Organisms, real, imagined, extinct and extant
The Transformative Powers of Herbal Tea
Herbal tea has always been celebrated as possessing medicinal qualities that help with many illnesses, from fighting off a virus to stopping nausea and vomiting. What to look for and what to avoid Some fruit teas contain synthetic ingredients. These additives don’t taste as good as the real thing, and they have no real therapeutic…
Ancient word of the day: Hedgehog
The ancient word for today is hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus. In the Middle Ages, writers didn’t make reference to hedgehogs, but to urchins. This term for the spiky diminuitive animal is still favoured in some English dialects. We still have the lingering remnants of this etymology in the form of sea urchin, which is literally a…
Welcome to a strange and forgotten alien world: Socotra
Looking like a cross between a surreal computer game and an alien planet, Socotra is a relatively unexplored and remote island off the coast of Arabian Peninsula. It’s a sparkling diamond of natural diversity and rugged wildness, with over 700 endemic species of flora and fauna. Only a small number of countries have more endemic…
Captain Seeks a Sea-Going Cat to Sign on for a Trip Around the World, New York Times (1922)
Captain Edwin Dyason, master of the freighter Woodfield will welcome any ablebodied seafaring cat wishing to join the crew of his vessel, sailing today for Manila and China. “We missed the ship’s cat shortly after we put into port here,” said the Captain. “Her name was Cleopatra. She joined on in Fremantle, Australia and did…
Ancient Fable: St. Francis of Assisi and the injured wolf
13th century Italian saint, St Francis of Assisi never understood earth as being a garden of resources over which we have dominion. Instead, he saw the earth as a mother or a sister who governs us.
Japan’s 72 gossamer-light and poetic microseasons
The traditional seasons in Japan are marked out by impercetibly small changes in nature across 72 miniature seasons in a year, each lasting 5 days and reflecting the fleeting, impermanent and diaphanous beauty of nature and all of its wonders. There are 24 divisions or sekki in the calendar that are split into 72 kō…
The city of the future
How would you design the city of the future? My city of the future would be designed to facilitate ongoing and sensible growth within the planet’s ecological boundaries. It would use recycled water and make use of solar and wind energy instead of fossil fuels. People’s innovation using AI and biotechnology would mean we manufacture…
Travel: Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens
In the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens is an Edo era (Tokyo) garden of hushed quiet contemplation amidst the bombastic, rushing and striving modern world
Beach walking and native birds
What do you love about where you live? I love living right next to the beach and being able to walk there each day. There are egrets, rosellas, cocakatoos, gallahs, Australian crows, rainbow lorikeets, tawny frogmouths, dusky moorhens, superb fairy wrens. All flitter and flirt through the brush and low lying bushes near the beach with…
Tree spirits, ghost gums and animal familiars
What’s the one luxury you can’t live without? If you ever find yourself in a time of great stress and upsetting circumstances, the natural world wants to calm and sooth you, if you get outside and start to observe things yourself, you will see. In parks, large trunked trees swing and sway in the wind.…
Travel: The Enchanting Ogród Botaniczny of Kraków
The Ogród Botaniczny of Kraków has a long scientific heritage that dates back to 1783. They are the oldest scientific gardens in Poland and were established by Professor Józef Bogumił Rogaliński.
Throughout this time many inquisitive and curious minds have peered into the depths of floral wonders and the garden was pivotal during the…
The quirky origins of Australia’s native animal names
In Australia there are more than 250 Indigenous languages including around 800 dialects. Languages are living things that connect people to Country, culture and ancestors. Many words for Australian native animals come from these languages. ‘Keriba gesep agiakar dikwarda keriba mir. Ableglam keriba Mir pako Tonar nole atakemurkak.’ — The land actually gave birth to…
Book Review: ‘Industrial Scars’ The Beautiful Toxic Scars of the Earth
What happens when humans burn too much waste and destroy the planet? Modern Art. Photographs of the aftermath of environmental devastation aren’t normally considered art. However photographer J Henry Fair has reimagined the decaying and suffering environmental landscape in the aftermath of human abuse in his mesmerising book entitled Industrial Scars. Fair wanted to poignantly…
Exploring the Spiritual Wisdom of Japanese Wildlife: A Journey Through Shinto and Zen Buddhism
The fauna of Japan, rich in diversity, is intricately woven into the tapestry of Shinto and Zen Buddhist traditions. Each animal is not just a part of the ecosystem but a bearer of profound spiritual messages and teachings. This article delves deeply into the shamanic symbolism of eight Japanese animals, revealing their roles in folklore,…
What is your favourite animal? Crows and ravens
What is your favorite animal? Their iridescent black and purple feathers are like midnight sky cloaks given by impatient gods. Their glances from electrifying ice blue eyes that cut like a knife through my soul. I pay tribute in the form of grapes and old bread and they grace me with their presence and it’s…
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