Welcome to Global Nature Beat
Global Nature Beat is a newsletter for journalists (and anyone else!) interested in biodiversity, conservation, ecological restoration, nature-based solutions to climate change, and so on.
The idea has been rolling around in my head for a couple of years. I've been trying to figure out how best to use my knowledge and networks to contribute to the great transformation that climate change and biodiversity loss make necessary. My mission here is to enhance understanding of the challenges facing us and the solutions on offer.
Each week, Global Nature Beat provides a mix of news, reporting resources, job postings, links to some great stories and a look ahead at what’s coming up in the world of biodiversity and nature policy. I also publish summaries of new research papers, and original content such as news, interviews and explainers. Check out the Archive for example of different types of content.
Why subscribe?
I believe that my unique combination of experience and expertise makes me well-placed to create a newsletter that meets the needs of journalists covering these topics. I am eager to use my knowledge and skills to help journalists stay informed and ahead of the curve in their reporting. Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.
If you can spare £1 a week for a paid subscription, it would help me to develop the newsletter and keep it going for everyone else who cannot afford to pay. If you can’t afford to pay, that’s okay too. The Nature Beat will remain free to read.
Paying subscribers get bonus content, including access to the full calendar and the full list of jobs, grants, fellowships and other opportunities. They also have permanent access to the Archive, which will grow in value as I start posting more special content. And they can start conversations in the Chat area.
About me
My name is Mike Shanahan. I’ve been researching and writing about biodiversity and conservation for more than 25 years.
I have a doctorate in rainforest ecology, for which I spent 18 months living in a national park in Malaysian Borneo. After I left academia, I worked on environmental and human rights projects in Asia and Latin America for the Environmental Justice Foundation — this included work on pesticide poisoning in Cambodia, bear farming in Vietnam and mangrove deforestation in Ecuador. I then spent a couple of years as the news editor at SciDev.Net, and nearly eight years as the press officer for the International Institute for Environment and Development, where I co-founded the Climate Change Media Partnership.
Over the years, I have trained, mentored and edited hundreds of environment journalists. I’m now a freelance writer and editor. I have written for The Economist, Nature, The Ecologist, Newsweek, Scientific American, Mongabay, ChinaDialogue, Ensia, BBC Earth, Atlas Obscura and New Scientist. As a consultant, I have supported Internews’s Earth Journalism Network with its Biodiversity Media Initiative and Investigating Wildlife Trafficking projects.
I have a blog called Under the Banyan, where you can find a lot of my writing. I am also the author of a book about how strangler figs and their kin have shaped our world, influenced diverse cultures and can help us restore life to degraded rainforests. It was published in the UK as Ladders to Heaven and in North America as Gods, Wasps and Stranglers. You can read a summary and reviews here.
You can find me on Bluesky, Twitter , Mastodon and LinkedIn, or get in touch with an email.
