UK Nature and Environment

Wildlife charities have launched the first national hedgehog conservation strategy to halt the species’ decline across the UK.

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) published the plan on Monday in response to plummeting numbers in native hedgehogs.

It came after their 2022 report found that populations have declined by up to 75% in rural areas since 2000.

York’s first “floating ecosystem” has been launched on the River Ouse to create a thriving habitat for wildlife and help improve water quality.

The project to install the pontoon-like structure has been led by charities St Nicks and York Cares

Jonathan Dent from St Nicks said: “This is an amazing project to inject some life back into the water in the city centre of York where there pretty much is none.”

Cattle had to be rescued from a Cambridgeshire nature reserve after torrential rain saw floods of up to three metres in depth.

The land at RSPB Ouse Washes, near Manea, is used during the summer months as grazing land for cattle, which perform an important job of keeping grass and vegetation down.

But after days of rain storms, RSPB staff had to move quickly to ensure the cattle were safely removed from the land before they became trapped by the floods.

“The last few cattle were up to their waists in water when we managed to get them off the land,” explained Jonathan Taylor, site manager at RSPB Ouse Washes.

Campaigners have described as “laughable” the environmental credentials of Donald Trump’s new links golf course, which is set to open in Aberdeenshire in 2025.

Trump International has billed the new 18-hole championship links near Balmedie as “one of the most environmentally-friendly and sustainable courses ever built”.

The company said “virtually all the materials” used in the construction of the new course – named MacLeod after Mr Trump’s Lewis-born mother – were locally sourced and that it had a sustainable irrigation system.

A beetle is being used to tackle an invasive plant species in a Pembrokeshire nature reserve.

The Azolla weevil, a herbivorous beetle, was released in June 2024 by the Four Rivers for LIFE Project onto Natural Resources Wales’ (NRW) Llangloffan Fen National Nature Reserve (NNR) near Fishguard.

The beetle is being used to help control and eradicate the Azolla plant, which is dominating parts of the reserve and the nearby Cleddau River.

Colwall, a village of less than 3,000 people on the border between Herefordshire and Worcestershire, is renowned for its spring water, which comes from the nearby Malvern Hills. An area of outstanding natural beauty, it has been favoured by the royal family for centuries, including Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria.

But the water at Colwall is now in the spotlight for very different reasons. The most recent data from Severn Trent Water, the company that covers the area, reveals that a sewage treatment works on Cradley Brook, near the village, spilled sewage for 1,756 hours in 2021 and 1,361 hours in 2022.

An analysis by the campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution suggests some of these spills may be in breach of the water firm’s environmental permits. Its analysis suggests there were 72 unlawful spills in 2021 and 2022. Severn Trent said this weekend the “desktop” analysis was based on certain assumptions, and insisted the works were operating in line with permit conditions.

The Woodland Trust is urging the government to continue support for UK tree nurseries to counter the threat posed by spiralling tree imports.

New statistics out today show that 128 million trees and shrubs were imported into the UK last year, up from 125 million the previous year – valued at £280 million.

These imports increase the risk of introducing new pests and pathogens that threaten our existing woods and trees and the many thousands of species that live on them. Oak trees, for example, can provide a home for 2,300 different species, and ash can host 955 species.

Wye Adapt to Climate Change project has provided advice on over 8,000 hectares of land in its first year with land managers, farmers and landowners considering how their land holdings can be made more resilient to climate change.

In 2023 £435,000 was awarded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund to a partnership of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and the Wye Valley National Landscape. The Wye Adapt to Climate Change? Project looks at climate resilience across the river Wye catchment and what can be done to improve it for people and nature. With three project officers focusing on target areas we are working with both land managers and the local community.

Running for three years the project aimed to provide advice on 1,000 hectares of farmed land in the river Wye catchment, by the end of the first year we had provided advice on over 8,000 hectares of land. This is thanks to the enthusiasm of land managers, farmers and landowners to be involved and to consider how their land holdings can be made more resilient to climate change.

A new sanctuary for red squirrels has been announced following huge fundraising efforts.

The 12-acre plot of woodland near Ryde was bought by the Isle of Wight Red Squirrel Trust.

Native to the UK, the species died out on the mainland after grey squirrels were introduced, but continued to live on the island.

In the coming months, the site will be cleared and new trees will be planted to encourage red squirrels to breed in the acreage.

The number of wild breeding pairs of black-tailed godwits in a trial area has increased from just three pairs in 2017 to 16 in 2022, following an ‘headstarting’ project in the Fens.

The rare birds are being given a helping hand, with the eggs hatched and chicks reared in captivity by Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) staff at Welney before they are released into the wild to go on and raise young of their own.

Will Costa, project manager and lead aviculturist at WWT, said: “Project Godwit was a crucial stepping stone for black-tailed godwits in the UK, saving them from a second extinction on the Ouse Washes and supporting their recovery as a breeding species. It’s great to see the impact of this work confirmed with robust analysis.

Labour’s carbon-capture scheme will be Starmer’s white elephant: a terrible mistake costing billions George Monbiot George Monbiot

The supposedly green project – brainchild of the previous Tory government – will increase emissions, not reduce them Fri 11 Oct 2024 06.00 BST

This will be Keir Starmer’s HS2: a hugely expensive scheme that will either be abandoned, scaled back or require massive extra funding to continue, after many billions have been spent. The government’s plan for carbon capture and storage (CCS) – catching carbon dioxide from major industry and pumping it into rocks under the North Sea – is a fossil fuel-driven boondoggle that will accelerate climate breakdown. Its ticket price of £21.7bn is just the beginning of a phenomenal fiscal nightmare.

There might be a case for a CCS programme if the following conditions were met. First, that the money for cheaper and more effective projects had already been committed. The opposite has happened. Labour slashed its green prosperity plan from £28bn a year to £15bn, and with it a sensible and rational programme for insulating 19m homes.

The government boasts that its CCS scheme will be “the equivalent of taking around 4m cars off the road”. But at far lower cost, through a rational transport policy, it could remove millions of real cars from the roads, while improving our mobility, cutting air pollution and releasing land for green spaces and housing.

NatureScot is urging gardeners to take a break this autumn and leave their gardens alone to help struggling pollinators over the winter.

In fact, taking a rest from gardening over autumn and winter is probably even more beneficial for bees and other pollinators than planting pollinator-friendly flowers for spring and summer.

Sarah Smythe, NatureScot Biodiversity Adviser, said:

“This is a double win: it’s good news for gardeners, allowing you to swap your winter secateurs and spade for a cup of tea and a seed catalogue, while you’re also helping pollinators and doing your bit for nature.

“The most important thing you can do to help pollinators is increase the safe places where they can survive over the winter – and that means leaving your garden a bit messy over the winter!”

A council is offering to pay for rewilding projects, where land is returned to a more natural state.

South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) said its new biodiversity project, Make Space for Nature, would help "turn areas all shades of green through proactive rewilding".

The scheme, open to town and district councils, would fund all costs associated with projects.

Tadpoles have decided not to turn into frogs because of this year's bad weather.

The young amphibians usually begin their transition into frogs in the UK during April and May, but they have been seen still swimming in Cumbria.

Jodie Mills, from the West Cumbria Rivers Trust, said tadpoles had been spotted in a river in the Walkmill Community Woodland, near Moresby Parks.

She said the animals decided early in the year whether they would stay as tadpoles or "metamorphosise into tiny baby frogs", depending on whether conditions were right.

A herd of beefy, long-horned tauros are to be released into a Highlands rewilding project to replicate the ecological role of the aurochs, an extinct, huge herbivore that is the wild ancestor of cattle.

The tauros have been bred in the Netherlands in recent years to fill the niche vacated by the aurochs, which once shaped landscapes and strengthened wildlife across Europe.

Trees for Life, the rewilding charity, is planning to create the first British herd of up to 15 of the animals on its 4,000-hectare (9,884-acre) Dundreggan estate near Loch Ness, in a scientific research project aimed at enhancing biodiversity, education and ecotourism.

“Introducing the aurochs-like tauros to the Highlands four centuries after their wild ancestors were driven to extinction will refill a vital but empty ecological niche – allowing us to study how these remarkable wild cattle can be a powerful ally for tackling the nature and climate emergencies,” said Steve Micklewright, the chief executive of Trees for Life...

This autumn, the RSPB in Dorset has begun work to restore and protect two areas of precious peatland.

RSPB sites at Stoborough Heath and Salterns Copse, near Wareham, are being re-wetted, having dried out over the years, to recreate the perfect conditions for peat to once again flourish.

Dorset's peatlands offer homes for a range of wildlife and plant life, including rare species, such as the Southern Damselfly.

Swift and wild: How to build houses and restore nature together calls for a strategic approach towards housebuilding as part of achieving environmental targets, including net-zero and protecting 30% of land for nature by 2030. The report highlights the importance of improving energy efficiency and access to nature during the housebuilding process.

The UK Government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. It recently announced a consultation to revise planning policy in England to deliver more affordable, well-designed homes quickly, grow the economy and support green energy.

The Wildlife Trusts’ report identifies various approaches to development that can have positive impacts for nature, climate and communities. They include community energy schemes, urban habitat creation, sustainable drainage systems, wildlife-friendly lighting and local food growing opportunities. The Wildlife Trusts want developers to learn from each other to deliver affordable, efficient and nature-friendly housing.

A new approach is needed if we are to save nature that is the stark warning to be issued today (Wednesday 9 October) by the Chair of Natural England Tony Juniper, as he launches a major new report on the state of our natural world.

The State of Natural Capital Report, published by Natural England, will provide a unique insight into the vital role that healthy nature plays in underpinning our economic health.

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of our ecosystem assets, such as wetlands and forests, and the important role they play in sustaining us and the risks to society and the economy if the status quo is maintained.

Plans to help critically endangered bats in a nature reserve have moved a step forward.

A fundraising target to support the Bechstein bats at Trowbridge's Green Lane Wood Nature Reserve, Wiltshire, has been hit, which has unlocked £20,000.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust will spend the money on new bat roosts, ponds, bat monitoring and public education.

The trust's grant's officer Debbie Bentley said the charity had been worried amid declining numbers over recent years. She added the money will help to maintain a "strong and healthy" colony.

Most of the £20,000 is coming from the Suez Landfill Fund, external. This stipulates that 10% needs to come from elsewhere, which the trust has now raised.

The Crown Estate has published a new ambition for Nature Recovery that will drive a consistent approach across its diverse assets on land and seabed, following a 12-month engagement process with a wide range of nature experts and organisations.

To ensure cohesive action across a diverse array of habitats and interconnected ecosystems, The Crown Estate sets out company-wide nature goals and commitments that will raise the bar on its ambitions for Nature Recovery. These goals set the focus of its delivery plan and there will be a further update published in 2025 with public targets and KPIs.

The ambition brings together The Crown Estate’s work on nature recovery from across its portfolio, integrating the approach with addressing other national needs including the development of offshore wind to enable secure and affordable energy; building homes; developing places; supporting food production; and creating economic opportunity.

"We've had massive declines all across Northern Ireland, but I'm really proud to say this bird is still holding on and it's still doing well in Fermanagh."

RSPB Reserves Manager Amy Burns has watched the return of the curlew to her beloved Lough Erne over the past four years of the EU-funded Curlew LIFE project., external

The scheme has also seen the species flourish at Glenwherry in the Antrim Plateau.

In this final year, breeding pairs have reached 52 in Glenwherry and there have been a record 20 fledglings on the Lower Lough Erne Islands Reserve.

A consultation has started on whether the Yorkshire Wolds should be made an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The chalk hills run from the Vale of York in North Yorkshire to the East Yorkshire coast.

Based on public feedback, Natural England could ask the government to designate it as an AONB.

If approved, it would mean the area would be given some legal protection covering development and conservation.

A "truly stunning bird" native to Africa has been spotted at a nature reserve in Lancashire.

As many as 100 hoopoes migrate north to Europe in the spring but are not typically seen this late in the year.

One has arrived at Lower Foulridge Reservoir in Pendle, much to the delight of birdwatchers.

Andy Powell, the chairman of the East Lancashire Ornithologists' Club, said an easterly wind had led to an influx of hoopoe into the country, mainly on the east coast and further south.

Once a common sight on Britain’s riverbanks, the much-adored “Ratty” has become a rarity on many of the UK’s waterways.

But now the animal made famous by The Wind in the Willows is making a remarkable comeback in the South Downs National Park, with a detailed ecological report showing that water voles are indeed thriving, and busily breeding, on the River Meon in Hampshire.

The scientific survey comes just over a decade after a local reintroduction programme of the water vole, which remains the country’s fastest declining mammal species, losing 95 per cent of its range over the past 100 years. The biggest reasons for the decline have been habitat loss and predation by the non-native American Mink.