Matthew Ponsfordhttps://matthewponsford.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for Matthew PonsfordenFri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0100This Hawaiian island's 'freakosystems' are a warning from the futurehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250403-the-new-hawaiian-freakosystem-emerging-on-oahu-accidentally-created-by-humansEcosystems which have never been seen before are being accidentally created by humans. They offer a stark look into the nature of tomorrow.Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250403-the-new-hawaiian-freakosystem-emerging-on-oahu-accidentally-created-by-humansHow To Build A Thousand-Year-Old Treehttps://www.noemamag.com/how-to-build-a-thousand-year-old-tree/A set of experimental techniques and technologies that harm trees might actually help ancient forests.Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.noemamag.com/how-to-build-a-thousand-year-old-tree/China wants to restore the sea with high-tech marine rancheshttps://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/30/1108558/china-high-tech-marine-ranches-fish-ocean-sea-restoration/China is the world's top fish consumer and is spending billions on technology designed to restock the oceans. But will this expensive experiment actually work?Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/30/1108558/china-high-tech-marine-ranches-fish-ocean-sea-restoration/How a Soviet swamp rat scheme for Azerbaijan went horribly wronghttps://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20241111-azerbaijans-failed-soviet-scheme-fuelled-an-invasive-swamp-beaver-problemA Soviet zoologist with a passion for long-extinct mammals set out to reinvigorate the landscape of the Caucasus in the 20th Century. Azerbaijan still bears the scars of his ambition today.Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20241111-azerbaijans-failed-soviet-scheme-fuelled-an-invasive-swamp-beaver-problemGiant 'living tractors' are bringing nature back to post-industrial wastelandshttps://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240827-how-water-buffalo-can-bring-back-nature-to-abandoned-landWhen water buffalo make a home for themselves in abandoned spaces, they can bring with them a rich array of frogs, bats and plant life.Thu, 29 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240827-how-water-buffalo-can-bring-back-nature-to-abandoned-landA Vast Wetland Park Seeks to Slake a Thirsty Megacityhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-08-02/in-mexico-city-a-vast-wetland-park-rises-from-a-dead-airport?srnd=citylabTwice the size of Manhattan, the controversial $1 billion Lake Texcoco Ecological Park is emerging out of the foundations of Mexico City’s canceled airport.Fri, 02 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-08-02/in-mexico-city-a-vast-wetland-park-rises-from-a-dead-airport?srnd=citylabThese artificial snowdrifts protect seal pups from climate changehttps://www.technologyreview.com/2024/04/22/1090905/man-made-snowdrifts-seal-pups-climate-change-habitats/The human-built habitats shield the pups from predators and the freezing cold, but they’re threatened by global temperature rise.Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/04/22/1090905/man-made-snowdrifts-seal-pups-climate-change-habitats/Billy Fleming is Designing a Green New Dealhttps://metropolismag.com/profiles/billy-fleming-designing-a-green-new-deal/UPenn lecturer Billy Fleming imagines a more just landscape architecture studio… by taking his students to a uranium mine in Greenland.Wed, 13 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://metropolismag.com/profiles/billy-fleming-designing-a-green-new-deal/How tracking animal movement may save the planethttps://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/22/1088116/internet-of-animals-movement-research-earth/Researchers have been dreaming of an Internet of Animals. They’re getting closer to monitoring 100,000 creatures—and revealing hidden facets of our shared world.Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/22/1088116/internet-of-animals-movement-research-earth/Research in Chornobyl zone restarts amid ravages of warhttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03861-2The area surrounding the nuclear reactor was a science hotspot — until it was on the front line of the Ukraine war.Wed, 13 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03861-2The IUCN says which animals may face extinction. But is it up to the job?https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/22/iucn-red-list-conservation-animals-at-risk-of-extinction-but-is-it-outdated-unreliable-aoeScientists on conservation frontlines publish concerns that the red list of threatened species is outdated and unreliableWed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/22/iucn-red-list-conservation-animals-at-risk-of-extinction-but-is-it-outdated-unreliable-aoeWhat “rewilding” means—and what’s missing from this new movementhttps://www.technologyreview.com/2023/06/22/1074268/rewilding-movement-books/Three books that grapple with the role of humans in restoring natural ecosystems.Thu, 22 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/06/22/1074268/rewilding-movement-books/Nalini Nadkarni, the ecologist revealing the secrets of cloud forestshttps://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25734320-100-nalini-nadkarni-the-ecologist-revealing-the-secrets-of-cloud-forests/How a pioneering canopy researcher unlocked the mysteries of an extraordinary ecosystem and the unlikely tree-dwelling plants it depends on.Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25734320-100-nalini-nadkarni-the-ecologist-revealing-the-secrets-of-cloud-forests/Move Over Darwin! Here Come the Facilitation Effectshttps://proto.life/2023/03/move-over-darwin-here-come-the-facilitation-effects/Survival in extreme environments hinges on collaboration—not competition.Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://proto.life/2023/03/move-over-darwin-here-come-the-facilitation-effects/Inside the experimental world of animal infrastructurehttps://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/16/1053631/inside-animal-infrastructure/Wildlife crossings cut down on roadkill. But are they really a boon for conservation?Thu, 16 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/16/1053631/inside-animal-infrastructure/Queen Elizabeth owns most of the U.K. seabed. That's slowing conservation work.https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/queen-elizabeth-owns-most-of-the-uk-seabed-slowing-conservation?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20220607env-ukseabed&linkId=168346599The royal family is called on to help recover Britain's biodiversity, starting with royal properties.Tue, 07 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/queen-elizabeth-owns-most-of-the-uk-seabed-slowing-conservation?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20220607env-ukseabed&linkId=168346599Citizen Zoo Is Rewilding the UK, One Grasshopper at a Timehttps://www.wired.com/story/citizen-zoo-rewilding-uk/The London-based social enterprise is turning regular people into at-home zookeepers.Sun, 12 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://www.wired.com/story/citizen-zoo-rewilding-uk/