I have a lot of respect for scientists. But even scientists make mistakes, or look foolish, sometimes. And who doesn’t love a story in which the joke is on the main protagonist? Well, that’s what French illustrator, Jim Jourdane, is all about with his brand new book Fieldwork Fail. It’s about ‘the messy side of science’. And, boy, do some scientists get into the weirdest, most fascinating scrapes! I first met Jim in October last year, at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in southeastern Peru. Bespectacled, soft-spoken, and unflappable, he was there as guest instructor of the annual Tropical Ecology and Field Techniques Course, to help connect Peruvian students to science - through art. But

Ivory is not art. Except when it graces a living elephant. But vegetable ivory? That’s a different matter. Yep, you read that right. According to Wikipedia, “vegetable ivory is a product made from the very hard white endosperm of the seeds of certain palm trees.” Six species of palm trees, to be precise, belonging to the genus Phytelephas (“elephant plant”) and occurring in South America. In Peru, the local name for the palm tree is ‘yarina’ (Phytelephas macrocarpa). The pebble-sized palm ‘nuts’ are harvested manually, or collected from the ground after forest animals have gnawed away the pericarp. The seed itself has a veined, rich brown, outer layer and a cream, off-white, or ivory coloure

Conservation. Optimism. Two great words in themselves, but in combination they are compelling, even startling. When I heard talk of a Conservation Optimism Summit in London I was immediately intrigued. This came at a time when I was feeling pretty low (again) about the latest news regarding climate change, coral bleaching, the illegal trade in wildlife, and ocean trash. Nature’s problems seemed insurmountable. I tried hard to tap reserves of hope within myself – they had never let me down before – but came up empty. I felt lost. So I registered for the conference. Fast forward several months. It’s Earth Day and my brother is driving us from London to Dartmoor National Park where my parents l