Erik Hoffner
@erikhoffner.bsky.social
Editor, photojournalist & award-winning podcast producer for nonprofit news outlet @Mongabay. Member of Society of Envi Journalists & Vermont Center for Photography
[Good news]
Native Plant Trust has now banked 10 million seeds of native New England plants, including rare & endangered ones 🌱
And they got $1.5 million more funding to continue this work 💪
When the present seems so unstable, it's good to think about a native plant-i-ful future
Native Plant Trust has now banked 10 million seeds of native New England plants, including rare & endangered ones 🌱
And they got $1.5 million more funding to continue this work 💪
When the present seems so unstable, it's good to think about a native plant-i-ful future
November 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
[Good news]
Native Plant Trust has now banked 10 million seeds of native New England plants, including rare & endangered ones 🌱
And they got $1.5 million more funding to continue this work 💪
When the present seems so unstable, it's good to think about a native plant-i-ful future
Native Plant Trust has now banked 10 million seeds of native New England plants, including rare & endangered ones 🌱
And they got $1.5 million more funding to continue this work 💪
When the present seems so unstable, it's good to think about a native plant-i-ful future
Nestlé has decided to stop sourcing paper from suppliers like SCA in northern #Sweden for their unsustainable, anti-climate and -biodiversity forestry, plus failures to respect Indigenous rights
How unsustainable is Sweden’s forestry? ‘Very,’ sources have told me: news.mongabay.com/2022/06/how-...
How unsustainable is Sweden’s forestry? ‘Very,’ sources have told me: news.mongabay.com/2022/06/how-...
November 11, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Nestlé has decided to stop sourcing paper from suppliers like SCA in northern #Sweden for their unsustainable, anti-climate and -biodiversity forestry, plus failures to respect Indigenous rights
How unsustainable is Sweden’s forestry? ‘Very,’ sources have told me: news.mongabay.com/2022/06/how-...
How unsustainable is Sweden’s forestry? ‘Very,’ sources have told me: news.mongabay.com/2022/06/how-...
“I get excited about ethnomycology and thinking about which mushrooms have cultural value that maybe haven’t made it into field guides.” northernwoodlands.org/blog/article...
- Maria Pinto, author of “Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Zombies…”
- Maria Pinto, author of “Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Zombies…”
November 9, 2025 at 9:11 PM
“I get excited about ethnomycology and thinking about which mushrooms have cultural value that maybe haven’t made it into field guides.” northernwoodlands.org/blog/article...
- Maria Pinto, author of “Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Zombies…”
- Maria Pinto, author of “Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Zombies…”
Friends consider me an expert on #mushrooms
But I’m a ‘pot hunter’ & only know choice edibles like this porcini found on my land recently 🏆 👑
Appreciate all others & can ID at least their ‘tribes’ reliably but am so far from expert—points to the wide range/low general knowledge of #fungi in the US
But I’m a ‘pot hunter’ & only know choice edibles like this porcini found on my land recently 🏆 👑
Appreciate all others & can ID at least their ‘tribes’ reliably but am so far from expert—points to the wide range/low general knowledge of #fungi in the US
November 8, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Friends consider me an expert on #mushrooms
But I’m a ‘pot hunter’ & only know choice edibles like this porcini found on my land recently 🏆 👑
Appreciate all others & can ID at least their ‘tribes’ reliably but am so far from expert—points to the wide range/low general knowledge of #fungi in the US
But I’m a ‘pot hunter’ & only know choice edibles like this porcini found on my land recently 🏆 👑
Appreciate all others & can ID at least their ‘tribes’ reliably but am so far from expert—points to the wide range/low general knowledge of #fungi in the US
Looking for a coffee substitute?
Guayusa is great ('rocket fuel' a friend says) & often grown by Indigenous/local communities & coops via #agroecology #agroforestry, supporting #biodiversity & #climate too
I mail order it but was glad to finally meet this generous tree while traveling in Ecuador:
Guayusa is great ('rocket fuel' a friend says) & often grown by Indigenous/local communities & coops via #agroecology #agroforestry, supporting #biodiversity & #climate too
I mail order it but was glad to finally meet this generous tree while traveling in Ecuador:
November 6, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Looking for a coffee substitute?
Guayusa is great ('rocket fuel' a friend says) & often grown by Indigenous/local communities & coops via #agroecology #agroforestry, supporting #biodiversity & #climate too
I mail order it but was glad to finally meet this generous tree while traveling in Ecuador:
Guayusa is great ('rocket fuel' a friend says) & often grown by Indigenous/local communities & coops via #agroecology #agroforestry, supporting #biodiversity & #climate too
I mail order it but was glad to finally meet this generous tree while traveling in Ecuador:
Hope the analysts also considered agroforestry as a solution for #coffee #chocolate & even #palmoil as it can ensure these crops sustainable cultivation while boosting biodiversity, resilience, soils & carbon seq
It's something we report on at @mongabay.com often: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
It's something we report on at @mongabay.com often: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
November 4, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Hope the analysts also considered agroforestry as a solution for #coffee #chocolate & even #palmoil as it can ensure these crops sustainable cultivation while boosting biodiversity, resilience, soils & carbon seq
It's something we report on at @mongabay.com often: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
It's something we report on at @mongabay.com often: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
Hope their analysis considered #agroforestry as a solution for coffee, cacao & even palm oil that can ensure these crops' sustainable cultivation while boosting biodiversity, soil & carbon sequestration
So it's something we report on at @mongabay.com often, obv: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
So it's something we report on at @mongabay.com often, obv: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
November 4, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Hope their analysis considered #agroforestry as a solution for coffee, cacao & even palm oil that can ensure these crops' sustainable cultivation while boosting biodiversity, soil & carbon sequestration
So it's something we report on at @mongabay.com often, obv: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
So it's something we report on at @mongabay.com often, obv: news.mongabay.com?s=agroforest...
“It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world
will be between people who wish to live as creatures
& people who wish to live as machines.”
― Wendell Berry, "Life is a Miracle"
will be between people who wish to live as creatures
& people who wish to live as machines.”
― Wendell Berry, "Life is a Miracle"
November 2, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world
will be between people who wish to live as creatures
& people who wish to live as machines.”
― Wendell Berry, "Life is a Miracle"
will be between people who wish to live as creatures
& people who wish to live as machines.”
― Wendell Berry, "Life is a Miracle"
Dunes & fishing dogs shot on infrared #35mmfilm loaded in an analog camera w/ fisheye lens while surfcasting this fall
Red filter added extra drama to these
See the whole #blackandwhite #photography set @ Insta: www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
Red filter added extra drama to these
See the whole #blackandwhite #photography set @ Insta: www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
November 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Dunes & fishing dogs shot on infrared #35mmfilm loaded in an analog camera w/ fisheye lens while surfcasting this fall
Red filter added extra drama to these
See the whole #blackandwhite #photography set @ Insta: www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
Red filter added extra drama to these
See the whole #blackandwhite #photography set @ Insta: www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
New sign at the nat’l wildlife refuge on Plum Island, MA
Fiddler crabs are cool but if they move north in big numbers into this giant marsh favored by shorebirds it won’t be positive
Their tunneling is a wetland threat, wonder if the info about #climatechange being a driver of migration will stay
Fiddler crabs are cool but if they move north in big numbers into this giant marsh favored by shorebirds it won’t be positive
Their tunneling is a wetland threat, wonder if the info about #climatechange being a driver of migration will stay
October 30, 2025 at 6:08 PM
New sign at the nat’l wildlife refuge on Plum Island, MA
Fiddler crabs are cool but if they move north in big numbers into this giant marsh favored by shorebirds it won’t be positive
Their tunneling is a wetland threat, wonder if the info about #climatechange being a driver of migration will stay
Fiddler crabs are cool but if they move north in big numbers into this giant marsh favored by shorebirds it won’t be positive
Their tunneling is a wetland threat, wonder if the info about #climatechange being a driver of migration will stay
We love fan mail at @mongabay.com's podcast
A new listener loved the optimism of our host @mikedigirolamo.bsky.social's discussion with global #rewilding advocate Ben Goldsmith, hear why they made this climate activist cry from #conservationoptimism here:
news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025...
A new listener loved the optimism of our host @mikedigirolamo.bsky.social's discussion with global #rewilding advocate Ben Goldsmith, hear why they made this climate activist cry from #conservationoptimism here:
news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025...
October 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
We love fan mail at @mongabay.com's podcast
A new listener loved the optimism of our host @mikedigirolamo.bsky.social's discussion with global #rewilding advocate Ben Goldsmith, hear why they made this climate activist cry from #conservationoptimism here:
news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025...
A new listener loved the optimism of our host @mikedigirolamo.bsky.social's discussion with global #rewilding advocate Ben Goldsmith, hear why they made this climate activist cry from #conservationoptimism here:
news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025...
The all female Haenyo free divers of Korea spend more time underwater than many aquatic mammals 👀 like:
beaver
polar bear
sea otter
NZ sea lion
Research suggests these fishers’ physical adaptations to life underwater “really speaks to culture driving evolution.” www.sciencenews.org/article/fema...
beaver
polar bear
sea otter
NZ sea lion
Research suggests these fishers’ physical adaptations to life underwater “really speaks to culture driving evolution.” www.sciencenews.org/article/fema...
October 21, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The all female Haenyo free divers of Korea spend more time underwater than many aquatic mammals 👀 like:
beaver
polar bear
sea otter
NZ sea lion
Research suggests these fishers’ physical adaptations to life underwater “really speaks to culture driving evolution.” www.sciencenews.org/article/fema...
beaver
polar bear
sea otter
NZ sea lion
Research suggests these fishers’ physical adaptations to life underwater “really speaks to culture driving evolution.” www.sciencenews.org/article/fema...
#Conservation works
Green sea turtles are making a comeback, IUCN says 'no longer endangered' though some subpopulations are still in trouble, news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
They're not rare in the Galapagos where I made this image (saw up to 4 at once!) but E. Pacific pop is still 'vulnerable'
Green sea turtles are making a comeback, IUCN says 'no longer endangered' though some subpopulations are still in trouble, news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
They're not rare in the Galapagos where I made this image (saw up to 4 at once!) but E. Pacific pop is still 'vulnerable'
October 20, 2025 at 4:41 PM
#Conservation works
Green sea turtles are making a comeback, IUCN says 'no longer endangered' though some subpopulations are still in trouble, news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
They're not rare in the Galapagos where I made this image (saw up to 4 at once!) but E. Pacific pop is still 'vulnerable'
Green sea turtles are making a comeback, IUCN says 'no longer endangered' though some subpopulations are still in trouble, news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
They're not rare in the Galapagos where I made this image (saw up to 4 at once!) but E. Pacific pop is still 'vulnerable'
Chirping out good news:
This week @mongabay.com reached a new milestone
With the addition of Bengali & Swahili, our team now reports about the global environment in 8 languages each week
That's accomplished by 125 staff in 5 international bureaus 💪
See the Swahili site here: swahili.mongabay.com
This week @mongabay.com reached a new milestone
With the addition of Bengali & Swahili, our team now reports about the global environment in 8 languages each week
That's accomplished by 125 staff in 5 international bureaus 💪
See the Swahili site here: swahili.mongabay.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Chirping out good news:
This week @mongabay.com reached a new milestone
With the addition of Bengali & Swahili, our team now reports about the global environment in 8 languages each week
That's accomplished by 125 staff in 5 international bureaus 💪
See the Swahili site here: swahili.mongabay.com
This week @mongabay.com reached a new milestone
With the addition of Bengali & Swahili, our team now reports about the global environment in 8 languages each week
That's accomplished by 125 staff in 5 international bureaus 💪
See the Swahili site here: swahili.mongabay.com
My editorial tasks shifted & I no longer need to get your daily & weekly emails, but after a month your team is still filling my inbox, despite your confirmation claiming that it "may take 24-48 hours for all subscriptions to be removed from your user profile" -- going to start marking as spam soon
October 16, 2025 at 3:16 PM
My editorial tasks shifted & I no longer need to get your daily & weekly emails, but after a month your team is still filling my inbox, despite your confirmation claiming that it "may take 24-48 hours for all subscriptions to be removed from your user profile" -- going to start marking as spam soon
Nosey neighbors out for a stroll right by my trail camera
Moose population has grown steadily here near the Vermont/Mass border, also fisher & bear too
Conservation & management working well for these species. #conservationoptimism
Moose population has grown steadily here near the Vermont/Mass border, also fisher & bear too
Conservation & management working well for these species. #conservationoptimism
October 15, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Nosey neighbors out for a stroll right by my trail camera
Moose population has grown steadily here near the Vermont/Mass border, also fisher & bear too
Conservation & management working well for these species. #conservationoptimism
Moose population has grown steadily here near the Vermont/Mass border, also fisher & bear too
Conservation & management working well for these species. #conservationoptimism
Bloomberg analysis reveals that electricity in areas near data centers has risen, a lot: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Energy is up to 267% costlier in areas w/ a data center nearby:
Energy is up to 267% costlier in areas w/ a data center nearby:
October 13, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Bloomberg analysis reveals that electricity in areas near data centers has risen, a lot: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Energy is up to 267% costlier in areas w/ a data center nearby:
Energy is up to 267% costlier in areas w/ a data center nearby:
Today, the IUCN has officially declared the slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) extinct 😞
This is the 1st known extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species, whose range included Europe, North Africa & West Asia
The last confirmed sighting was 30+ years ago
This is the 1st known extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species, whose range included Europe, North Africa & West Asia
The last confirmed sighting was 30+ years ago
October 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Today, the IUCN has officially declared the slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) extinct 😞
This is the 1st known extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species, whose range included Europe, North Africa & West Asia
The last confirmed sighting was 30+ years ago
This is the 1st known extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species, whose range included Europe, North Africa & West Asia
The last confirmed sighting was 30+ years ago
Shifting Baseline Syndrome is where each new generation accepts a progressively degraded environment as "normal"
This leads to a failure to recognize the true extent of long-term environmental change & underestimation of #biodiversity loss
Here's how big lobsters used to grow just 100 years ago:
This leads to a failure to recognize the true extent of long-term environmental change & underestimation of #biodiversity loss
Here's how big lobsters used to grow just 100 years ago:
October 8, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Shifting Baseline Syndrome is where each new generation accepts a progressively degraded environment as "normal"
This leads to a failure to recognize the true extent of long-term environmental change & underestimation of #biodiversity loss
Here's how big lobsters used to grow just 100 years ago:
This leads to a failure to recognize the true extent of long-term environmental change & underestimation of #biodiversity loss
Here's how big lobsters used to grow just 100 years ago:
….and now for a dose of #conservationoptimism THIS is why we encourage & plant milkweed around our gardens
This monarch just emerged here near the Vermont/MA border 🎉
Drying its wings for a couple hours after emerging from its chrysalis, now it will fly 3,000 miles to overwinter in Mexico!
This monarch just emerged here near the Vermont/MA border 🎉
Drying its wings for a couple hours after emerging from its chrysalis, now it will fly 3,000 miles to overwinter in Mexico!
October 6, 2025 at 7:50 PM
….and now for a dose of #conservationoptimism THIS is why we encourage & plant milkweed around our gardens
This monarch just emerged here near the Vermont/MA border 🎉
Drying its wings for a couple hours after emerging from its chrysalis, now it will fly 3,000 miles to overwinter in Mexico!
This monarch just emerged here near the Vermont/MA border 🎉
Drying its wings for a couple hours after emerging from its chrysalis, now it will fly 3,000 miles to overwinter in Mexico!
1 or 2 Starlink satellites fall to Earth daily, says astrophysicist @planet4589.bsky.social
The top source on this says there will be *up to 5 reentries daily* as 30K satellites are set to crowd the sky
Might not be long before you see a fiery object slowly burn across the sky, w/ unknown impact:
The top source on this says there will be *up to 5 reentries daily* as 30K satellites are set to crowd the sky
Might not be long before you see a fiery object slowly burn across the sky, w/ unknown impact:
October 5, 2025 at 1:16 PM
1 or 2 Starlink satellites fall to Earth daily, says astrophysicist @planet4589.bsky.social
The top source on this says there will be *up to 5 reentries daily* as 30K satellites are set to crowd the sky
Might not be long before you see a fiery object slowly burn across the sky, w/ unknown impact:
The top source on this says there will be *up to 5 reentries daily* as 30K satellites are set to crowd the sky
Might not be long before you see a fiery object slowly burn across the sky, w/ unknown impact:
Sea level rise is coming for Martha’s Vineyard, the fancy island enjoyed by Americans, especially elites
Here’s a mansion that was *already moved back hundreds of feet* in 2013 & faces annihilation again already
Nearby beaches & dunes have shrunk so much they’re impassable for fishers’ vehicles
Here’s a mansion that was *already moved back hundreds of feet* in 2013 & faces annihilation again already
Nearby beaches & dunes have shrunk so much they’re impassable for fishers’ vehicles
October 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Sea level rise is coming for Martha’s Vineyard, the fancy island enjoyed by Americans, especially elites
Here’s a mansion that was *already moved back hundreds of feet* in 2013 & faces annihilation again already
Nearby beaches & dunes have shrunk so much they’re impassable for fishers’ vehicles
Here’s a mansion that was *already moved back hundreds of feet* in 2013 & faces annihilation again already
Nearby beaches & dunes have shrunk so much they’re impassable for fishers’ vehicles
Amazon forest trees have been growing larger for the past 30 years, a new study finds: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This may be caused by rising CO2 and/or increased nitrogen deposition from air pollution
It suggests they're offsetting some CO2 emissions, helping to slow #climatechange 🌳
This may be caused by rising CO2 and/or increased nitrogen deposition from air pollution
It suggests they're offsetting some CO2 emissions, helping to slow #climatechange 🌳
October 1, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Amazon forest trees have been growing larger for the past 30 years, a new study finds: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This may be caused by rising CO2 and/or increased nitrogen deposition from air pollution
It suggests they're offsetting some CO2 emissions, helping to slow #climatechange 🌳
This may be caused by rising CO2 and/or increased nitrogen deposition from air pollution
It suggests they're offsetting some CO2 emissions, helping to slow #climatechange 🌳
[good news] #China recently destroyed 300 dams along a tributary of the Yangtze River
(after losing two of its native wildlife icons — the baiji river dolphin & the Chinese paddlefish to dams & overfishing, and almost losing its sturgeon)
New via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/custom-story...
(after losing two of its native wildlife icons — the baiji river dolphin & the Chinese paddlefish to dams & overfishing, and almost losing its sturgeon)
New via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/custom-story...
September 29, 2025 at 3:01 PM
[good news] #China recently destroyed 300 dams along a tributary of the Yangtze River
(after losing two of its native wildlife icons — the baiji river dolphin & the Chinese paddlefish to dams & overfishing, and almost losing its sturgeon)
New via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/custom-story...
(after losing two of its native wildlife icons — the baiji river dolphin & the Chinese paddlefish to dams & overfishing, and almost losing its sturgeon)
New via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/custom-story...
Autumn brings abundance of another sort
Milkweed feeds more than monarchs now
See this print of mine & others at @mongabay.com’s group photo exhibit near #Boston called #Biophilia celebrating humanity’s connection w/ nature
Full exhibit details at my Instagram page:
www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
Milkweed feeds more than monarchs now
See this print of mine & others at @mongabay.com’s group photo exhibit near #Boston called #Biophilia celebrating humanity’s connection w/ nature
Full exhibit details at my Instagram page:
www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
September 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Autumn brings abundance of another sort
Milkweed feeds more than monarchs now
See this print of mine & others at @mongabay.com’s group photo exhibit near #Boston called #Biophilia celebrating humanity’s connection w/ nature
Full exhibit details at my Instagram page:
www.instagram.com/erikhoffner
Milkweed feeds more than monarchs now
See this print of mine & others at @mongabay.com’s group photo exhibit near #Boston called #Biophilia celebrating humanity’s connection w/ nature
Full exhibit details at my Instagram page:
www.instagram.com/erikhoffner