UK Nature and Environment

Floods, financial fears, and furious farmers have marked the start of this year and it’s already clear that the environmental crises facing the UK have never been greater. Communities are under water and the Office for Environmental Protection has warned that green goals are under threat. A week ago we were told that 2024 was the warmest year on record and that 2024 was the first year with temperatures 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Gloomy news indeed.

As the Chancellor demands that regulators tasked with protecting nature ‘tear down the barriers’ to growth, she appears unaware of the critical role nature plays in the UK. Nature protections are not blocking the UK’s success – they underpin our economy and make us safer. A nation that undermines nature is a house of cards with shaky foundations.

The Wildlife Trusts have identified five areas where we believe political action can have the most significant impact on nature recovery – and which would also solve a raft of other related problems at the same time. From planning reform to the next Environmental Improvement Plan, it is vital that the UK Government improves its focus on supporting nature-friendly farmers, restoring fresh waters and making us more resilient to the climate crisis. It must recognise that the nature and climate crises are the biggest long-term threats to economic growth.

Charities that bid for a share of millions of pounds of water company fines to restore rivers in England polluted by sewage say the UK government will be guilty of an appalling breach of trust if the cash is diverted to Treasury coffers.

“I appreciate that the Labour government have inherited a mess, I am a Labour supporter myself, but I think this is a really deeply appalling decision for a Labour government given the promises they made, and it is a really worrying indication of where we are headed,” said Kathryn Soares, chief executive of the Nene Rivers Trust. Soares runs one of a number of groups waiting more than eight months for grants from an £11m fund made up of water company fines for pollution which Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, wants to divert to the Treasury, it was revealed on Sunday.

Since Labour came to power in July, charities and groups including veterans organisations that applied for some of the money, told the Guardian they had been “fobbed off” by the new Labour administration about their applications.

People have been asked to take part in a survey to give their views on the Surrey countryside.

Surrey County Council (SCC) wants to know what locals and visitors value most about the landscape and what they would change.

The council said it will use the results to "ensure our green spaces continue to be vibrant, accessible, and well cared for".

Endangered red squirrels have been found for the first time in an 18-hectare Sitka spruce plantation in the Western Yorkshire Dales. This positive news is being announced to coincide with Red Squirrel Appreciation Day (21 January).

Reds had not been seen in the plantation before and the UK Squirrel Accord’s project officer, Julie Bailey, identified them. She believes the colony will prosper and increase. Since the squirrels have been confirmed, the owners now plan to manage the landscape with the population in mind.

Project Officer Bailey explained: “The plantation owners gave permission to survey a specific area using thermal imaging technology that picks up body heat. I found four individual red squirrels. I then placed two cameras in the area and was able to confirm a new colony of red squirrels. The plantation owners were delighted.”

An exhibition about the potential return of lynx to the UK is coming to Cumbria soon.

The Missing Lynx exhibition is set to come to the University of Cumbria between January 23 and 31.

The free event at the Carlisle campus aims to give people the chance to have their say on plans to reintroduce lynx to the UK.

A Labour MP has called for a blanket ban on “bottom trawling” of seabeds in marine protected areas (MPAs), which she said destroys fragile ecosystems and habitats.

Katie White compared bottom trawling, which is the act of dragging heavy nets across the seabed, with “ripping up an orchard to pick an apple”.

One or two trawls can decimate an area for up to five years, the Leeds North West MP said, and currently only 5% of the UK’s marine protected areas ban this “destructive” practice.

Are you busy? Stop what you’re doing and walk with me in my ancient woodland. I promise you it’ll do you good. The Japanese call it shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing”, a simple pleasure known to improve your health and wellbeing that is even prescribed by doctors as a form of medication. We can all reap the benefits of a walk among the trees here in the UK, as long as there are woods left to do it in.

Ancient woods (ones that have persisted since at least 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1750 in Scotland) are an amazing feature of our landscape. They are the UK’s richest and most complex terrestrial habitat and home to threatened species such as red squirrels, stag beetles, Scottish wildcats and bats.

In my own small patch of woodland in the south of England, which I bought in 2022, I spend my time in wooded glades that have existed since Elizabeth I was on the throne. The history of the place is, of course, even longer.

Our footpaths are seeing more footfall and extreme weather than ever before, leading to erosion, loss of habitat for wildlife, trampled vegetation, decreasing biodiversity and soil washing into waterways which can lead to flooding and an imbalance in ecosystems. So wouldn't it be fantastic if you could do something really meaningful to combat this problem? With the BMC, you can!

We now have new dates for our Get Stuck In volunteer footpath repair and conservation opportunities in 2025, as part of Mend Our Mountains and The Climate Project. These are 1-3 day events that give BMC volunteers a chance to give some love back to the landscapes we love to walk and climb in. There are a range of footpath repair and conservation activities decided on nearer the time of the event according to the National Trust rangers who will teach you new skills and work alongside you.

BMC Hill Walking rep and founder of Get Stuck In, Steve Charles, says, "I've been going into the mountains for quite a long time and it's great to be able to give back and feel that you're helping to preserve this environment for future generations. It is under threat and we need to give it tender loving care. It needs to be nurtured, because if we don't do anything, it's going to be in a much poorer state when we hand it on to future generations.

An estimated 1500 beavers are now roaming the Scottish countryside, according to wildlife experts.

Hazel Forrest of the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) said the explosion in numbers would help tackle the climate and nature crises, with the dam-building animals making the nation more resilient to floods and droughts. But it comes amid longstanding anger from farmers over the illegal release of beavers into Tayside nearly 20 years ago which they say wrecked and flooded farmland, costing millions in damages.

Writing in the SWT’s blog, policy adviser for species Forrest said: “Beavers are well and truly back in the wild in Scotland. Following the success of the Scottish Beaver Trial (2009-2014), in which the Scottish Wildlife Trust was a lead partner, both the Knapdale beavers and the (originally unauthorised) population of beavers in Tayside were given leave to remain and allowed to expand their range naturally.

An ambitious three-year project to plant a hedge connecting the South Downs and New Forest national parks has reached the half way point.

The Hampshire Hedge project intends to create a "nature recovery corridor" linking woodlands, meadows, nature reserves, and sites of special scientific interest.

The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England in Hampshire launched the initiative with community groups and landowners to improve existing hedgerows and replace lost ones.

A nature reserve in a landlocked county has become a "vital" roosting site for five endangered species of gull.

The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust said its Hilfield Park Reservoir Nature Reserve, between Elstree and Bushey, Hertfordshire, had become a refuge for the seafaring birds, including herring gulls, which are currently in decline.

The trust said that although they were commonly known as "seagulls", scientifically "there is no such thing".

A jellyfish species that has been wreaking havoc on Norway’s salmon industry has made its way to Scotland, causing significant damage and prompting calls for urgent action.

The string jellyfish has killed millions of salmon in Norwegian sea farms with officials urging an extermination of affected stocks.

Now the jellyfish has been reported at several sites in Scotland and to date has caused the death of more than 200,000 farmed salmon. Landed salmon lie on a wet surface

Dale Vince, the eco-industrialist and founder of the Green Britain Foundation, which has been actively campaigning for increased scrutiny and regulation of the industry, said: “This jellyfish attack is the latest example of how the fish farming industry is failing to cope with environmental challenges. We routinely see them using the land and sea as a sewer for their toxic business, and now nature is fighting back.”

Billionaires, aristocrats and private investment funds are scooping up millions of pounds in taxpayer subsidies to plant trees, The i Paper can reveal.

Data released under Freedom of Information requests shows some of the biggest beneficiaries of tree planting subsidies include members of aristocratic families such as the Duke of Sutherland, the Duke of Buccleuch and Lord Dalmeny, whose estates have all received over £500,000 in public subsidies in the past five years.

Foreign billionaires, including Anders Holch Povlsen, the Danish owner of ASOS and Mohammed Mahdi Al Tajir, a businessman and former UAE ambassador to the UK, also own estates that have received similarly large sums.

Rachel Reeves’s Treasury is looking to keep millions of pounds levied on polluting water companies in fines that were meant to be earmarked for sewage cleanup, the Guardian has learned.

The £11m water restoration fund was announced before the election last year, with projects bidding for the cash to improve waterways and repair damage done by sewage pollution in areas where fines have been imposed.

However, the Treasury is in discussions about keeping the money to use it for unrelated purposes at a time of huge pressure on the public finances and rising debt interest costs.

Promises to tackle nature loss and boost biodiversity by the Welsh government have been called into question in a highly critical report.

The Senedd's environment committee, external warned ministers lacked a "plan, action and investment" to reverse worrying declines in wildlife.

One in six species - such as water voles and curlews - are currently at risk of vanishing from Wales, which has seen a 20% decrease on average in its wildlife over the last 30 years.

The Welsh government said it was "committed to tackling the nature emergency" and would consider the report's 30 recommendations.

A plan to help the Island's nature and wildlife "recover and thrive" has been made by the Isle of Wight Council.

The local authority wants to address the UK-wide fall in biodiversity and habitat over the past 25 years, including threats to common species like starlings, sparrows, frogs, and slow worms.

Created with the help of Arc Biodiversity and Climate, a local group, as part of a national project led by DEFRA and Natural England, the project, called Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), is required by the Environment Act 2021 and aims to restore habitats, protect species, and boost biodiversity.

Otters are increasingly being spotted in the centre of one of the West's most visited cities.

After almost being wiped out in the southern part of the UK in the 1970s, their numbers are now on the rise.

Footage captured across Bath shows the creatures swimming through the waterways and exploring the banks of the River Avon, metres from some of the city's iconic sites.

Locals have reported spotting them near the famous Pulteney Bridge and out to Batheaston in the east of the city.

Scotland faces a significant challenge to meet its pledges on protecting nature without more funding and a shift in attitudes, a senior conservation figure has warned.

Francesca Osowska, the outgoing chief executive of the agency NatureScot, said greater urgency and action was needed to meet a promise to restore 30% of Scotland’s natural environment by 2030.

In an interview with the Guardian, her last before leaving NatureScot, she said ministers should integrate nature restoration into policymaking across the government and its agencies in the same way the climate crisis had been fully integrated.

The water company United Utilities has conceded defeat in its legal battle to block public access to data on treated sewage it is discharging into Windermere in the Lake District.

Company officials initially claimed that data from phosphorus monitors at a main sewage treatment works at the lake was not environmental information. The company also wanted to block access to data from Cunsey Beck, a site of special scientific interest, which flows into Windermere.

The company argued that disclosing unverified data might “negatively impact public confidence regarding the way in which water companies operate their assets”.

The slap of an enormous tail upon grey waters as a humpback whale leaps from the sea is becoming an increasingly possible – although still rare – natural thrill around Britain.

The 30-tonne, 15 metre-long migratory giants are being spotted in growing numbers and locations this winter from Kent to the Isles of Scilly.

There have been 17 sightings of the whales around the Isles of Scilly between 29 December and 8 January this year. Several individuals spotted include one called Pi because of the distinctive markings on her fluke (the lobes of her tail), who has turned up for a winter vacation around the archipelago every year since 2019.

Cold, dark days, post-Christmas debt, abandoned resolutions… New Year can be a challenging time of year for many people. The temptation to hide under your duvet and hibernate until April can feel tempting, but nature has a remarkable way of healing – both itself and us. Read Next Lynx captured in Scotland may have come from black market for exotic pets square NEWS Lynx captured in Scotland may have come from black market for exotic pets Read More

Winter might appear barren, but it is a vital phase of renewal for the natural world and a perfect time to reconnect with it in a more mindful way. Bare-limbed trees and bushes make it easier to spot wildlife, while resident birds are joined by the Continent and beyond.

Shorter days and a cooler climate chase away the crowds from our gorgeous National Parks and tourist hot spots, setting the scene for a more tranquil experience. And the benefits of spending time in nature are widely recognised, with outdoor jaunts into the fresh air paying dividends for both mental and physical health.

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has published its third assessment of the Government’s progress on improving the natural environment. This report covers the period of April 2023 to March 2024. It should be noted that the Government has this week just published its response to the second assessment.

This third assessment report was launched today at an event in London with presentations from Natalie Prosser (CEO), Dame Glenys Stacey (Chair) and Dr Cathy Maguire (Head of Assessments). and hosted by Professor Robbie McDonald (Chief Insights Officer). As Dame Glenys noted, this is a “weighty tome” that provides an in-depth assessment of improving nature.

The OEP is now into its fourth year of operations and continues its robust approach to holding government to account, including current work on protected sites and inspection regimes.

Rivers in his constituency are “drowning under a barrage of pollution”, says David Chadwick.

The Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP said in a Westminster Hall debate that he is privileged to represent a constituency that is home to some of the UK’s most powerful rivers, including the Wye, Usk and Towy.

But he said “these national treasures” are heavily polluted, harming the environment and local wildlife and “jeopardising industries such as tourism, leisure and angling”.

Dolphins, otters, porpoises, fish and birds across the UK have been found to have toxic “forever chemicals” in their tissue and organs, analysis of official data has revealed.

Manmade chemicals called PFAS, known as forever chemicals because they do not degrade, are used in a wide range of consumer products and industrial processes and some have been linked to serious diseases in humans and animals, including cancers. PFAS have been found widely to pollute water and soils and are thought to be in the blood of every human on the planet.

Watershed Investigations, the Marine Conservation Society and the Guardian obtained official data on more than 1,000 animals to reveal widespread contamination by a range of PFAS, particularly PFOS and PFOA, which have been studied the longest and found to be toxic, and are now banned. However, there are more than 10,000 types of PFAS and little is known about the toxic effects of most of them.

Some of the schemes are relatively modest, such as orchards planted with heritage varieties of fruit and nut trees, while others are much grander, thousands of trees linking up existing patches of woodland to create nature-rich forests.

Almost half a million trees are being planted in England this winter in a partnership between the National Trust and a UK-government funded project, creating woodlands, wood pasture, hedgerows and orchards.

One of the most eye-catching schemes is at Buckland Abbey near Plymouth in Devon, where more than 30,000 trees are being planted.