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As wildlife continues to decline around the world, conservation has become a bleak calling. Can a new Optimism Summit help reframe the mission to save life on Earth?

Want to hear a sad story? You could read this article of mine about the first mammal lost to climate change. Or this one about how there are only 60 vaquita left on the planet. Or here’s my piece on how forest elephants are being decimated even as scientists debate if they are worthy of being called a distinct species. As an environmental journalist, I sometimes feel it’s my job to simply document the decline of life on planet Earth. The word ‘depressing’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.

For many of us – myself included some days – the desperate state of our environment leaves us numb with sadness and, frankly, lost in hopelessness. We don’t act, because we don’t know what to do; we don’t act, because there’s only so much negativity we can swallow before we throw up our hands and go back to playing Pokemon Go. Without any dose of hope, we feel ourselves succumbing to despair.

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Switching to a low-carbon economy offers cities "significant economic opportunities" if they can collaborate with the private sector, an assessment suggests.

Matt Canavan cites leaked 2011 ‘disrupt and delay’ anti-development strategy of NSW environmental group as clear ‘abuse of our legal system’

The resources minister, Matt Canavan, says the abuse of Australia’s legal system by green groups seeking to delay mining projects warrants a “fundamental” review of environmental law.

Canavan on Wednesday used a Queensland Media Club luncheon speech to take aim at activists who harbour an anti-development ideology.

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A collection of zoological wonders from September 2016, featuring gambling wolves, friendly tits and happy bees

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Cornish fish moving north with climate change may struggle to understand Scouse counterparts, study says, making it harder for them to mate

Scientists are attempting to discover if Cornish cod moving north with climate change will be able to understand the accents of their Scouse counterparts.

Experts believe the fish, which make sounds with their swim bladders to attract mates, may have regional accents – and if males cannot “chat up” females who speak a different dialect it could threaten their ability to breed.

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It is important to clean bird baths regularly. Glenn Pure

As the weather warms and days lengthen, your attention may be turning to that forgotten patch of your backyard. We’ve asked our experts to share the science behind gardening. So grab a trowel and your green thumbs, and dig in.

Bird baths are a familiar sight in Australian gardens but surprisingly little is known about the precise role they play in the lives of birds.

In a dry continent such as Australia, bird baths may be vital to supporting an otherwise stressed bird population. We wanted to find out more, so we enlisted the help of thousands of citizen scientists across Australia to gather as much data as we could on how birds use bird baths.

And so the Bathing Birds Study was born. Started by researchers at Deakin University and Griffith University in 2014, this study involved collecting data online from 2,500 citizen scientists on bathing birds all over Australia.

The study has revealed so far that bird baths are much more than just ornamental splash pools for feathered visitors. They’re also a site where animals socialise and intense rivalries play out. Human choices – such as the design of the bird bath, where it is located and how often it is cleaned – can have a big impact on birds.

Different baths for different birds

The majority of participants in the Bathing Birds Study monitored the traditional pedestal or elevated bath type, as shown in the image below:

Red-browed finches at a pedestal bird bath. Sue

Cats are a big risk to garden birds, so elevated or pedestal baths are a good idea. They help keep birds safe from cats.

Baths should be situated near vegetation such as plants so smaller birds can have refuge if they are disturbed. Stones or rocks in the centre of the bath can give smaller birds a place to perch while bathing.

Birds need to groom their feathers daily, so don’t assume they’re only visiting bird baths on hot summer days. Birds need baths in winter too. We even had reports from some of our citizen scientists of birds trying to break ice in baths to access the water.

It can take time for birds to find a new water source but they will find it. Other types of baths, such as pots or saucers on the ground, can provide water for a range of wildlife species. We had records of koalas, foxes, snakes and even echidnas using baths – so consider having multiple types of water baths in your garden.

A range of animals at bird baths. Koala (Tony) Snake (Rosalie) Echidna (Rosemary) Fox (Lesley) Bath bullies

The Bathing Birds Study found that different bird species dominated bird baths depending on state or region.

In South East Queensland and New South Wales, aggressive noisy miners and rainbow lorikeets were most frequently recorded at baths. Introduced birds and wattlebirds were more common in the cooler states of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

The Bathing Bird Study also found that certain birds can act as bullies at baths and prevent other birds from using it by standing guard.

This type of behaviour can be directed toward smaller and/or less aggressive birds so having a range of bath types (such as a pot or saucer on the ground, hanging bath or multiple elevated baths) in your garden will give all birds a place to drink and bathe.

A clean bath is a good bath

Like all bathrooms, the garden bird bath needs regular cleaning. A dirty bath can spread disease and birds can be susceptible to infection where many species and individuals are congregated at communal watering stations.

For example, infected parrots can spread beak and feather disease to other parrots when they bathe and drink together.

A parrot with beak and feather disease. Maura

Another risk is that birds will, in time, grow too dependent on bird baths or feeding stations. How might they cope if the food and water is withdrawn during certain periods or not adjusted to reflect the prevailing need of birds?

The Bathing Birds Study also showed that many people refilled their bird baths more frequently in summer than in winter and regularly clean the baths.

A Silvereye at a bird bath. Glenn Pure. Is feeding birds good or bad? Let’s find out!

Many people enjoy providing food for birds as well as water. At this stage, we do not know whether this has a positive or negative effect on birds.

It is important to understand the ecological and behavioural effects of feeding in Australia as almost all information from other countries regarding bird feeding simply does not apply here.

Feeding of wild birds is an important activity for large numbers of people. For many, it is a significant way of connecting with nature.

Silvereyes at a trough. Consider providing a range of bath designs in your garden – and clean them regularly. Penny

The Australian Bird Feeding and Watering Study, an extension of the Bathing Birds Study, aims to find out more about how exactly birds interact with feeders and bird baths – and how human choices can either help or hinder these feathered visitors.

We’ve just completed the winter stage of our research, which involved collecting responses online from 3,500 citizen scientist participants. Nearly 7,000 have signed up to take part in the feeding study so far, and we are now recruiting for the summer stage. If you provide food or water for birds and would like to get involved in the summer study, sign up at www.feedingbirds.org.au.

We hope to one day to develop guidelines for people who feed and/or provide water for birds to do so with minimum risk to the birds.

Grainne Cleary receives funding from National Parks Association of NSW for gathering data for the Bathing Birds Study

Wenlock Edge Elder is a ‘culture follower’, a plant that travelled with people, who scattered its seeds and encouraged it around their settlements

Elderberries glisten like the eyes of mice. Small and glossy black, the drupes on their purple-stemmed umbels hang for the plucking, each with a glint of autumn sunlight and filled with summer’s juice, waiting to be snaffled. I taste one or two, but they always remind me that I once ate so many elderberries I was sick. Rabbits don’t like them either.

According to weather lore English summers begin with elder flowers and end with elder berries. The elder has been venerated, in an off-hand informal way, as one of the most popular trees or shrubs in European magic and folklore.

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The Clean Energy Council has congratulated the winners of the 2016 Solar Design and Installation Awards, which were announced tonight at the ATRAA Dinner.

Japan's decision to abandon the Monju fast reactor is another nail in the coffin for Generation IV nuclear technology.

The UK’s solar panels generated more electricity than coal across the past six months combined.

Australia to be excluded from key climate decision-making as Paris treaty comes into force, while fellow "climate villain" Canada changes tune with $C50 carbon price.

Clean Energy Regulator says 2020 RET achievable, but warns retailers to meet their obligations, or be "named and shamed".

The electric mobility sector is buzzing with Tesla announcing better-than-expected sales numbers and rival suppliers showing off new models.

Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg have emphasised the importance of energy security following SA blackout. But do these politicians really know what energy security means in a modern energy landscape?

Preliminary report into SA blackout appears designed to help the Coalition to beat state ministers around the head about renewables. But the AEMO report fails to answer key question, including how it handled events in the lead up to the storms.

Crunchy, and sustainable Entomophagy image from www.shutterstock.com

Bugs are on the menu in Canadian filmmaker Ian Toews’ documentary screening at the Environmental Film Festival Australia this month. The film promotes that the view that bugs can provide a more sustainable way of food (particularly protein) production for an expanding human population.

“Entomophagy”, or the human consumption of insects and insect-derived products, has been practised by cultures around the world for centuries, but the film highlights how mainly western eating habits now eat many fewer insects.

The figures presented in the film to support eating more insects are hard to argue with. Bugs are a nutritious food source that can consist of more than 40% protein by dry weight as well as being high in vitamins, iron and calcium.

Crickets and other edible insects are much more efficient at converting grains into protein and fat than some other meat sources; the film claims they are more than twice as efficient as chickens and seven times as efficient as cattle. Although research comparing chickens and insects shows it depends on how the insects are farmed.

They also require minimal water, unlike livestock. The film claims that five- to seven-times more people could be fed on an insect diet when compared to a current western diet, although this comparison presumably depends on a western diet including inefficient energy converters like cattle and sheep, rather than chickens.

The documentary also makes a strong case for insect production being compatible with urbanisation, given that cricket farms can be established in many large buildings.

However, comparisons in the film are limited to other forms of meat production, and not to plant-based human diets that are also far more sustainable than current western consumption patterns.

Shifting tastes

Presenters in the film are individuals who avidly support eating more bugs in North America. These include a celebratory chef, entrepreneurs, an administrator and insect farmers. The author of “The Eat-A-Bug” cook book, David George Gordon, declares on screen that “we are weirdos for not eating them (bugs)”.

The film does reference international efforts to evaluate the potential for entomophagy including a detailed UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report but the film is mainly a promotion piece for eating insects in North America.

Western attitudes to insect consumption are seen as a key stumbling block, although entrepreneurs in the film are upbeat and argue that there has been a remarkable shift in (US) attitudes in the last four years around entomophagy. Although a survey carried out in the Netherlands paints a bleaker picture.

The film highlights approaches that might be used to increase acceptance in western societies. Small start-ups are creating insect-derived food bars, chips (“Chirps”) and other packaged food for consumption in the US.

Some of these are being funded through kick starter projects and have catchy insect related names like Six (legged) Foods. Cricket flour seems to be key ingredient, perhaps because it looks least like an insect-derived product.

For a more traditional approach to entomophagy, the film covers grasshopper collecting in South Africa and ant harvesting in Mexico. But some traditional practices appear to be dying particularly among young people pursuing western lifestyles.

Presenters argue that large scale and innovative production facilities are needed to increase entomophagy, but there are challenges in cultivating insects mentioned briefly in the film.

It appears only a few insect species can currently be grown on a large scale. Established insect growers tell of issues with viruses destroying colonies but the start-ups appear undaunted. Other challenges mentioned in the film include a lack of regulation around safety.

Still, it appears that insects have been part of human diets for much of our evolutionary history. A presenter points out that we have a key enzyme, chitanase, required to break down the exoskeleton of insects, although this enzyme also has other functions.

Overall, while the film is a promotion piece, filled with (too) many shots of pristine streams and forests (presumably to highlight sustainability), it does make a strong case for considering entomophagy as a serious alternative to meat consumption in all cultures.

How to eat insects

In Australia, you can buy edible bugs online and they are occasionally served up as a novelty item in some restaurants. Our Indigenous population has been eating a diversity of bugs for thousands of years including witchetty grubs, honey ants and Bogong moths.

Most Australians are only likely to have encountered crickets, mealworms, larvae and other delicacies in Asian markets and not locally.

As in the US there are major challenges if insect consumption is to increase in Australia, including regulation and production methods that are less labour intensive than currently available.

Insects that eat plants can be highly toxic, accumulating toxins, perhaps to protect against predators. It is therefore critical that appropriate species are produced and consumed. This requires ongoing research into insect biodiversity and production systems.

Still, we live in a country with an increasingly variable climate where agricultural production is becoming more difficult. Perhaps factory-farmed bugs can increase our food security into the future.

The next time a locust plague threatens our environment they should perhaps be seen as an opportunity for developing a new local food source rather than a threat to farming.

Bugs on the Menu will be screening at the Environmental Film Festival Australia in Brisbane (October 14), Canberra (October 15), and Sydney (October 21).

Ary Hoffmann receives funding from the Australian Research Council and from the National Health and Medical Research Council as well as the Grains Research and Development Corporation and Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network.

The man behind attempts to develop synthetic rhino horn has told the BBC that he hopes to have a "bio-identical" product on the market in two years.

A new study aims to assess whether the seas around Britain have now got so noisy that fish species like cod and haddock have difficulty communicating with each other.

Astronomer Annie Maunder achieved many firsts in her lifetime, but her story has slipped from history.

DIETARY CHOICES: People who carry a particular genetic mutation linked to obesity are more likely to crave high-fat food but bypass sugary foods, a new study indicates.