Eco Hvar

Subscribe to this RSS feed
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.
Read more...

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.
Read more...

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
Read more...

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...
Read more...

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
Read more...

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
Read more...

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!
Read more...

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
Read more...

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'
Read more...
You are here: Home Nature Watch

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’

    Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits

    Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast.

    Eliminating the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by adopting renewable energy and green technologies, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, would be the best and most cost-effective option for the future economy, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) found.

    Continue reading...

  • This is the story of Weda Bay – and how nature is being sacrificed for mining

    Analysis has found more than 3,000 mining operations within the most naturally precious areas of the planet, a much bigger footprint than previously thought

    Weda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth’s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.

    Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas (KBAs), accounting for nearly 5% of the mining sector’s global footprint. China, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico top the rankings for total surface mining area within key biodiversity areas, the most naturally precious areas of the planet.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘When I leave, part of me stays’: why Scarborough’s youth won’t turn their backs on the seaside town they love

    Hemmed in by the sea and poor transport links, many young people from the Yorkshire town feel trapped, but there is also a pride in the area

    It’s the morning after a wet and stormy day in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough. The waves, which the previous day had been crashing dramatically on the harbour walls, have calmed and a few brave souls have entered the water with surfboards. There is a man throwing a ball for his dog on the beach and a kayaker bobbing on the waves.

    Just up from the seafront in the centre of town, Jack and Charlie, both 17, are leaning forward listening to a story from 19-year-old Keane about his recent visit to a drama school in London, where he is hoping to apply for a place on an actor training course once he has saved enough money.

    Scarborough, on the North Yorkshire coast, was one of England’s first seaside resorts

    Continue reading...

  • Ultrasound repellers could keep hedgehogs off roads, scientists hope

    Study shows animals hear very high frequencies, making it possible to design a deterrent to cut deaths

    Hedgehogs have been discovered to hear high-frequency ultrasound, raising hopes that they could be deterred from dangerous roads with ultrasound repellers.

    Vehicles are estimated to kill up to one in three hedgehogs, a big factor in the much-loved mammal’s drastic decline across Europe over recent decades.

    Continue reading...

  • Birdwatch: Blue tits are feisty and fascinating but often taken for granted

    They will soon be looking for nest sites to begin the huge effort of raising their brood of between eight and 10 chicks

    If there were an award for the most underrated British garden bird, the blue tit may well come out on top. Feisty and fascinating, this colourful little creature is so common and familiar that we often take it for granted.

    This could be because of the blue tit’s ubiquity. In both the main garden bird surveys in the UK – the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch and the long-running BTO Garden BirdWatch – the species is always in the top five. With roughly 3 million breeding pairs, blue tits are as common in urban and suburban gardens as they are in rural ones.

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: The art of noticing rewards with a mini glittering web | Jeni Bell

    Knightwood Inclosure, New Forest: I realise my knowledge of my favourite haunt is the size of the spidery-speck hanging in the heather

    In soft sunlight the woodland wakes. Brimstone butterflies boast their presence, a raven pair rattle overhead, and the first scents of warming earth drift upwards. Spring shouts its arrival across Knightwood Inclosure, home of the New Forest’s girthiest tree, the Knightwood Oak. It falls on deaf ears though; knelt in mud, immersed in undergrowth, I’m mesmerised in micro.

    In front of me, suspended on barely-there thread, hangs a speck of a spider. It was the disco-ball water droplets, clinging to its intricately woven web, that enticed me in. The spider is so small that my eyes and camera struggle to focus, flicking from a cream and tawny-coloured orb to a faded heather flower. When I do lock on, the abdominal markings gain clarity: inky black lines encasing two small spots.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘My lovely distraction’: live stream of kākāpō – world’s fattest parrot – and her chicks captivates New Zealand

    More than 100,000 people have tuned in to watch ‘kākāpō cam’, which captures a rare flightless bird sleeping, tidying her nest and fighting off intruders

    On an island in New Zealand’s remote southern fjords, one of the world’s strangest and rarest parrots – the kākāpō – is caring for her tiny chick as fans from across the globe watch on.

    Through the black and white lens of a hidden camera, a fluffy orb with a kazoo-like squeak jostles for food from its mother’s beak. The mother, Rakiura, is attentive – scooping her chick under her large green wings, fending off an intruding bird, and periodically tidying her nest.

    Continue reading...

  • Harold ‘the Kangaroo’ Thornton: the extraordinary, forgotten life of the ‘greatest genius who ever lived’

    The Australian artist was a relentless self-promoter, prolific painter and pro wrestler. He loved a tall tale – but his true story was remarkable

    If you checked out the Archibald prize finalists back in 1983, one painting in particular might have caught your eye. Taking up seven feet of wall space, Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz is a psychedelic portrait of the then Greens leader, Bob Brown, rendered in rich colours and filled with hidden details: from faces smuggled into the trees to little green men walking around Brown’s feet.

    But just as noteworthy as the painting was the man standing next to it. Clad in hand-painted clothes, with painted false teeth in his mouth and a walking stick he didn’t really need in his hand, stood Harold “the Kangaroo” Thornton, the artist and self-described “greatest genius that ever lived”.

    Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Severe water stress’: why desalination plants are the Gulf’s greatest weakness

    Recent attack on plants led to fears of escalating strikes, but Iran knows drought has left it equally vulnerable

    In 1983, the CIA determined that the most crucial commodity in the Gulf was its desalinated potable water.

    Although the loss of a single plant could be handled, “successful attacks on several plants in the most dependent countries could generate a national crisis that could lead to panic flights from the country and civil unrest”. And the greatest threat to the region’s water supply? “Iran.”

    Continue reading...

  • Peak interest: Toronto’s snow mountains that refuse to melt are a toxic hazard

    Reaching up to 100ft, these massive piles contain tonnes of salt that keep roads clear – but pose environmental risks

    Most mountains take tens of millions of years to form. Toronto’s newest mountain took just days.

    Towering atop the crowns of evergreens, it has no skeleton of limestone or granite. There are no spires, cornices or headwalls. It is simply piles upon piles of snow, mixed with a toxic cocktail of road salt, antifreeze, oil, coffee cups and lost keys. It is the final resting place for the forces of nature that have battered the city in recent weeks – and a daunting environmental hazard.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

Copyright © 2026 Eco Hvar. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Orion Informatika.