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Orvieto Italy

This morning we went into Orvieto, which sits on a hill. The Etruscans, who were here before the Romans, built on it because of its natural defensive qualities. (At least I think that's how it happened. You can check if I'm right by going to Wikipedia.) Anyway, it's a beautiful old city, whose walls provide wonderful views of the surrounding countryside.
This is the Abbey of Saints Severus and Martyrius, as seen from Orvieto:

Looking west (I think): video

Looking south: video

Scenes of Orvieto:

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Montecchio Italy
I'm staying with friends in Italy, and biked to the ancient town of Montecchio. According to Wikipedia, it is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"), an assessment I'm ready to agree with. I wandered around the old part of the town, and, as I kept muttering to myself, it was just too cool!
Here's a video: (I have more, but this is all I can upload now)
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Green Shores was featured on BBC Radio Scotland's Out Of Doors programme this weekend. Presenter Mark Stephens came along to our Saltmarsh Stock up in September to meet us and the volunteers who joined us on the day.

You can listen to the recording here:
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002ld4d
or as podcast, wherever you get your podcasts under ‘Scotland Outdoors’.
#NatureScot #NatureRestorationFund #Volunteers #Podcast

Photo of a group of muddy volunteers and the Radio Scotland presenter on a saltmarsh with red sledges (for moving plants) in the foreground

Shinty, Saltmarshes and the Scottish Ploughing Championships

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors.
BBC
#podcast #volunteers #NatureRestorationFund #NatureScot

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Image of Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Text that reads: "From oil fields to mangroves. The UAE commits to renewable energy, the Middle East heats up, and the Arab youth movement for climate action"

From oil fields to mangroves

Katharine Hayhoe (Talking Climate)
This entry was edited (Friday, October 31, 2025, 3:06 AM)

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Ken M Sweeney

25 years...

It’s hard to call this “inspiring” when the reality tells a very different story. The UAE ranks 65th in the global Climate Change Performance Index, rated very low for emissions, renewables, and energy use — while actively increasing oil and gas production. 1)

#UAE #HumanRights #dictatorship #greenwashing

#HumanRights #uae #dictatorship #greenwashing
This entry was edited (Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 8:53 PM)
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It was great to lead a walk and talk today with the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Fife and Kinross group.

We covered successful saltmarsh restoration sites, new techniques for protecting restoration planting and saw what healthy and eroded saltmarsh looks like. There was even time to visit the Green Shores plant hub where we propagate saltmarsh plants for the next round of restoration planting.

#NatureScot #NatureRestorationFund

A group of smiling people, in waterproof walking gear on Saltmarsh.
#NatureRestorationFund #NatureScot
This entry was edited (Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 3:54 PM)

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Adam Met, this week's guest editor, combines social science expertise with musical success to catalyze climate action.

Through his Amplify project at Planet Reimagined, Adam shows how artists can mobilize millions for climate action. On AJR’s 2024 tour, over 35,000 fans took real steps — from signing petitions to calling elected officials. Now they're expanding this initiative to include artists from Billie Eilish to Tyler Childers.

As Adam writes, solving climate change isn’t about individual acts alone, but collective action. Together with Planet Reimagined, he's drafted a blueprint for this new philosophy that proposes a new way of embedding collective actions into daily life.

Intrigued? Read on! talkingclimate.ca/p/collective…

Photo of fists raised in protest. Text that reads: "Collective climate action -it's loud and unstoppable! Activating people through music, getting off autopilot, and connecting for change with guest editor Adam Met"

Collective climate action - it's loud and unstoppable!

Katharine Hayhoe (Talking Climate)

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AquaClaire

Great ideas here!
"the power of collective civic action to change policy...
sports games, religious contexts, and any number of other places where people show up in large numbers should thoughtfully incorporate – not just offer – opportunities..."

#environment #ClimateChange #CivicAction

#climatechange #Environment #civicaction
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The Sea Club Rush (Bolboschoenus maritimus) root system showing why it does such a good job of trapping sediment and resisting the pull of the tide.
The contour lines of the container it was growing in are still retained when it is lifted out.
#NatureScot #SaltmarshRestoration #Bolboschoenus #conservation
side view of a root ball of Bolboschoenus maritimus showing the shape of the container it was growing in.
view of a root system of Bolboschoenus maritimus from below, the brown roots all radiate out from a central point.
#conservation #SaltmarshRestoration #NatureScot #bolboschoenus
This entry was edited (Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 4:47 PM)

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One of the less glamorous* jobs we do to help restore saltmarsh is wash the minimal plastic polypots we use to grow the cuttings on.
There were plenty to wash after planting nearly 4000 plants earlier in the year.
After washing we can reuse them for the next set of cuttings.

*yes, planting saltmarsh in the mud is glamorous- for a certain value of glamor
#Reuse #SaltmarshRestoration #NatureScot #NatureRestorationFund

A washing line full of washed and pegged polypots in a polytunnel above plants growing on benches. A pink peg bag is partially visible in the bottom left corner
poly pots filled with soil and grass cuttings.
#reuse #SaltmarshRestoration #NatureRestorationFund #NatureScot

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This week, we lost one of the world’s greatest advocates for people and nature.

When I was a child, she was the first scientist I ever saw on screen — a young woman in Africa, working with chimpanzees. Decades later, I met her backstage at the Paris climate talks: still tireless, still hopeful, still reminding us that “only when our clever brain and our human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our true potential.”

Even in her final days, Dr. Jane Goodall was urging us not to give up, and now her legacy lives on through the countless voices she inspired — scientists, faith leaders, and citizens alike — to act with courage, lead with kindness, and never lose hope.

The best way to honour her? Do what Jane told us to do: believe that what you do makes a difference — and then do it.

Read more here: talkingclimate.ca/p/jane-gooda…

Photo of Jane Goodall. Text that reads: "Jane Goodall's final lesson. Honoring Jane Goodall's life, Pope Leo's first climate address, and finding hope in action."

Jane Goodall's final lesson

Honoring Jane Goodall's life, Pope Leo's first climate address, and finding hope in action
Katharine Hayhoe (Talking Climate)

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At Climate Week NYC, the message was clear: progress is underway. What stood out most to me was the shared spirit of determination and collaboration. While none of us can do this alone, the number of people who are committed to tackling climate together is growing every day.

🌍 Good News: At the UN Climate Summit I had the honour of opening with Johan Rockström and António Guterres, over 100 nations -- including China -- announced new and more ambitious emissions cuts.

⚠️ Not so good news: While the world races ahead on clean energy and climate finance, the U.S. risks higher costs at home and losing global leadership.

💡 What you can do: Check out SHIFT, a new tool from Project Drawdown and Kimberly Nicholas. With just a few clicks, it helps you find your “climate superpower” and take the most impactful actions for change. Check it out: you might be surprised!

Read more here: talkingclimate.ca/p/climate-ac…

Image of people in a field with solar panels and windmills. Text that reads: "Climate action can't wait. NYC Climate Week: The world leans in, the U.S. checks out, and how to SHIFT into action"

Climate action can't wait

Katharine Hayhoe (Talking Climate)

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The other week we were up in Dornoch, working with some Dornoch Academy S1 and S3 classes.
They did great a great job of taking cuttings and potting them on, now we'll have more plants for saltmarsh restoration in Dornoch firth.
#SaltmarshRestoration #Dornoch #NatureScot #plants
Hands of pupils taking cuttings of saltmarsh grasses. more plants are in trays along the bench
a tray half full of pots for cuttings, hands of the pupils making the cuttings are in the photo
A work station set up ready for propagation, secateurs, a trowel, an example pot of cuttings, spare cuttings and empty thin plastic pots.
#plants #SaltmarshRestoration #NatureScot #dornoch

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Image of hands holding a small Earth. Text that reads: "The search for Planet B. 6,000 exoplanets, but none like Earth - with guest editor David Baker"

The search for Planet B

6,000 exoplanets, but none like Earth – with guest editor David Baker
Katharine Hayhoe (Talking Climate)

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Image of a child wearing a pilot’s hat and holding binoculars. Text that reads: How a single voice can start (or stop) an energy revolution. Fighting “NIMBY”ism, blocking wind and solar projects, and a pilot charts a sustainable course.”

How a single voice can start (or stop) an energy revolution

Fighting "NIMBYism", blocking wind and solar projects, and a pilot charts a sustainable course
Katharine Hayhoe (Talking Climate)

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Swimming in the North Sea

We're in Anstruther, Scotland, hiking the Fife Coastal Path on a trip led by Team Long Run and I took advantage of the opportunity to do a little sea bathing. As Mrs. Bennett says in Pride and Prejudice, "A little sea-bathing will set me up forever!" I couldn't talk Ellen into joining me, and she wanted proof that I actually got in the water, so I took a video.

It's amazing how, before you get in the water, everything--water, air, wind, seems frigid, but once you're wet, everything seems comfortable! All the same, I didn't stay in for long.

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Bagpipes on the Royal Mile

One of my favorite YouTube videos is of a pipe band marching down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Unfortunately, I think that the video has been removed because YouTube thought that it violated copyrights even though all the music played is centuries old. But not I have my own video! It's not nearly as long, but I like it and hope that you do too.

The video was taken September 14, 2025 and the event was part of the Edinburgh Riding of the Marches, which originated in the 16th century as a vital inspection of the city’s boundaries and has become a public event that attracts thousands of spectators as it “celebrates civic pride, heritage and horsemanship”.

You'll catch a glimpse Ellen too! Here is the video:

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St Pancras Piano

We take the train into London every Sunday for church, and walk through the London St Pancras station. It’s a big place, and there are two pianos in it available for anyone to sit down and play. And people do - more often than not someone is playing a piano. And the pianists are usually pretty good. Here’s a guy we saw on a recent Sunday:

Piano in London St Pancras

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