GreyShuck

Local politicians have recognised the right of a famous chalk stream, the Test in Hampshire, to flow freely and unpolluted.

Councillors on Test Valley borough council voted unanimously to acknowledge “the intrinsic rights” of the rivers within its boundaries, including the Test, which is renowned for its trout and fly fishing.

It means councillors and officials will have to keep the Test front and centre when making decisions on planning, land use, water management and biodiversity.

When the first pair of beavers to be legally released in England crawled sleepily from their crates into the ponds of Purbeck Heath in Dorset, it seemed like a watershed moment for wildlife in the UK.

Wildlife charities rejoiced as ministers finally agreed for the nature-boosting rodents to be released, subject to licence, into the wild. Nature-friendly farmers kept an eager eye out for the application forms, hoping they could host the fascinating creatures on their land.

But nature experts say the scheme has stalled, with not a single licence granted since those beavers were let loose on the National Trust reserve in March. The Guardian understands 40 expressions of interest have been sent to the government since then, 20 of which are from the Wildlife Trusts, but none have yet been granted a release licence.

People living in one Bristol neighbourhood are transforming its spaces to boost wellbeing and help the environment.

Volunteers working on the Really Wild Lockleaze project, set up by Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust, have planted bulbs and fruit trees and worked on woodland, ponds and hedgerows.

As well as improving the look of the suburb, the project hopes to encourage more biodiversity and is monitoring plants and animals, including bumblebees.

"There was some worry that because of housing developments we would lose some of our green space," said Laura Tarlo-Ross from the trust. "It's just grown from there."

An ancient breed of pigs are creating healthy wetland areas for wildlife by chomping on a problem plant.

Iron age pigs are a hybrid of wild boar and domestic pigs and are close to the pigs represented in prehistoric cave paintings. They are currently helping us manage a non native invasive plant species, crassula helmsii - also known as New Zealand pigmyweed – at our Lilbourne Meadows reserve in Northamptonshire.

The reserve is still being created but part of the site has recently opened to the public with a new path accessible on foot by visitors.

More than half of councils in the United Kingdom continue to use pesticides in parks, playgrounds, pavements, playing fields and housing estates, research revealed on Wednesday.

But increasingly, local authorities are taking action to end or reduce their use of pesticides, according to research by the Pesticide Action Network.

The most widely used pesticide by local authorities is the weedkiller glyphosate, which has been linked to cancer. The overuse of pesticides has also been linked to major declines in wildlife, including birds, bees and hedgehogs.

Campaigners in Devon are calling for a right to the riverbank after finding their local river, the Dart, has 108 separate owners, with an eighth of it owned via offshore companies.

Locals used site visits, angling maps, Companies House records and Land Registry data to find out who owns the River Dart.

The government in its election manifesto last year promised to implement nine new “river walks” in England to extend public access to the countryside, after it U-turned on a previous policy to enshrine a right to roam in law.

People always ask me: isn’t it too cold to snorkel in Scotland? And I reply that while it’s obviously much cooler than it would be in Spain, the sea does warm up from May, when the temperature rises from about 9C to as high as 12-15C by August and September.

I go snorkelling in Scotland all year round. I work for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, developing snorkel trails on the Scottish coast and creating guides to the places you can go to enjoy snorkelling in a particular area. But even so, the Wildlife Trust always recommends wearing a wetsuit.

In the UK, we sometimes think that to connect with nature you have to go to really exotic, faraway places and spend a lot of money. But actually, it can be more effective to connect with the local marine life on your doorstep.

England’s farmers to get new payments for cleaning up waterways

Environment secretary says Defra will be launching changes to post-Brexit scheme for sustainable farming Helena Horton Environment reporter Mon 28 Jul 2025 18.24 BST

Farmers in England will get new payments for cleaning up the waterways near their land, the environment secretary has said.

Agricultural pollution affects 40% of Britain’s lakes and rivers, as fertiliser and animal waste washes off the land into waterways.

Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union water summit at Beeston Hall farm in West Yorkshire, Steve Reed said his department would be launching changes to the sustainable farming incentive (SFI) scheme that replaced EU subsidies. The SFI, which pays farmers to look after the environment, was frozen this year in a surprise move. The scheme is expected to reopen next year.

Regular sightings of otters on a river are a sign of a healthy local ecosystem, a charity has said.

The Wear Rivers Trust said evidence of the mammals living on the River Deerness in County Durham showed the area was home to a diverse range of wildlife.

A local resident spotted otters 38 times on his trail camera last year, while environmental groups regularly find otter droppings - known as spraints - in the area.

In a bold conservation first, WWT has turned to one of Britain’s most common birds, the Eurasian blue tit, in a new trial that could help save its rarest of cousins, the British willow tit – now Britain’s fastest declining resident bird species.

Under licence from Natural England, eggs from blue tit nest boxes have been artificially incubated and hatched, with the chicks' hand-reared at WWT Slimbridge’s Conservation Breeding Unit (CBU).

The chicks were closely monitored, fed between dawn and dusk and socialised before being released into the nature reserve at WWT Slimbridge at the end of June.

In a remarkable first for Cornish waters, two orcas from the Iberian population were spotted near the Isles of Scilly, confirming their northernmost sighting to date. The rare encounter was made by skipper Joe Pender during a seabird survey near St Agnes earlier this month.

The orcas, later identified as members of the elusive Iberian C pod, were seen near Pol Bank southwest of Bishop Rock. Pender, who operates Scilly Pelagics tours, initially noticed unusually large dorsal fins before realising he was looking at orcas - not common dolphins. "Everyone on board was ecstatic," he said. "I've only seen one before, about 25 years ago."

Rebecca Allen of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust confirmed it was the first recorded sighting of Iberian orcas in the region. These orcas typically inhabit the Straits of Gibraltar during winter, making their presence in Cornwall highly unusual.

THE Dee Estuary covers 14,000 hectares and is home to more than 120,000 waders and waterfowl, as well as a variety of coastal habitats and a dedicated community.

The area, which straddles England and Wales, has been at the centre of a three-year pioneering project, bringing together partners across borders to deliver lasting change through community-led conservation.

Our Dee Estuary has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with contributions from local authorities, charities, statutory bodies and renewable energy companies, and 130 volunteers have given up more than 4,000 hours of their time to practical conservation works, surveying, events, research and writing.