The Contemplative Mammoth

Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Conservation paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill is interested in how landscapes change through space and time. You might recognize her blog, The Contemplative Mammoth, from reading her recent piece on “just-so stories”  — the entertaining (yet factually inaccurate) tales that people tell to explain the natural world. We enjoy Jacquelyn’s thoughtful narratives and discussions on a variety of topics, from the timescales of climate change to failed plant sex. Her writing is intelligent and accessible — a great mix to keep readers engaged.

Milkwood

On Milkwood, a family in Mudgee, a town in New South Wales, Australia, chronicles life on a farm and shares homesteading resources for both urban and rural living. You’ll read about best practices on everything from natural beekeeping to permaculture design to vegetable gardening.

Image by Milkwood.
Magic beans! Image by Milkwood.

If springtime inspires you to go outside and get your hands dirty, just sift through the site — you’ll find DIY projects galore, from making a worm tower to growing mushrooms in a laundry basket.

Travels with the Blonde Coyote

A science writer with a nomadic spirit, Mary Caperton Morton of Travels with a Blonde Coyote is currently exploring the backroads of the West, from New Mexico to Alaska, while living out of a tiny teardrop trailer. With her background in geology and biology and love for traveling and trekking, she combines travel and nature writing with stunning photography on her blog.

Image of Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, CA, by Travels with the Blonde Coyote.
Image of Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, CA, by Travels with the Blonde Coyote.

From her series on the Grand Canyon to a post on petroglyphs to a piece on hiking with dogs, Mary has an archive of great posts documenting her outdoor adventures.

More blogs on nature and the environment

  • The Garden Smallholder: The site of UK gardener Karen, who maintains a rural village garden in North Bedfordshire.
  • Dust Tracks on the Web: Writing and photography by natural history enthusiast Janson Jones.
  • Beetles in the Bush: The blog of agricultural entomologist Ted MacRae, who focuses on beetle taxonomy.
  • Watershed Moments — Thoughts from the Hydrosphere: Memoir and nature writing from Canadian environmental scientist Sarah Boon, whose expertise is in cold regions hydroecology.
  • Grist: A site for environmental news and commentary, on topics ranging from energy and politics to food and green living.