As well as books, the new facility in Colorado offers hundreds of kits to connect people with the natural world. We asked five of the first visitors what they thought of it
Mark Fink knows exactly why he opened the first public nature library in the US. “There are a lot of barriers for people to access nature here. We want people to learn about the birds and the plants in their own back yard and to appreciate that you don’t need a three-day camping trip in the mountains to experience nature.”
The library offers people in Colorado’s Adams county the opportunity to borrow books and equipment to help them to engage with the natural world – for free.
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Teenagers Eva Wishart and Emily Smith launch project to breed and release 250 of the tiny animals by September
Children in Devon are being invited to become “citizen captive breeders”, rearing harvest mice at home for release into the wild to help revive endangered nature.
Wild Pets, a new conservation project launched by two 14-year-old friends, is seeking 20 Devon-based children to rear hundreds of mice after the duo’s own successful restoration efforts.
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‘Techno-optimism’ may lead to reliance on unproven solutions at expense of societal changes needed
Scientists who believe technology will largely solve the problems caused by the climate crisis are less likely to engage in civic action on the issue, according to a study.
The report from the London School of Economics found they are 23% less likelyto sign petitions or take part in protests than peers who doubt that technology is the answer. They are also 18% less likely to make high-impact lifestyle changes, from reducing flights to changing to a vegan or vegetarian diet.
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Guardian journalists Jonathan Watts and Gabrielle Canon will be online from 4pm BST (11am EDT) today to answer your El Niño questions.
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This year’s huge El Niño is causing climate chaos around the world. Temperate records have already been broken, with extreme heat reported from western Europe to California. Meanwhile, Bangkok is suffering massive flooding and the weather phenomenon is projected to cause a further 450,000 deaths globally by February.
Jonathan Watts, the Guardian’s global environment writer along with extreme weather reporter Gabrielle Canon will be online from 4pm BST (11am EDT) today to answer your questions on the unfolding crisis.
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Research has shown that colourful and patterned species are the subject of more studies, and receive more conservation funding
Large and beautiful butterflies attract far more attention than species that are smaller and dull. Now a new study has shown that this bias towards beauty results in the boring butterflies being overlooked in conservation programmes.
To understand the link between beauty and conservation, researchers surveyed more than 21,000 people from more than 100 countries, asking them to look at photos of European butterflies and rate their beauty on a scale of 1 to 10 based on their first impression. The results, which are published in Current Biology, reveal that larger more colourful and patterned butterflies, like the yellow swallowtail, were consistently rated more attractive than the smaller, less conspicuous brownish species, such as the alpine grayling. That bias also extended into scientific research, with more studies on attractive species, and more funding and resource going into conservation of showier species.
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Allendale, Northumberland: On a hot autumn day, I see rosemary beetles here for the first time. This could be a problem for many thriving plants
This year there have been several firsts in my garden: old lady, vestal and blood-vein moths attracted to the light trap; hummingbird hawk-moths, normally occasional, feeding summer-long from verbena and buddleia; and it’s a painted lady year – a once-a-decade event, these high-flying insects migrating from Africa through successive generations. Southerly winds and heatwaves have added to the species visiting my North Pennine garden.
Now, in a herb bed, I spot something less welcome. Among the resinous leaves of rosemary is a gleaming beetle, its elytra striped in purple and green, scintillating like lustreware. It’s not something I’ve seen before, but I immediately know what it means. Rosemary beetle, Chrysolina americana, is a Mediterranean species with no natural predators in the UK. It is shimmering and beautiful – but can reduce plants of the Lamiaceae family to bare sticks and cause them to die back. This includes my favourites: lavender, sage, thyme – and rosemary.
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A farm labor contractor exposed laborers on H-2A agricultural visas to heat-related health hazards, but is still bringing hundreds of migrant farm workers to North Carolina
It was 4pm and 90F (32C) when Carlos Vargas Moreno and other farm workers set out to weed a watermelon field in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on 19 July 2022.
The work day had begun at 7am and included two 15-minute breaks and a one-hour lunch eaten outdoors. The heat index – what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature – was 98.3F. It was the kind of day that a heat safety app created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) defined as “hazardous” for outdoor workers.
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Inquest under way into why President Lula’s success in curbing Amazon deforestation has not lead to success at polls
More fire, more ash, more crime, more death. And a globally important ecosystem driven ever more rapidly towards a point of no return. That is the prospect for the Amazon rainforest for at least the next four years if Flávio Bolsonaro holds on to the lead he established this week in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election.
This appears to be of far more concern to the outside world than to voters in Latin America’s biggest, richest and most biodiverse nation.
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Former ABC presenter, who died aged 70 after a cancer diagnosis, kept an infant flying fox tucked under his shirt
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“There’s a small, furry animal, wrapped up in a handkerchief, keeping warm inside my shirt.”
So begins a 1989 documentary featuring the late ABC broadcaster Richard Morecroft, one of Australia’s most celebrated news anchors. But Morecroft had another deep passion – for wildlife rescuing and advocacy.
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The country’s far-right president is courting billionaire investors by removing a block on foreign ownership of land and natural resources
On 19 September, Marta Sahores, an 84-year-old chemistry professor and activist who has mobilised against mega-mining projects for more than two decades, took to the streets in Argentina. Alongside workers, retirees, students, Indigenous groups and human rights organisations, Sahores was there to protest against the country’s far-right president, Javier Milei. During the marcha de la bronca – the “march of anger” – protesters held signs reading, among other rallying cries, “The land is not for sale”.
Marching in Esquel, a town nestled in the foothills of the Andes in Chubut province, she also held up a sign defending the country’s water resources against what she called the government’s “handover” to investors.
Continue reading...Care should focus on healthy eating and exercise, not medicines such as weight-loss injections, says the World Health Organization
For some, a hangover can start an anxious spiral. We spoke to experts about the reasons why.
Latest statistics also show, for the second year in a row, more over-16s vape than smoke.
Infrared technology is used in patients' bedrooms and can monitor their breathing and pulse.
US psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and his German colleagues Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded for their work.
Early recommendations could be issued if evidence highlights patient safety risks, the chair says.
Hugo Flint-Cahan, 34, was fatally attacked by Rolando Torres-Pena, 22, at a mental health trust in east London.
At least 32 children have died in India's Balaghat district since May amid outbreaks of measles and malaria.
A force should have flagged mental health services after a family called about their son, IOPC says.
Social anxiety is more common than many think. Here's what you need to know about the condition.
Deep in the mountains of Palawan, Conservation International scientists are capturing what few people ever see: the secret lives of the Philippines’ rarest species.
At Maido — the Lima restaurant recently crowned the best in the world — one of the star dishes is paiche, a giant prehistoric river fish.Its journey to the table begins on a small family farm deep in Peru’s Amazon.
“Jane Goodall forever changed how people think about, interact with and care for the natural world,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International.
Conservation International’s Neil Vora was selected for TIME’s Next 100 list — alongside other rising leaders reshaping culture, science and society.
Climate change is happening. And it’s placing the world’s reefs in peril. What can be done?
After decades of negotiation, the high seas treaty is finally reality. The historic agreement will pave the way to protect international waters which face numerous threats.
The Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out — and deforestation is largely to blame.
The ocean is engine of all life on Earth, but human-driven climate change is pushing it past its limits. Here are five ways the ocean keeps our climate in check — and what can be done to help.
In a grueling and delicate dance, a team led by Conservation International removes a massive undersea killer.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures might be worth even more. An initiative featuring the work of some of the world’s best nature photographers raises money for environmental conservation.