Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 1d

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

University administration:
"We need you to complete 26 hours of lab safety training 🧪 each year so that everyone is safe and responsible."

Also university administration:

Stolen from the Internet, a sign that says "If Elevator does not move do a small jump it should move after", and a dirty-white freight elevator wall and aged elevator controls with only floors 1 and 2."

I have no idea where this really is, I just stole it off Wikimedia.

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 2d

And the report links forestdeclaration.org

Home - Forest Declaration Assessment

forestdeclaration.org

maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 2d

The 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment is out and can broadly be summarised as “we suck” .“off track” numbers have gone from (2023) 35% to (2024) 45% to (2025) 63% off track from the 2030 goals . These are ridiculous levels of Forest policy failure . news.mongabay.com/short-articl...

Global goal of zero deforestation by 2030 is severely off track

Global deforestation hasn’t slowed in any significant way in the four years since 127 countries pledged to halt and reverse forest loss and degradation by 2030. The newly published 2025 Forest Declara...

news.mongabay.com

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 5d

…and currently in St Mary’s Church Swansea , for #swanseaartweekend . Do go, it’s very lovely ☀️

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Scott L Greer @scottlgreer.bsky.social · 10d

Thoughtful essay

“we are in danger of forgetting the greatest untapped resource on any college campus — the professors. We are surrounded by human experts, yet we are being encouraged to take our questions to robots”

AI ate my homework: My experience with the University’s AI toolkit

I don’t understand AI enough to properly dislike it. And I’m curious as to why the University is pushing this tool so much if it inherently devalues learning. So I immersed myself in artificial intell...

www.michigandaily.com

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 12d

Lovely to host some @swanseauni.bsky.social Geography alumni , here in our little corner of Wales , this morning. What a nice part of the job! Enjoyed a few choice quotes -“Geography is essential for everything!” I mean we think so too… 😁💚🌳🌍 Have a great weekend, all, it was a pleasure to meet you!

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 15d

Do any of you have a fun map-reading and orienteering activity you’d be willing to share? I’d like to see some examples as I’m putting a skill session together for my natural history class. It could be something done in-class, or it could involve an outdoor scavenger hunt-type exercise (1 hour).

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 28d

Snap 😁🎶🎶🌳🎶🎶

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 28d

Really enjoyed chatting about plants & sound with @bengarrod.bsky.social for Radio 3s The Essay. We talked about Milburn’s work on xylem cavitation where he recorded the sound it makes through the trunk . But is it tree music ? …🌳🎶 😊 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The Essay - Symphony of the Wild - 3. Plant Rhythms - BBC Sounds

Evolutionary biologist Ben Garrod uncovers melodies and rhythms across the natural world.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Roderick Bale @dendrorodbale.bsky.social · Sep 10

Ship’s floor (oak) reused as lintel. Removed during construction work from Cambrian Place Swansea. Dendro dated to spring summer 1778 and sourced from a locally grown Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 tree! #dendrochronology #wales #archaeology

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · 29d

How brilliant !

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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · Sep 14

Two very important graphs.
Net migration reached record levels in 2023 - and has since halved.
The vast majority of arrivals comprises students and workers.
Arrivals in small boats and asylum seekers - less than 5%.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Sep 10

One of my favourite Welsh treescapes, around the @nationaltrust.org.uk Wales Stackpole lily ponds 💚🌳 Looking very handsome in its end of summer coat 🍁 🍃

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Sep 9

With respect, that’s a little simplistic . Development & clearance have had a huge impact. Simply remove the sheep & you will not have a “rainforest” land (but will have a devastated farming sector). Our forestscape is the result of many drivers , across time & space, sheep are just 1 element.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Aug 27

Deforestation kills more than trees.

Deforestation has killed half a million people in past 20 years, study finds

Localised rises in temperature caused by land clearance cause 28,330 heat-related deaths a year, researchers find

www.theguardian.com

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Jul 30

Thanks so much to the team at School Science Review for the chance to write about climate communication, directionally motivated reasoning and why deficit approach climate outreach just doesn’t work . If you’re looking to change hearts and minds on climate , have a read .

Association for Science Education @associationscied.bsky.social · Jul 28

Take a moment to explore this open access gem from the latest SSR 📘

Mary Gagen explores how students’ beliefs & life experiences shape their interpretation of climate info—and why empathy matters when teaching climate science.

🌍 Read now: ow.ly/5CFq50WvWzx

#ASEjournals

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Jul 15

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A tree I , sadly, never had a chance to meet .

If it’s loss angered you, please also get angry about 7% of our woods being in ecological health, street trees being routinely ripped out, & industrial monoculture plantations in our national parks .

The Sycamore Gap case has shed light on a deeper issue with trees

The felling has prompted calls for stricter legal protections for other trees and drawn attention to wider issues

www.bbc.co.uk

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Jul 15

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/state-of-uk-...

State of the UK's Woods and Trees 2025

The State of the UK’s Woods and Trees 2025 report checks on the health of woodlands and sees what's changed since our first report.

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Jul 15

theconversation.com/britains-wil...

Since I wrote this this piece in 2023 the Woodland Trusts 2025 report has found :

- two new woodland pests have emerged .
- the decline in woodland wildlife has got worse
- woodland creation targets are being missed

Britain’s wild woods are under threat and we’re running out of time to save them

Just 2.5% of the country has been continuously wooded for centuries.

theconversation.com

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Jul 10

Our park and street trees are absolutely vital in hot weather , they provide shade , moisture to the atmosphere, and with it , free air conditioning. #streettrees #urbanwoodland

maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Jun 19

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Timely . Its exam board season here in higher education UK , the time of year when I am reminded again and again of the desperate need for class to become included as a protected characteristic.

If you went to state school, do you ever feel British life is rigged against you? Welcome to the 93% Club | Alastair Campbell

The civil service, judiciary and media are still dominated by the privately educated 7%. Lasting change is not a pipe dream – but it’s up to us, says writer and podcaster Alastair Campbell

www.theguardian.com

maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · May 27

Lovely to catch up with @wwf.org.uk champ Mark Wright , talking , drawing, and chatting all this awesome and naturey, and see @owendaveydraws.bsky.social fab new book @hayfestival.bsky.social , 💐🙊🍀🐾🦋🌍

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Mar 20

2030 Global Forest Vision priority actions launch .

Excited to be part of this effort !

We have some work to do to stand a chance of meeting the twin 2030 forest goals to halt and reverse global deforestation. Here’s a to do list for right now …🌳💚 #2030forestvision

Global Canopy @globalcanopy.org · Mar 20

🌳The 2030 Global Forest Vision has launched outlining 8 actions for countries to prioritise ahead of #COP30 in Belem this year.
⚠️We will not meet the global pledge to halt and reverse #deforestation by 2030 because current progress is insufficient.
Full report: forestdeclaration.org/vision

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Mar 10

“The result is a lesson in how not to manage anything” I am so glad to read someone actually raising the question of whether the performance of the very well paid public servants who run British universities, may possibly be a factor in the current impressive HE bin fire

www.ft.com/content/0ec7...

The UK’s academic recession is in full swing

This university crisis is a grim scrabble for numbers

www.ft.com

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maryhgagen @maryhgagen.bsky.social · Mar 10

nation.cymru/opinion/how-...

How to trash a University's reputation And demotivate the people you need to help you succeed

Leighton Andrews Hey, please come to the ‘reshaped and reduced Cardiff Business School’! It’s not the most obvious marketing slogan, is it? Nor is it a motivating mantra for our academic staff, whatev...

nation.cymru