UK Nature and Environment

Communities across Scotland are transforming parks, hospital grounds and community gardens into nature-friendly spaces to help bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects, according to a new report by NatureScot.

The seventh Pollinator Strategy Progress Report details the work being done by individuals, local authorities, environmental groups, researchers and particularly community groups across the country in support of the Pollinator Strategy for Scotland.

Pollinators are vital for our biodiversity and play a critical role in our food and farming industries, but their populations face challenges due to land use intensification, habitat loss, diseases, pesticides and climate change.

Otters have made a return at a nature restoration project in Hampshire – the first confirmed sightings in the spot for more than 70 years.

A mother otter and pup have been spotted at Ewhurst Park, a 925-acre former shooting estate bought in 2020 by environmentalist and former model, Mandy Lieu, who has set about restoring it into an “edible landscape” for nature and sustainable food production.

The team at Ewhurst said they had captured footage on wildlife cameras showing the mother and pup playing, swimming, scent marking and using bark from a fallen tree to groom their fur.

An improvement in freshwater biodiversity in England’s rivers was linked to reductions in pollution of zinc and copper, largely due to the decline of coal burning and heavy industry, say researchers.

Invertebrates are used as an important measure of a river’s biodiversity and health, and Environment Agency data show there was a widespread, significant increase in species richness across England in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, there has been little significant further improvement since then.

Therefore, a team of scientists led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) looked for the possible reasons for this, using statistical modelling to investigate a wide range of different chemical and physical factors, such as temperature, river flow and landscape.

With significant long-term declines in UK butterfly abundance1, the desire to help by improving private gardens for butterflies and other wildlife has grown rapidly. While there is an abundance of advice from organisations and individuals, few wildlife-friendly gardening practices have been tested scientifically2. A recent study by Butterfly Conservation scientists, Dr Lisbeth Hordley and Dr Richard Fox, set out to provide robust evidence to underpin two commonly recommended practices, allowing grass to grow long and having flowering Ivy in the garden.

Previous research has found that particular garden features, such as the presence of trees and ponds, can increase insect biodiversity. For example, butterfly abundance and species richness positively correlate with a garden quality index derived from 17 different wildlife-friendly features in UK gardens3. More specifically, several studies have shown that flowering plants influence garden visits by butterflies4 and other pollinators5. It has also been demonstrated that garden size and the surrounding landscape can be important influences on the insect communities found in gardens6.

The new Butterfly Conservation research, published in Science of the Total Environment7, used six years of citizen science data from nearly 650 well-recorded UK gardens from the Garden Butterfly Survey. First, the researchers showed that despite a simple, non-standardised design, the Garden Butterfly Survey provides reliable estimates of abundance for butterflies that are commonly recorded in gardens. They also found significant correlations with garden size and the surrounding landscape; butterfly abundance and/or relative species richness were greater in larger gardens and in gardens with larger proportions of woodland and arable farmland in the immediate area, while the amount of urban land-use (which includes other houses and gardens) in the vicinity had a negative impact.

Five of the UK's oldest breed of pony have been reintroduced to the Surrey countryside.

The young Exmoor ponies have been released at Hindhead Commons and Devil's Punch Bowl, which is popular with hikers.

The project is part of the National Trust's conservation efforts in the area.

A wildlife trust has joined forces with 215 local councillors to protect chalk streams.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the councillors have sent an open letter to the Government, urging for stronger protections for these streams in planning policy.

This comes after reports that the Government has shelved the Chalk Stream Recovery Pack, an initiative to protect these habitats.

People are being urged to join the search for one of Scotland’s smallest species – a moth just a few millimetres long – to help save it from UK extinction.

The tiny Highland nymph, which is also nicknamed the Alpine coffee moth because of its cappuccino colours and its habitat in the mountains, is on the edge of extinction in Britain in the face of dwindling habitat.

The species, which is found in the Alps and Scandinavia and was only recorded in the UK for the first time in 1983, lives on two species of mountain willows, where its caterpillars eat the inside of leaves.

A beetle that has previously devastated Norway spruce populations across continental Europe has been found to be equally attracted to the Sitka spruce, a finding experts say could have significant implications for commercial forestry.

The eight-toothed European spruce bark beetle has now been found in the UK, raising fears for the Sitka, which accounts for a quarter of Britain’s forest cover and half its commercial forestry plantations.

Researchers said they did not know initially whether the insect would be as attracted to the Sitka spruce.

“London is a green city, but we can definitely do more,” says Wilder director Leanne Werner, adding that “people do want to see more green spaces”.

Leanne was previously a Labour councillor for Southwark and has also worked for the charity sector.

In her past work, she previously chaired a commission looking at how to reduce air pollution. She began reading more about the biodiversity and ecological emergency – “and how we’re at a checkpoint”.

A nature reserve is to be expanded after a "spectacular" fundraising appeal saved fields from a potential housing development.

Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) launched a bid to raise £54,000 to buy land near its Rainton Meadows reserve in Houghton-le-Spring in June last year and smashed the target within a week.

The money helped unlock a £540,000 Biffa award from the government's Landfill Communities Fund and in March the trust will take over ownership of the fields.

Reintroducing wolves in the Scottish Highlands could lead to an expansion of native woodland which could take in and store one million tonnes of CO2 per year, environmental researchers have suggested.

A study led by researchers at the University of Leeds said reintroducing the species into the Cairngorms, south-west, north-west and central Highlands could help curb the problem of red deer eating tree saplings, which stops natural woodland regeneration.

The researchers estimate that if wolves were reintroduced, a population of around 167 of the animals would thrive, which they say is enough to reduce red deer populations to a level that would allow trees to regenerate naturally.

S

Sinking into nature comes easy at the Plock of Kyle. I visit this tiny wedge of parkland on the west coast of Scotland, just across the bridge from the Isle of Skye, on a rainy day in late September, and park ranger Heather Beaton and I spend the afternoon wandering around its various ecosystems-in-miniature.

We clamber over rocks at one of its little hidden natural harbours. We freeze as black darter dragonflies land on her pink shoe by a pond. And we bend to peer at circles of huge mushrooms which have sprung up overnight in its tiny woodland.

A wildflower meadow, ponds, scrub habitat, coastline and even an area of peat bog can be found on this little 60-acre (24-hectare) plot, which boasts roe deer, otters, lizards, eels and a huge array of insects and birds. "We do describe it as a microcosm of Scotland," says Beaton. "If you think of all of the major habitats of Scotland, we've got them here on the Plock, just in miniature." It's an impression she works to cultivate. "The more little pockets we have, the more chance a person has to... end up having a nature experience," she says.

An exotic crab has been found in British waters for the first time after travelling 4,000 miles across the Atlantic on a piece of polystyrene.

The short-spined hairy crab was found on Chesil Beach, near Weymouth, Dorset by naturalist Steve Trewhella.

The animal is usually found in warm waters such as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico but was washed up in the UK on a polystyrene shellfish buoy from Florida Keys.

With a surge of humpback whale sightings in January and February, and World Whale Day on Sunday 16th February, let’s take a closer look at some of the incredible whale species that visit our waters.

Whales are some of the most majestic and awe-inspiring creatures on Earth. And we have more in common than you might think. Just like us, they’re mammals, meaning they breathe air and nurse their young with milk. Some species even display culture and emotion - such as orcas seen wearing salmon as "hats" or whales appearing to grieve for family members. Highly intelligent, they use clicks and sounds to communicate, navigate, and hunt. But these incredible animals face serious threats, including vehicle collisions, overfishing, and pollution.

Alexandra Bulgakova, our Seasearch Data Analyst said: “World Whale Day serves as a timely reminder of the incredible role whales play in maintaining the health of our ocean.

People on the Isle of Man have been encouraged to join organised beach cleans ahead of nesting season to help to protect chicks from plastic pollution.

Beach Buddies founder Bill Dale said volunteers would concentrate their efforts on beaches "where thousands of seabirds lay their eggs each year".

He said evidence suggested rubbish left on the beach could be "mistaken by birds for food, which can then be fed to their chicks".

A group of celebrities have written an open letter to restaurant chain Nando's asking for proof that it is not contributing to pollution in the River Wye.

Actor and river conservationist Jim Murray is one of the group that has signed the letter, which accuses one of the restaurant's suppliers of dumping waste into the river.

Murray said the restaurant must do more to prove its environmental credentials.

Nandos denies polluting the river and says its direct supplier has said that "no manure is spread, stored or otherwise disposed of" on any of the chicken farms it sources from.

Rare freshwater wildlife is making a remarkable comeback in the Brecks, thanks to an innovative collaboration between us and partners to rediscover and restore ancient Ice Age ponds.

Most ponds are man-made features, but in the Brecks there are some truly ancient ponds and depressions, often known collectively as ‘pingos’, which originated through natural glacial processes at the end of the last Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago. ‘Ghost’ pingos are pingos that have been filled in by humans, normally to facilitate larger scale agricultural production.

University College London (UCL), Norfolk Geodiversity Partnership and the Norfolk Ponds Project have been working with us to locate and re-excavate buried pingo ponds hidden beneath farmland. The project was part of the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership scheme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Stunning footage has been captured of a humpback whale breaching off the coast of Newquay.

The whale put on a spectacular show for about 35 minutes on Thursday, leaving onlookers in awe.

Ian Boreham, who filmed the breaches, described the experience as "absolutely incredible".

"It was quite a life experience, really, to see one of those," he said.

A wildlife expert says he is concerned about a sudden drop in sightings of porpoises on the north Wales coast.

Mick Green, manager of the Bardsey Marine Mammal Project - which monitors the marine mammals around Bardsey Island, Gwynedd - said fisheries and fishing nets could be the reason for the decline.

After using drones for the first time, the project's recent survey reported a 10% decline in the number of sightings of porpoises per hour.

New colonies of the UK's fastest declining mammal species have been discovered in the uplands of south Wales.

Usually found across riverbanks in Wales, water voles have now taken up habitat in the valleys, which could help prevent their local extinction.

Robert Parry, chief executive of the Initiative for Nature Conservation Cymru (INCC), described the discovery as "huge".

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, he said: "We didn't know they were up there, they're on the verge of extinction, we've been looking for them for decades."

To most people driving through the waterlogged fields of West Sussex, a patch of muddy land dotted with scrubby trees would not warrant a second glance. But this former farmland is being given a new lease of life as part of a government scheme to boost wildlife.

Ardingly habitat bank is one of the pilot sites for the biodiversity net gain (BNG) scheme. Under legislation that came into force in February 2024, new roads, houses and other building projects must achieve a 10% net gain in biodiversity if nature is damaged on a site. So if a forest is bulldozed to make way for a block of flats, the developer must recreate a similar habitat, plus 10%.

But there are concerns the policy may not achieve what it promised. One year in, an assessment suggests it has so far delivered less than half the minimum amount of habitat expected. Can it be made to work?

A contraption that skims litter from water has been put to the test in a city's river to check for microplastics.

The seabin was floated in the River Nene in Peterborough to extract debris, particularly microscopic particles which cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Similar to the way fish tank filtration works, the seabin contains a pump and traps anything floating in the water in a mesh bag, which can then be emptied and analysed for pollutants.

A rare fungus included in a list of the world's most threatened species has been discovered at a reservoir.

The willow blister fungus, also known as Cryptomyces maximus, was found on a coppiced willow tree at Rutland Water during a bat box survey by an officer from Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

It was only the second recording in England since 1876 of the spotty fungus, which was previously known from just a handful of sites in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

A sample was taken to the trust's volunteer training centre for formal identification, which was confirmed by a mycologist from London's Kew Gardens.

A new study has found well-managed solar farms can make an important contribution to nature as well as "provide relief from the effects of agricultural intensification".

The report, from the RSPB and the University of Cambridge, was published on Wednesday in the journal Bird Study and looked at two types of solar farms in the East Anglian Fens.

Scientists found that solar farms had a greater number of species and individual birds per hectare than the surrounding arable land.

Eight wildcats are in the process of being paired up for a fourth consecutive breeding season in the Saving Wildcats conservation breeding for release centre, off-show at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Highland Wildlife Park.

Wildcat pairs Embo and Torr, Fergus and Morag, Mallachie and Skye and Oscar and Margaret are all integral to the future of the critically endangered Scottish wildcat population. It is hoped that any kittens that they have, which will likely be born later in the spring, could eventually be released into the Cairngorms National Park following time in bespoke enclosures designed to prepare wildcats for the challenges of life in the wild.

Estelle Morgan, Saving Wildcats ex-situ animal team leader said “It is great to see the breeding season is well underway at the centre. Monitoring the wildcats during this time is very interesting – typically the females set the boundaries, meaning the males can behave quite nervously around them.