fill of flying anddon’t really enjoy being a tourist

    Continue reading...

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