Join me for a conversation with Saoirse McHugh who is running as an independent candidate for the European Parliament to represent the Midlands-North-West constituency. During our discussion, we delve into a wide array of topics such as the connection between agriculture and environmentalism, sustainable land management practices and agricultural subsidies within the EU. We also talk about politics in general and why being politically active is important if you care about nature and the environment. Saoirse talks about her experiences in politics and her decision to re-enter the political arena. She speaks about the complexities of political landscapes and discusses the different motivations that drive individuals towards or away from politics.

Another big issue we dedicated a substantial portion of the podcast to is the EU’s Nature Restoration Law. It looked like it was approved by the majority of votes in the European Parliament, when unexpectedly the final vote that was meant to be a mere formality was postponed. So we talked about the current situation of this landmark law and whether there are still any hopes for it to pass. That led us to discuss changing political norms and the threats to democracy it brings. We finish by chatting about Saoirse’s hopes and plans for when she gets elected.

Remember to confirm that you’ve registered to vote by the 22nd of May and go ahead and exercise your democratic powers on the 7th of June.

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The paper that we discuss in this episode describes how an invasive species of ants disrupts lion hunting behaviour. There are also acacia trees, elephants, zebras and buffalos involved in the whole chain of interactions between species. To talk about this incredibly interesting research I invited an Associate Professor, Adam Ford, Canada Research Chair in Wildlife Restoration Ecology at the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, Canada who has a lab of graduate and undergraduate students who work on large mammal ecology. As for the paper that we will discuss today, it was led by Douglas N. Kamaru, a PhD student at the University of Wyoming, in the Goheen lab (Professor Jake Goheen). The other leads are Todd M. Palmer, University of Florida and Corinna Riginos, University of Wyoming. To see the full list of contributors (a total of 20 scientists) I refer you to the paper, which is linked below.

As always, you will get more links and articles to dive even deeper into topics we discuss on the podcast in my newsletter. So make sure you subscribe to not miss out on any nerdy, ecological goodness.

Further reading:

• Invasive ants leave lions scrambling for prey on the savannah in an ecological chain reaction | Popular Science
• Disruption of an ant-plant mutualism shapes interactions between lions and their primary prey | Science
• Tiny ant species disrupts lion's hunting behavior | ScienceDaily

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Finnish SOTKA is a large-scale habitat restoration project and a part of a larger Helmi Habitats Programme aimed at restoring Finland’s biodiversity. It is run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of the Environment. SOTKA’s objective is large-scale habitat restoration through wetlands rehabilitation, restoration of mires and catchments, non-native (i.e. invasive) predator control and building a network of resting areas for waterfowl.

It is also a great example of cooperation between hunting and non-hunting organisations for the benefit of nature. This type of cooperation is something I’ve always been a strong advocate of. So it was my great pleasure to invite to the podcast: Veli-Matti Pekkarinen, the Waterfowl Habitat Specialist from the Finnish Hunters’ Association and Heikki Helle, the Wetland Specialist at BirdLife Finland.

Listen to our conversation to learn more about SOTKA and Helmi projects. We also discuss the details of cooperation and specific actions that are undertaken to meet project objectives. I also enquired about the social perception in Finland of actions like predator control. Overall it was interesting to compare mindsets and attitudes in Finland with those in Ireland or the UK. Also, big shoutouts to Padraig Breen from NARGC who was instrumental in making this podcast episode happen.

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