UK Nature and Environment

Arriving at the Kidbrooke Village housing development in Greenwich on a morning in early spring, the first thing you notice is the sound of birdsong and the scent of blossom. Geese are gently honking in the distance.

This was once the Ferrier estate, a postwar housing estate that was demolished in 2009 to regenerate the area.

Now the grey, harsh concrete has been replaced by redbrick blocks that sit in a “green corridor” linking Sutcliffe Park in the south with the nature reserves at Kidbrooke Green and London Wildlife Trust’s Birdbrook in the north. Many of the flats overlook new ponds and the expanded wetland of the River Quaggy, which used to flood, putting local businesses and property at risk. While some planning applications elsewhere have been halted because the developers did not survey for bats or consider rare newts, this development has incorporated nature throughout, with bat boxes hanging from trees, and wetlands for newts directly next to the blocks of flats.

A council leader has said an investigation into a cyanide spill in Walsall Canal cannot result in just "measly words".

Leader of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Garry Perry said the ongoing Environment Agency (EA) probe of events at Anachrome Ltd, the firm to which the spill was traced, needed to lead to a comprehensive conclusion.

"We always talk about lessons being learnt but they are only learnt if actions are taken that are meaningful to prevent it happening again," he said.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s vision to restore habitats and rewild spaces for people and nature across the Trent Valley in Derbyshire has galloped ahead following the success of the Call of the Wild project.

The project, kickstarted with almost £330,000 in funding from the National Highways Network for Nature Programme, has reinstated the actions of missing wild herbivores across six sites managed by the Trust. The aim being to create, restore and connect spaces for nature, and encourage wildlife to thrive.

The wetlands and low grassland along the River Trent currently provide some habitat for wildlife, but represent a significant opportunity to create a richer ecosystem for the species that depend on them.

Fewer starlings than ever have been spotted by participants in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, raising fears for their numbers.

The bird conservation charity is urging Britain’s gardeners to keep their lawns wild by not cutting them too often, and to avoid the use of pesticides, which reduce the number of insects to eat and can poison birds.

Sparrows remained top of the chart of birds seen by the 600,000 people in the UK who took part in the survey, followed by the blue tit and the wood pigeon. The starling fell to fourth for the first time since the annual survey started in 1979.

Why did the toad cross the road? To get to the other side, of course. But also, to reproduce.

Nearly 4,000 toads, frogs and newts have been rescued as they tried to cross one of only five roads closed for the migration season in the UK each year to reach a breeding lake on the other side.

The patrol of Charlcombe Lane, near Bath, has recorded more than 50,000 toads, frogs and newts in the last 22 years on a half-mile stretch.

The project at the 292-hectare (721-acre) High Fen site in Methwold, Norfolk, is being undertaken by a private company called Nattergal.

It will be paid for by selling units of biodiversity net gain (BNG) to developers whose projects fail to meet a government target to boost nature.

Matt Hay, natural capital project manager at Nattergal, said the company used private investment to buy degraded land - unsuitable for agriculture - and restore it.

A conservation project has secured nearly £100,000 towards removing every hedgehog from a group of islands in the Western Isles.

The animals are not native to the Hebrides and are blamed for eating the eggs of ground-nesting birds, causing severe declines of several species.

A new project - Saving Uist Nature (SUN) - would trap hedgehogs in South Uist and Benbecula and release them on mainland Scotland.

More than 125,000 wildflowers were planted and 159 acres (64 hectares) of grasslands have been restored in two years, a wildlife trust has said.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust said more than 1,000 volunteers had "tirelessly worked" on several projects across the region from April 2023 to March 2025.

Wildflower seeds were sown in places including road verges, farmlands, burial grounds and cycle routes in areas including Eden, the Lake District and South Cumbria.

Spring has arrived and the search for Scotland’s elusive oil beetles is on! Conservation charity, Buglife Scotland, is calling for public help to find these fascinating creatures.

Since launching in 2023, Buglife’s Scottish Oil Beetle Hunt has gathered over 300 records, with more than 100 coming through the Species on the Edge partnership programme, leading to exciting new Scottish oil beetle discoveries.

“New sites for oil beetles are found every year, and every record helps us better understand these amazing beetles,” says Sally Morris, Buglife Species on the Edge Conservation Officer. “Have you spotted a shiny black beetle that might be an oil beetle? Send us a photo and help us learn more about these charismatic beetles in Scotland.”

The heads of 32 UK nature organisations have written to the government warning that the planning bill “throws environmental protection to the wind”.

The planning and infrastructure bill, which is at committee stage in parliament, aims to streamline regulations for developers so they can speed up their projects.

Nature bosses have written to the environment and housing secretaries warning that the bill is “one-sided” and could allow developers to ignore environmental protections.

Prymnesium algal blooms can occur on the Broads and produce toxins that threaten fish stocks, local biodiversity, and East Anglia’s thriving angling industry, which contributes more than £100 million annually to the local economy.

The golden algae Prymnesium parvum is therefore of significant research interest to prevent environmental incidents and associated fish mortalities from occurring.

Researchers at UEA are working to better understand the environmental, chemical and biological conditions that trigger these Prymnesium blooms and find solutions to prevent their harmful impact.

The Scottish government has used a legal power for the first time to force the owners of a Highland estate to cull red deer on their land.

The compulsory deer management control scheme could see Scotland's nature agency, NatureScot, step in to reduce numbers of the animals on Loch Choire Estate in Sutherland.

There are concerns grazing by deer is damaging mossy peatland called blanket bog at four sites of special scientific interest (SSSI).

Water quality along the stretch of the River Thames which will host the iconic Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has been classified as poor by clean water campaigners, as a result of E coli from sewage pollution.

Testing carried out along the four-mile route, which the university rowing teams will tackle on Sunday, has revealed E coli levels which are three times above the threshold for poor bathing water status.

When a site is classified as “poor”, the Environment Agency advises against bathing due to the risk to human health.

Wildlife conservation charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is calling for volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales to survey for water voles this spring as part of ongoing national efforts to save this endearing yet endangered species before it’s too late.

Emily Luck, Water Vole Officer at People’s Trust for Endangered Species explains: “Water voles hold the unfortunate title of Britain’s fastest declining mammal and are listed as Endangered on the Red List for Britain’s Mammals, reflecting the seriousness of their decline. Since the 1970s populations have plummeted by an alarming 90% because of habitat loss, fragmentation, and predation from non-native American mink.”

“Water voles desperately need our help, but thankfully people in all corners of Britain can do just that by surveying a nearby stream, river, ditch or canal between 15th April – 15th June and telling us what they find. The results show how populations are changing, where water voles remain and where they’ve been lost. This is crucial as it allows us to understand how we can help by restoring degraded rivers, improving connectivity between wetlands and controlling invasive American mink.”

Cornwall Wildlife Trust says the spate of recent moorland and heath fires is having a "serious impact" on wildlife.

It comes after a number of fires on moorland near Millpool, Temple, Bolventor and Blisland over the weekend.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said the fires were putting "unnecessary strain on already stretched resources".

Beavers that were reintroduced to a county for the first time in more than 400 years are "settling in really well", a conservationist said.

The large rodents were brought to a 17-hectare (42 acre) fenced enclosure at Rushden Lakes in Northamptonshire in February.

The family of eight, including adult female Boudicca, adult male Alan, and their six young, known as kits, were moved down from Scotland.

An "iconic" bird with a noticeable hairdo is on the red list for conservation after numbers have more than halved since 1967 - could farmers help bring them back?

Peewit is the traditional name for the northern lapwing, or green plover, or - if you like your Latin - Vanellus Vanellus, meaning little fan, a reference to the sound when it flies.

"It's very similar to their sound, their call. Peewit as they go off in the mornings," explained Sid Vincent, a gamekeeper working for a local farmer.

Europe’s first research station for the study of Atlantic temperate rainforest is set to be built beside an ancient wood in Cornwall.

The Thousand Year Trust charity is crowdfunding an initial amount to build the £750,000 facility, which will enable students and academics to study this historically overlooked but biodiverse natural habitat.

The research station, which has planning permission, will be built at Cabilla, a former Cornish hill farm on Bodmin Moor that has become a retreat centre and rainforest restoration project with a swath of ancient woodland at its heart.

The UK is known for its national parks: areas of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and crystal-clear streams and lakes. But research has shown that England’s most protected rivers are full of pharmaceuticals.

In episode one of a two-part series, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about the problem of chemical pollution in our waterways, and how it could be contributing to what the World Health Organization has described as ‘the silent pandemic’ – antimicrobial resistance.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has secured a vital conservation milestone, thanks to the extraordinary support of local residents.

Nearly 1,000 individuals rallied behind an urgent appeal, helping the trust secure a vital wildlife haven in the heart of the New Forest.

The newly acquired 11.1 hectares (28 acres) site of special scientific interest (SSSI) in the Lymington Valley expands the trust’s existing Lymington Reedbeds Nature Reserve.

Farmers fear they will no longer be able to afford to restore nature in England and reduce their carbon footprint after government funding for doing this was frozen.

The environment secretary, Steve Reed, recently announced that the sustainable farming incentive (SFI), which pays farmers for making space for nature on their land, would be paused and overhauled before June’s spending review. The scope of the scheme – and its budget – are being reassessed.

He is considering blocking farmers who make a lot of money from agriculture from applying for the scheme, which is part of a package of payments that replaced the EU’s common agricultural policy and paid land managers for the amount of land in their care, with the aim of paying farmers to look after nature, soil and other public goods, rather than simply for farming and owning land.

Researchers have found more than 100 unique chemical pollutants in two UK harbours, raising concerns about their impact on wildlife.

An analysis of seawater, seaweed and shellfish from Langstone and Chichester harbours found chemical pollutants surged more than 100-fold after sewage discharges.

Scientists found 105 unique pharmaceuticals, pesticides and illegal drugs.

Adders are coming out of hibernation on Cannock Chase but facing "daily disturbance" by people attempting to photograph the UK's only venomous snake.

Nearly three million people a year visit the area of outstanding natural beauty in Staffordshire.

Adders cannot hear and are sensitive to vibrations so they usually move on before humans get close, rangers said, but they could get surprised by dogs and bite in self-defence.

A wildfire that broke out on a protected area of lowland heath is likely to have killed bees, ground-nesting birds and other wildlife, rangers said.

Firefighters dealt with what they described as a "significantly large fire" on about three acres (1.2 hectares) of Gentleshaw Common Nature Reserve on Friday.

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) said, external "much wildlife will have been impacted".

Poole BID and Dorset Wildlife Trust have joined forces with an initiative to transform green spaces in Poole.

This collaboration involves replacing the traditional seasonal flowers in the town's three-tier planters with perennials to support pollinators and urban biodiversity.

Specific clusters of three-tier planters near the Custom House Bistro, the Lord Nelson Pub and Guildhall Gardens have been designed to meet the requirements for the Wildlife Friendly Space Award from Dorset Wildlife Trust.