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daronw.bsky.social
Restoration #ecologist, #gardener, and lover of all things natural. I can often be found exploring our 3 acres with my wife and kids. Or watching #StarTrek. I'm also an #Autistic person striving to teach non-autistic people empathy and how to communicate 🏳️‍⚧️
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I ran an aquatic macroinvertebrate workshop today for a local stream team event. Went great and we had over 20 people attend including a bunch of very excited kids who loved looking for "bugs"! Based on the types we found, the water quality at the river was good. Lots of stoneflies! 🌎 🧪

submitted 11 hours ago • 2 comments

this is an act of unspeakable violence. it benefits no one, it doesn’t move a number on a balance sheet. it only guarantees that every one of these incarcerated transgender people will be tortured.

submitted 15 hours ago • 100 comments

Share a character who didn't deserve their fate #startrek

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

One way to support #actuallyautistic people is to listen when we tell you what we need. Even if it seems minor to you. I just got an accommodation at work to not need to carpool. This gives me space to prepare to be social or space to retreat to. Small to you can be huge for #autistic people.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Devils club! This is a native plant (Oplopanax horridus) found here in western Washington and other places in North America. This time of year all we see are the woody stems with these nasty thorns. I was out doing field work when I spotted this after I almost grabbed it--that would have been bad! 🌱

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

Last week's Autistic Nature article was all about aquatic macroinvertebrates and their relationships with salmon. I focused on the "bugs" but there are also freshwater mussels like this Western ridged mussel (Gonidea angulata). These rely on fish like salmon to survive. 🌎 - 🧵

submitted 1 day ago • 3 comments

ICYMI, last week we published an interactive map of more than $300 billion worth of Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law funding. Enter your ZIP code or city and a search radius and find projects in your area: grist.org/accountabili...

submitted 2 days ago • 26 comments

This week's Autistic Nature article is all about why and how to use logs and branches to create homes for wildlife. Nature is messy -- all those logs and rocks provide homes for wildlife. If you clear it all, then you are removing homes for frogs, salamanders and other wildlife. 🌎 🌱

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

This is where I always park my work truck. It is always empty. This is likely because it can be hard to park in (backing up is best). It is between a wall and a big post. But this means I always get it, and I always have space. Just feels so great to always have a spot to use. #actuallyautistic

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

Sometimes when salvaging native plants from development sites I run out of containers. Luckily, damp leaves and a sword fern leaf makes a great little bag. Used this technique to salvage this little native rattlesnake plantain. 🌱 🌎

submitted 2 days ago • 3 comments

Very cool velvet worm! And great contest in New Zealand to help people learn more about bugs. 🌎 www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

DOGE has nothing to do with efficiency or cost saving. It is about gutting the Federal government and giving more power and money to rich people. The first big bill the House is moving forward has huge tax cuts for the wealthy. Continuing the transfer of wealth from the majority to the wealthy.

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

NEW: You may have seen that screenshot of a program for students with disabilities transitioning to adulthood being canceled under the Trump administration. The real story is so much deeper. 1/

submitted 3 days ago • 7 comments

Hi bunny! These eastern cottontails aren't native here and are troublemakers in our garden. But they are also cute... 🌱

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

Watched the 2 part episode of Star Trek Enterprise where they fight Nazis in the United States. Next is the Voyager episode where they fight Nazis on the holodeck. Aliens and Nazis in both cases, but still a good way to relax given the news these days.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

It's amazing how interconnected everything in nature is. Predators affect the populations of prey and their behavior. The reverse is also true (Canada lynx and artic hares as a classic example). And these relations also impact the plants and the land. A healthy world is complex and interconnected 🌎

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Snowdrops! A fun little sign that spring is on its way! 🌱

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

One more share showing the habitat features together and what the area used to look like. It's winter so the trees don't have leaves, but there are small cottonwoods and vine maples along the far side of the wetland. Plus new livestakes (willows) in the water. 🌎 🌱

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Habitat feature for wildlife like salamanders (and lots of others!) from start to finish! 🌎 🌱

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

I finished building a habitat feature over the weekend! I made this to function similarly to a tree that has fallen across a stream. It provides homes for lots of critters, can serve as a nurse log, and slows the flow of water. I'm working on a new one just upstream of this one. 🌱 🌎

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment