Aislínn Kelly

PhD Researcher. Environmental Communication. 

Field Notes


Observations at the crossroads of nature, environment, transport and art, published every Sunday morning. 

Field Notes by Aislínn •

Ribbons at St Berahert’s Well

I have a habit of assigning auras to places. Some streets feel hostile, some ruins feel tragic and some fields feel telepathic. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the places that move me most, not chosen for comfort or beauty, but for something closer to honour.Unsurprisingly, one of my favourites is not a cathedral or a curated heritage site with a gift shop flogging leprechauns and laminated wayfinders. It is a marshy field in Tipperary, with no signpost and many ribbons blowing from the trees....
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Between Holds

I’ve been acutely aware of how preachy this Substack has become lately, all land and policy. Consider this a break. Me stepping down from the pulpit, if you will.When I’m not ranting about land use I’m usually doing something vaguely PhD-related. The last few weeks have been spent buried in journal articles and archives, reading about ecology and how nature creeps into buildings, how heritage management can reckon with an accelerating climate crisis and shift towards something more adaptive rath...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Nuclear Notebook

I was back in Tipperary the other day, and my older brother had just returned from a tillage conference. He came home with one of those goody bags they give out to farmers attending and, naturally, I went rifling through it. (If you’re reading this, Michael, I’m sorry.) I found amongst the goods a small, dinky notebook. Only afterwards did I realise it was sponsored by a company selling herbicides. At the back of the notebook was a graph that genuinely frightened me.Cow parsley, brambles and doc...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Of Mercosur and Men

The Mercosur deal has been ratified by the European Council of Ministers, despite Ireland voting against the agreement in line with calls from groups ranging from the Irish Farmers’ Association to the Green Party. The central objection is familiar: Irish beef farmers fear being undercut by cheaper Brazilian imports.It is a legitimate concern. But it is also one that sits uneasily with how Irish agriculture already operates.Undercutting is not a new threat introduced by Mercosur; it is embedded i...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Squirrel Question

Let me begin with something that genuinely grinds my gears. There are few things that test the limit of my patience more than telling someone how much I adore squirrels, only to be met with the tired rebuff: “Aren’t they just rats with bushy tails?”As if that revelation is supposed to undo years of admiration and I am suddenly going to look at a squirrel mid-tree-scaling and think any less of the animal.Often, someone will then chime in with a lecture on the grey squirrel, how bold, invasive, an...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Cold Snap

The first week of 2026 has arrived with a proper snap of frost baring its teeth. The field is iron-hard underfoot, blades of corn locked stiff in the cold, puddles sealed shut under sheets of ice. The sun hangs low, throwing long shadows and making colours electric. Powdery clouds drag themselves across the sky while birds retreat overhead.I love the cold, mostly because you can armour yourself in scarves and jumpers and carry on. There is also nothing quite as satisfying as being absolutely fro...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Tangled Up In Blue

I say this not fishing for sympathy, I’m so grateful 2025 is nearly over. It was the hardest year of my life. I lost someone closest to me in January, and the rest of the year felt like a conveyor belt of deadlines and sadness.The moment I knew things were dire was when my Spotify Wrapped arrived. If that many tracks from Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks are in your top songs, something is up.I wondered if this was appropriate for my environment-themed Substack, a sort of “what to do when it fee...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Threading Lightly

A few years ago, I bought myself a Barbour jacket. This was a dream that first began when I was a young and impressionable little girl. Somewhere between Richard Hammond (my first celebrity crush), Adam on Countryfile, and Kate Middleton on my mam’s Hello magazines, the idea morphed into the belief that this was the jacket to end all jackets. It wasn’t cheap, but I absolutely love it. It looks worse for wear now, slightly white around the pockets, the wax holding on for dear life. For the purpos...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Apple's Core

Are you the type of person who reads food labels, reviewing the small details such as country of origin, ingredients, what feels like the whole backstory?Maybe you have an allergy and need to be careful. Maybe you keep an eye on food miles, quietly judging strawberries that have travelled further than you have this year.For me, one thing I’ve always been particular about is eggs. I love hens; their curiosity and their oddly distinct personalities, so I always buy free-range. I like the idea of t...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Spilt Milk Politics

Ireland has the solutions; what it lacks is a government prepared to back them.The recent decision to extend the nitrates derogation, essentially a pollution exemption for intensive dairy farming, lays bare the failing state of this government and its ongoing refusal to invest meaningfully in the country’s long-term resilience.The Lowry coalition hasn’t delivered for the people of Ireland. It has delivered for the vested interests whose short-term gain demands a long-term cost paid by everyone e...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Tiny Canons

One of life’s great joys is walking through a grass field. The softness beneath your feet and vibing with the fresh air, it’s a practice that’s been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and calm your nervous system. Maybe it’s some deep-rooted cave-person instinct, but few things feel more grounding than wandering through a field. I’ve never dared go fully barefoot, mostly because my feet are permanent ice-blocks, a perfect model of homeostasis for something that’s about to keel. Still, I’ve always...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Finding Ground

Recently, someone asked me what I would say about returning to study something in the environmental field. I produced a flurry of half-thoughts and promptly forgot every coherent idea I’ve ever had. So here is the version I should have given: a semi-scholarly, semi-chaotic account of my own return to study. I offer it in the hope that it might offer a little clarity and reassurance to anyone considering taking a similar leap.Over the past few months, I’ve been settling into my PhD, I’ve found my...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Raising Railways

Last weekend I visited my lovely friend Tess in Bournemouth and was reminded just how much I love to travel. I absolutely adore the weightless feeling of it, having everything in a backpack and being engulfed by the new sights, smells and adventures that new cities promise. I had a blast. Tess brought me to the seaside like I was a Victorian Londoner recovering from consumption, like we were Jo and Beth in Little Women. We visited the Russell Coates museum (would recommend) and also consumed man...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Blackbird's Poet

Everyone carries their own superstitions, from not walking under ladders to blessing themselves when they pass a graveyard. Mine is that the blackbird is sacred. When I see one hopping through the grass, I take it as a sign of good luck. When I see one dead, I brace myself for misfortune. The blackbird, or lon dubh as Gaeilge, is one of the most widespread garden birds, easily identified as the males have black plumage and yellow bills, while the females are a less distinctive speckled brown, li...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Paying for Life

One of the most pressing challenges of our time is how we respond to the mounting crisis of biodiversity loss.Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet including animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms that weave together to sustain balance and life itself. It is the foundation of everything we depend on like food, clean water and shelter.However, this fabric is fraying. Almost a third of EU-protected habitats are now in unfavourable condition.In Ireland, over half of our native plant sp...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Land Calls Again

Irish historical figures like Connolly, Ceannt, Plunkett and Pearse have lived on in the national consciousness, to a point where we all feel our own personal relationship with them.We have all studied fragments of the fight for Irish freedom in its many iterations, from the Battle of the Boyne, the flight of the Wild Geese or the signing of treaties. We move through streets where battles were fought and arrive in train stations named after signatories.Growing up in Tipperary, it is impossible n...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Lavender's Light

I think Autumn is my favourite season. I love dusting off my favourite leather boots that have my feet imprinted, putting back on my favourite winter coat and returning to night classes. I adore how rich the colours appear in the low sun, the smell of cinnamon, newly unwrapped copybooks, and crisp mornings. Music sounds sharper, the sunlight is golden, and there’s an intoxicating feeling of hope on the horizon. The world is at its best. While September is the dawn of new beginnings, it can also...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The First Teachers

This week I’m reflecting on an anecdote shared by the late Jane Goodall. She delivered it during a talk at the Brooklyn Museum.While undertaking her PhD in Cambridge and conducting studies in Tanzania, she was scolded by her professor for giving the chimps names. She was told it was more scientific to number them and that one could not speak of their personalities, minds, or emotions, as these qualities were said to be unique to humans.Jane said: “I had animals when I was young, and Rusty, my do...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Budget 2026 Must Secure Our Future

Budget 2026 could be the landmark turning point for Ireland taking ownership on climate and nature action.The backdrop is stark, as 2025 has been a bruising year for the Irish environment. Reports are mounting that highlight systematic inaction by the government is heightening the escalating crises.The European Environment Agency recently concluded that Irish nature is in a “very poor” state, with economic growth coming at the expense of our ecosystems.The Environmental Protection Agency confirm...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

The People’s Parks

Have you ever gone out for a long walk and returned with a sense of clarity? I love the sense of purpose that comes with being outdoors, especially when hiking. I crave times when all I have to focus on is placing one foot after another and surrendering to whatever mountain has decided to humble me that day.If I can manage to fit a hike into the week, everything else suddenly feels more manageable, or at very least, less likely to make me want to throw my laptop out the window.I’ve often brought...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Knowing Nettles

When was the last time you were stung by a nettle?It’s a fairly harmless question, but it might reveal how far we’ve drifted from noticing the world beneath our feet.In an age when ecosystems are under serious pressure, some argue that humanity’s survival may depend on our capacity to understand and live in harmony with nature.Lately, I’ve been thinking about eco-literacy, which is our ability to read and learn from the natural world. If our existence depends on learning more about what grows ar...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

Where the Stations Sleep

It all started with a fifteen-minute train ride from my small apartment in Flemingsberg to central Stockholm. Hurtling past the snow-covered streets and morning commuters, that train ride reshaped my perspective on transport. The train has always been my favourite way to travel, and I’ve explored Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway by rail.But I’m no Francis Bourgeois. I can’t name train models and I don’t stand by tracks to watch them pass. What interests me isn’t the trains themselves, but how...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

Until the Cows Come Home

As a journalist, one of my biggest frustrations was how agriculture was treated as a niche topic. It was always difficult to pitch farming stories, as they were considered not to appeal to a Dublin audience. We’ve all seen the familiar setup of an IFA representative pitted against an environmentalist, with a host floundering to keep the discussion on track. This format only reinforces the tired narrative of persecuted farmers under siege from ignorant city slickers, while genuine, solutions-focu...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

When the Birds Don’t Follow the Plough

At the beginning of this summer, I started research for my master’s thesis on the challenges facing organic tillage farmers. From as long as I can remember, I have loved walking fields with my dogs. A lot of land around me is tillage, and I find the thrill of the harvest intoxicating, from the first preparation of washing the combine in mid-spring, to dinners served out of the boot of a car after a day of baling, and even the feeling of chaff in my socks.Although I circle fields daily with my d...