UK Nature and Environment

Torbay has about 52 hectares of the wetland habitat, external which is at risk due to leisure crafts causing damage while anchoring, the Wild Planet Trust said.

It has set up the Seagrass Champions project to raise awareness of the meadows and wants businesses to get involved.

The charity said seagrass meadows store more carbon per area than tropical rainforests, provide nursery grounds for commercial fish species, help prevent coastal erosion and support marine biodiversity.

A project to boost biodiversity by building nest boxes into new homes is celebrating ten years of success.

The Duchy of Cornwall has been working with the RSPB since 2014 to incorporate the boxes into the walls of its developments.

The initiative aims to enhance wildlife across its communities and inspire other new developments to do the same.

So far, 1,289 integrated nest boxes have been installed at the Duchy's projects in Nansledan and Tregunnel Hill in Newquay, Trevethow Riel in Truro, and Poundbury in Dorset.

During toad migration season, the animals come out of hibernation and cross Litlington Road in the Cuckmere Valley.

They are aiming for freshwater to spawn, and volunteers from the East Sussex village of Litlington say they want to help them get there safely.

Penny Aeberhard is behind the organised patrol that is now running, although she says she has been told people have been helping toads across for a long time.

A CHARITY has asked the public to help spot the signs of a 'fussy animal' that could potentially be in decline in Worcestershire.

The Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is encouraging people to record sightings of toad spawn in the county after sightings of toads 'decreased significantly' in 2024.

Toad numbers in the county are down by more than 68 percent in Worcestershire since the 1970's due to droughts and drier conditions.

A Ringed Seal was recently photographed in Forth, marking a rare appearance of this Arctic pinniped in Britain.

The animal was seen in the Firth of Forth near Skinflats Lagoons on 15 February, with the images posted on Facebook – but no subsequent sightings have been made.

Ringed Seal is a wide-ranging species, throughout the Arctic, where it is often the commonest species of seal. It breeds on pack ice. Inland populations are found in Finland and Russia.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said it was alerted to the incident at 13:00 on Thursday and mobilised its large whale disentanglement team.

The adult whale was spotted by a local drone operator who shared their video footage with the specialist team.

The BDMLR attempted to take a closer look at the whale, however the wind and sea conditions made it impossible to approach safely.

Bird groups have recorded a 66% reduction in breeding swifts across the UK in the last 30 years.

However Ballyclare is one location which is stepping up to help preserve the "Bird of the Borough," with a call for people in the area to get involved by hosting nesting boxes., external

One local expert has said "it will take time, but work is well underway".

Swifts are warm weather birds, arriving from late April, before making the 3,400 mile trip back to Africa from early August.

The conservation charity said it aimed to create 21 hectares of new woodland, the equivalent of ten football pitches, at Hayhills Farm, Silsden, which has been marketed as including 21 hectares of meadow and pasture, as well as 4.9 hectares of mixed mature woodland.

Eventually it is aimed that the site will feature more than 30,000 native trees, including species such as sessile oak, wild cherry, silver birch and rowan. In addition, another five hectares of rare ancient woodland will be restored, enhancing biodiversity in an area with some of the lowest tree cover in the UK.

The trust said the farm’s “prime location” near the popular Millennium Way walking route meant pathways would connect the woodland to the trail, “making it an ideal spot for walkers, families and nature enthusiasts to explore and enjoy”.

Scotland’s most comprehensive seagrass planting programme has been launched to help restore nature in seas around the country.

The £2.4 million project aims to plant 14 hectares of seagrass, described as a wonder plant, over the next three years.

Seagrasses are often likened to rainforests because they provide food and shelter for thousands of species, but they have been declining globally since the 1930s with an estimated 7% of seagrass meadows being lost every year.

A rare lichen has been reintroduced to its historical habitat of East Anglia – with the help of some bookbinding glue.

Scrambled egg lichen, so named for its bright yellow, crumbly appearance, was once common in the Breckland region of Norfolk and Suffolk but was last seen there in 1994.

It is thought to have become extinct due to habitat loss resulting from changes in farming, an increase in tree cover and a drop in the number of rabbits.

Chris Jones, a beef farmer, is very proud of his beavers. “They are just extraordinary,” he says.

Since releasing a couple into an enclosure on his Cornwall farm in 2017, he says they have saved it from drought, prevented flooding in the nearby village, boosted the local economy and even improved oyster beds in Falmouth Bay.

The rodents, which were hunted to extinction in England hundreds of years ago for their fur and oil, were once a common feature of our rivers. They may soon be again, after the government announced on Friday it would approve the first wild beaver releases in England for hundreds of years.

Uninterrupted skies, rolling hills and rugged fells. With its spectacular views, it’s easy to see why the UK’s countryside has been celebrated by so many famous poets and artists throughout history.

But these lands aren’t just home to breathtaking beauty spots. When managed with nature in mind, farmland hedgerows, hay meadows and woodlands can all hum with life.

With the light lingering in the evening for longer, March is the perfect time to head outdoors. As birds make their return to breeding grounds, here are six birds you could see on a country jaunt:

Conservationists have recorded the highest ever numbers of woodlark, a protected species of ground nesting bird, in the New Forest. A survey by Forestry England and Hampshire Ornithological Society volunteers has revealed that numbers of these birds, only typically found in southern and eastern parts of the UK, have increased by over 50% in the last five years.

Around 100 volunteers surveyed 300 square kilometres of the New Forest to record woodlark numbers. They counted a total of 260 breeding pairs, a big increase from the 167 recorded in the same survey in 2019. This makes the New Forest one of the UK’s most important locations for this species with around 10% of the population estimated to be found here.

The New Forest is a Special Protection Area for birds and the survey, funded by the Verderers of the New Forest Higher Level Stewardship Scheme, was carried out to help assess the impact of Forestry England’s work to boost the number of birds successfully breeding here. Over the last 15 years, the organisation has returned large areas of forest to heathland to create more of the habitat relied upon by many rare and protected birds and other types of wildlife.

A “people’s commission” on the future of the water industry will travel across England and Wales taking evidence from the public and environmental campaign groups fighting sewage pollution.

Academics and environmental campaigners who were central to exposing the routine dumping of raw sewage into rivers by water companies have set up the inquiry to rival the government-established independent commission.

Members include the former Undertones frontman and campaigner Feargal Sharkey, Becky Malby, who was responsible for a stretch of the River Wharfe in Ilkley becoming the first to be given bathing water status, Kate Bayliss, an academic who has investigated how private equity has taken over large parts of English water firms, and Ewan McGaughey, a professor of law at King’s College London.

The plan, published four months after the UN deadline, sets out how the UK will meet its obligations under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

The GBF, often described as the “Paris Agreement for nature,” was adopted at COP15 in 2022 with the ambitious goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. It has 23 supporting targets covering issues ranging from unlocking nature finance to enhancing corporate reporting requirements.

Countries were required to submit their updated NBSAPs under the GBF by the start of COP16 in October 2024, held in Cali, Colombia. However, as of February 26, 2025, three-quarters of nations, including biodiversity-rich Brazil and COP17 host Armenia, had yet to publish their plans.

Figures show 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees in the UK since records began.

Bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The researchers said the drop was probably due to the cold and wet conditions in the UK last spring.

According to the Met Office, many areas of the country experienced more than double, and in some cases triple, the usual amount of rainfall for the time of year in March, April and May.

A council has reaffirmed its opposition to badger culling as a means of eradicating bovine tuberculosis (TB).

Oxfordshire County Council last year voted to end badger culling on council-owned land.

Lib Dem and Green councillors had branded the practice as "inhumane" while opposition councillors said it could be effective in tackling bovine TB.

A new scientific study using the latest technology has counted 2,300 more seals on a stretch of beach - and could go on to help conservation efforts.

Volunteers on the ground counted 6,200 seals along a 8km (4.9-mile) run of shoreline around Winterton-on-Sea in Norfolk.

But more than 8,500 seals were counted by drone cameras and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

On 24th February, the Water (Special Measures) Act received Royal Assent – officially enshrining it in law.

The Water (Special Measures) Act was created to strengthen and add to existing legislation surrounding water companies. It was intended to address “poor performance from water companies”, including “poor financial management, water pollution, and outcomes for customers”.

The Water (Special Measures) Act, which applies in England and Wales, covers four key areas:

1. A provision which would enable the Government and regulators to block bonuses for water company executives
2. A provision which would enable criminal charges to be passed against water companies which persistently break the law
3. A provision which would impose automatic, “severe” fines for rule breakers
4. A provision to ensure the monitoring of emergency sewage overflows

Essex Wildlife Trust, RSPB and Harwich Haven Authority have joined together to deliver a two-year project to protect coastal communities from flooding, alongside creating habitat for key wildlife species. The project is part of a £25-million programme funded by the Environment Agency.

Together, the partners will be delivering the Blackwater Estuary Beneficial Use of Dredged Sediment (BUDS) Natural Flood Management (NFM) project commencing later this year.

The process involves using material dredged by Harwich Haven Authority as part of their regular maintenance of the channel to Felixstowe port and recycling sediment that would typically be disposed of at sea. BUDS allows the sediment to be recycled back into nature, creating natural replenished sediment beaches in the estuary. These sand and gravel banks will act as coastal buffers for flooding and mitigate coastal erosion.

A RARE type of red kite has been spotted, with only ten believed to exist in the whole world.

Wildlife photographer of over 30 years, Liam Bruce, said he is always looking for something "rare or out of the ordinary", and on a recent visit to Gigrin Farm in Rhyader, he was presented with just that.

Mr Bruce spotted a leucistic or white red kite which is "very rare" and it is believed that there are only ten in the whole world.

A deadly virus that kills endangered red squirrels may have been discovered further north than ever before, sparking alarm of a "major" threat to the iconic Scots species.

Cases of lethal squirrelpox are suspected in two sick-looking and lethargic red squirrels who were spotted in Mine Wood, Bridge of Allan, north of Stirling. Now, locals are being urged to remain vigilant and take emergency action to remove all wildlife feeders in a bid to prevent further spread.

If confirmed, it will be the furthest north the deadly disease - spread by the reds’ grey squirrel cousins - has ever travelled, raising extinction fears for the rare Scots creatures. Scotland’s native red squirrels are at risk of wipeout from invading greys brought over from America during the Victorian era as they carry the squirrelpox bug.

Moorlands in East Lancashire that have been ravaged by wildfires in recent years are set to be rejuvenated thanks to a new recovery scheme.

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust, United Utilities and a host of other partners have come together to develop a Landscape Recovery Scheme.

The scheme aims to rejuvenate almost 7,000 hectares, which equates to around 27 square miles, of the West Pennine Moors, including around landmarks including Darwen Tower.

In 1985 the number of breeding pairs of stone-curlews had reduced to fewer than 150 nationwide, with about a third based in eastern England.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) started attempts to increase their numbers that year by conserving, restoring and creating nesting habitats in Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Its conservation officer Tim Cowan said there were now 226 breeding pairs locally, which he described as "remarkable".