Dara McAnulty | inspirational young naturalist

Hi,

Today, I'm going to talk about a young naturalist from Northern Ireland. We haven't had one of these for quite a while (the last one was Wangari Matthai in late August 2021), so I'm really excited to write this new one about the inspirational naturalist Dara McAnulty!

General information

Dara McAnulty was born in 2004. He comes from Northern Ireland, where he lives with his parents and siblings. He is a writer, blogger, activist and naturalist. Dara, his mum and his siblings are all autistic and Dara says that this is the reason he sees the natural world as he does.

Books and blogs

Dara wrote his blog 'Naturalist Dara'. His first book 'Dairy of a Young Naturalist' (which we reviewed here) was published in 2020. It documents a year in his life and how he connects with nature. His second book, 'Wild Child': A Journey Through Nature' came out in 2021, it again describes nature, this time 'going on a walk' with Dara. Both are very good reads.

Awards

He has won multiple awards for his books including the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing, he is also the youngest person ever to win the RSPC medal. Dara also won the Non-fiction Books are my bag award. All in all, he has won many awards and truly is an incredible young man.

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Images:

Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.

Sources:
https://daramcanulty.com
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/16/dara-mcanulty-nature-writing-diary-of-a-young-naturalist

Comments

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

Announcement: Factfile

This image is owned by a blog editor.

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no. 9 - South Island takahē

Hello Today we’re talking about the South Island takahē, porphyrio hochstetteri . They are flightless birds, endemic to New Zealand. Takahē are brightly coloured and weigh 2.3-3.8 kg. They have red legs and a large red beak. Their feathers are coloured blue and green. They have wings, but these are only used during courtship or rivalry displays. They are territorial, with one family’s territory reaching anywhere from 4 ha to 100 ha (0,04-1km^2). Pairs will live in the same territory each year. They breed once a year and will raise 1-3 chicks (normally 2) each year. Both parents raise the chicks together. In the wild, takahē live in native grasslands and have a lifespan of 16-18 years. If snow covers the ground then they will move into nearby forests. They eat tussock grasses, sedges and sometimes rushes. But they are opportunists, so they will occasionally go for insects or even ducklings and...

Energy comparison: natural gas

Hi everyone, Today we're talking about natural gas. Natural gas is a commonly used fossil fuel. So we thought we would go over the pros and cons of natural gas. So first of all, we can quickly cover what natural gas actually is. In its natural form it's a mix of mostly methane and then some other chemical components like propane and butane. However, it's normally processed so that it's almost pure methane. Natural gas forms when organic materials (like dead plants and animals) are crushed into the ground. So it's like coal in that sense. The most popular theory is that the different conditions like temperature and pressure then control whether coal, oil, or gas is formed. Natural gas reserves are found globally. The largest gas fields are in Russia, under the North Sea, in the United States, Canada, Algeria and the Middle East. It's often found near to or even in oil fields. Natural gas is colourless, odorless, tasteless and ...

El Niño & La Niña - what are they and what effects do they have?

Hello everyone, You've probably heard of El Niño and La Niña before. Especially El Niño has been discussed a lot recently in the media. El Niño and La Niña are part of a climate pattern found in the Pacific Ocean that occurs roughly every two to seven years. However there is no real regularity or predictability further into the future. They affect global weather patterns and economies. So first of all, let's cover what is actually happening here. In normal circumstances trade winds blow across the Pacific from South America to Asia. This pushes warm water from South America to Asia meaning that the ocean is a lot cooler off the west coast of the Americas compared to the east coast of Asia. The cold water off the coast of the Americas comes from the ocean's depths and is filled with nutrients. During El Niño those driving trade winds become weaker or even stop entirely. Scientists haven't work...

October Top tips | homemade presents

Hi everyone, So today we're going to talk about sustainable homemade presents. If you start now, then some of these would make amazing Christmas presents. 1. Knitting, crochet, embroidery & more yarn items You can make some incredible presents by knitting or crocheting with wool or thick yarn. All you need are needles and wool/yarn. Wool can be expensive if you want good quality so check out this post about making your own yarn out a t-shirt! With thinner yarn you could make some amazing thing through embroidery. Here are some project ideas: Scarfs Socks Blankets Jumpers Pouch Dishcloths Table mat Headband Fingerless gloves Keychains Friendship bracelets Wall decorations Handles for hot pots and pans Figurines Bag designs 2. Origami Origami is an amazing way to show someone that you put time into what you made. You can use paper of any size, colour or pattern. Here are some ideas: Swans ...

Hummingbirds

Hello, Today, we're talking about an amazing group of birds that are known for their colours and the speed they beat their wings. That's right: hummingbirds! General Hummingbirds live in North and South America. They are some of the smallest and most colourful birds in the world. There are about 330 different kinds. Their name comes from the humming sound that their wings make. They eat nectar and insects using their long bills. Some species migrate during the winter. Flight The wings of a hummingbird beat so fast that the hummingbird can hover in one place and can fly forwards, backwards or sideways. Small hummingbirds beat their wings about 70-80 times per second. During courtship displays or when chasing rivals, their wings can beat up to 200 times per second. Feeding Hummingbirds eat the nectar from the insides of flowers. They hover in front of a flower and put their long and slender bills inside to suck up the nectar. This prov...

The limits of the Earth - the planetary boundary model

Hi everyone, So today we're talking about a model that was introduced in 2009 and has offered a new perspective to thinking about environmental issues. The planetary boundary model has 9 boundaries, each has a safe zone. Once the safe zone is exceeded, the stable conditions on our planet are considered at risk, and there can be severe and possibly irreversible changes. The nine boundaries are considered separate however, they greatly affect each other. Novel Entities describes the introduction and accumulation of man-made novel chemical compounds. These include pesticides, nuclear waste and microplastics. Stratospheric Ozone Depletion refers to the depletion of the ozone layer which was a major problem in the 90s. Atmospheric Aerosol Loading is air particle pollution. Ocean Acidification is self-explanatory. The boundary Biochemical Flows is composed of two separate boundaries; nitrogen and phosphorus. Both of the ele...

Communication - how important is it in the natural world?

Hi everyone, So today we're talking about communication in the natural world. As humans, we tend to think that we are superior to the rest of the organisms on this planet. We also think that we are the only ones who can communicate. While it's true that we probably have the most complexe form of communication, not one but thousands of languages, we are by far not the only ones that communicate on a daily basis. First of all, we need to define communication. Most people only think of speaking and writing (emails, texts, letters, and so on). But communication is much more than that. The word 'communication' describes the transfer of information from one organism (sender) to another organism (receiver) or multiple organisms (receivers). Different species go about doing this in many different ways. Animals communicate through sounds, visuals, chemicals, movements, touch, scents, electrical signals or a combination of the above. Sound...

November Top Tips | sustainable activities and hobbies

Hello everyone, So this week, we are going to be talking about sustainable free time activities. This area can quite big when it comes to environmental impact, so here are some things that you can do in your free time, that are more sustainable. 1. Reading So reading is one of our favourite things to do. However, books are made of paper and the paper industry isn't great. Some ways you can get around this is by reading online (for example, on a kindle), or through borrowing books from a library or using book boxes. If there aren't any in your area then at least try to support independent bookshops! 2. Running If you love being active then this one is for you. Running is probably one of the most sustainable forms of sport. All you need are some running shoes and somewhere to run. There is obviously more high-tech gear but that isn't really necessary if it's just a hobby. 3. Gardening If you've got a small area of land o...

Green World

Search This Blog