Nature

Lets grill the Curious team…!

Members of the Curious Earth team

Hey there! This week, we’re taking the opportunity to introduce you to some of the team behind the emails and articles you receive in your inbox and social media feeds every week.

Curious Earth is made up of a bunch of curious (green) beans, who do lots of cool stuff for our planet, besides regularly contributing to this newssite! So we thought we’d take the opportunity to turn the tables and make the interviewers the interviewees, taking this word count to share with you some valuable environmental insight from the brains behind the articles. We hope their thoughts and recommendations continue to inspire you and help you to feel more connected to the environment and environmental causes.

Scallop discos! The new sustainable alternative to dredging

Scallop on sea bed

What’s going on here? Trials for a new fishing technology are taking place that use light instead of fish bait. The method attracts scallops as well, meaning this could be a promising alternative to dredging. What does this mean? Scientists from Fishtek Marine have been working alongside fishermen trialling the use of LED lights in pots to catch crabs and lobsters. Surprisingly,…

Agroforestry: the future of farming?

A white sheep is in the centre of the frame looking towards the camera. It is standing on grass in-between two rows of trees. A group of sheep can be seen in the background underneath the canopy of the trees.

Agroforestry isn’t a new phenomenon; Indigenous peoples have been practising it for thousands of years, but it’s now gaining popularity across the globe. What is agroforestry?  Agroforestry is a land management approach in which trees are grown on the same area of land as crops or pasture. There are many types of agroforestry, but the two most common approaches are:  1. Silvopastoral…

Insects: nature’s underrated pollinators

We often view insects as pests, invading our picnics or homes and sometimes even stinging us. But their ecological importance, although often overlooked, is vast.  Insects are the most common animal on the planet, with 1.5 million species identified. They are the reason that humanity is sustained as we know it – they pollinate many of the flowers, fruits and vegetables that…

Deforestation in Brazil wiping out ancient tree species

An araucaria forest in a conservation area in Brazil where it is safe from deforestation

What’s going on here?  Deforestation in Brazil could wipe out an ancient, Jurassic-era tree species in just 50 years. What does this mean? Brazil’s critically endangered araucaria tree could be gone by 2070 because of illegal logging and deforestation for public works, reports Mongabay. These distinctive, candelabra-like trees (Araucaria angustifolia) once covered an area about double the size of Portugal. Now logging…

Polar heatwaves causing alarm

What’s Going On Here? Last weekend saw heatwaves at both of the planet’s poles. Antarctic temperatures reached record levels, 40 degrees C above normal. During the same period, weather stations in the Arctic recorded temperatures 30 degrees C above normal for this time of year. What Does This Mean? It’s unprecedented for both poles to record such temperatures. The heatwaves have caused…