#56 How Ireland Is Learning to Live with Nature Again | Emmett Johnston
Life and Depth with Ryan McDaidShow Notes
Ireland has a national park called *Glenveagh* – “Glen of the Birches” – where most visitors never notice there are almost no birch trees. Emmett Johnston thinks that gap between language and landscape says a lot about how *Ireland* lost, and is slowly rebuilding, its relationship with nature.
In this episode we talk about basking sharks, rewilding in Glenveagh, native woodland, colonisation, Irish place‑names and why *environmentalism* built on guilt often fails to move people.
What we explore – How Ireland’s history of colonisation and deforestation shows up in both the land and the language, and why place‑names like Glenveagh quietly record what used to be there. – Emmett’s journey from growing up in Dublin to managing Glenveagh National Park in Donegal and co‑founding the Irish Basking Shark Group. – What basking sharks can teach us about patience, migration and seeing Ireland as part of a much bigger living system. – Practical rewilding and restoration inside a national park: native woodland, peatlands, grazing, tourism and working with local communities rather than against them. – Why he believes environmentalists must move beyond finger‑wagging and guilt, towards offering experiences and futures people actually want to say yes to. – The hopeful signs he sees: more trees on the land, more action than ever before, and a generation who can still shape the next 50–100 years of how Ireland lives with nature.
Who this is for – People in Ireland (or anywhere) wondering what “rewilding” and native woodland recovery really look like on the ground. – Anyone drawn to basking sharks, big coastal landscapes and the human stories behind conservation work. – Listeners who feel climate and biodiversity news is all doom and guilt, and want a more human, hopeful way in.
Why this conversation matters Emmett carries both science and story: decades of ecological work, papers, and a day‑job managing a national park, alongside a deep respect for language, history and ordinary people’s lives. Instead of just listing problems, he tries to show what it looks like when nature recovery and human thriving pull in the same direction.
Micro‑FAQ What is special about Glenveagh? It’s one of Ireland’s six national parks, set in a glen whose Irish name means “Glen of the Birches,” quietly pointing to a forested past that’s now mostly gone.
Where do basking sharks come in? Emmett co‑founded the Irish Basking Shark Group and has spent years tracking and protecting these huge, gentle filter‑feeders off the Irish coast.
Is this episode mainly about rewilding? It’s broader: rewilding and native woodland are part of a bigger conversation about history, language, people and how we choose to live with nature now.
Is it all doom and gloom? No. Emmett is clear that habitats and species are under pressure, but he’s also convinced there’s “loads of hope” and more restoration activity now than ever before.
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