UK Nature and Environment

Abby Allen has no problem with her neighbours peering over her luxuriant hedges to see what she is up to on her farm.

For years she has been carrying out ad hoc experiments with wildlife and farming techniques; in her lush Devon fields native cattle graze alongside 400-year-old hedgerows, with birds and butterflies enjoying the species-rich pasture.

Under the environmental land management scheme (ELMS), introduced by the government in 2021, those experiments were finally being funded. “We have a neighbour who has always been more of an intensive farmer,” she says, but he is now considering leaving fields unploughed to help the soil. “It genuinely is having such a huge impact in changing people’s mindsets who traditionally would never have thought about farming in this way.”

DESPITE a perception in wider society that the agri-industry is harmful to the environment, here in Fermanagh our farmers are leading the way in showing how to work the land while also protecting our precious local ecosystem.

Over recent years Ulster Wildlife has been working with farmers here in the county as part of its Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS). To date, a total of 858 hectares of Fermanagh’s species-rich grasslands have been surveyed and mapped as part of the scheme.

Brian Keown, who farms sheep and sucklers on 75 hectares near Garrison, is one of the many local farmers eligible for the EFS scheme. He was deemed eligible after his species-rich fields were assessed by Ulster Wildlife’s local farm facilitators.

The challenge of creating new woodland in the UK is daunting, but new research from The University of Manchester concludes that policymakers should “prioritise woodland creation protocols aimed at nature recovery and tailored to the context of restoration rather than simply based on opportunistic land acquisition.”

In an article published by Policy@Manchester, Dr Matthew Dennis highlights that native broadleaf woodland in the UK stands at 14.5% land-cover compared to 40% for Europe as a whole. He adds: “Government targets aim to reach 17% by 2030 – a huge increase on the ground in a short space of time.”

Dr Dennis explains that current debates in landscape ecology centre on whether large areas of intact habitat are needed for effective nature conservation or whether smaller more numerous patches can achieve the same levels of protection.

The Peak District National Park, renowned for its natural beauty and diverse wildlife, is facing a hidden threat - pharmaceutical pollution.

New research from the University of York and the Rivers Trust has revealed widespread contamination of rivers in Peak District National Park, with antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antimicrobials, anti-inflammatory substances, lipid regulators and diabetes treatments being detected.

The study found pharmaceuticals in river water at 52 out of 54 locations monitored across all ten national parks in England. Some pharmaceuticals were found at levels of concern for the health of freshwater organisms and for humans who come into contact with the water, highlighting the need for tighter regulation and greater monitoring of some of England’s most cherished landscapes.

The Treasury has been told not to “swallow up” millions of pounds in sewage fines amid fears the money will not be spent on ending spills.

The water regulator Ofwat handed out fines totaling £168m to three water companies last week as part of its investigation into sewage dumping and environmental damage.

Environmental groups welcomed the financial penalties, but have now have raised concerns that the Government might divert the money to other areas rather than focusing on cleaning up pollution.

This time last year, we reported that the UK was in the midst of a full-blown beaver boom. Now, in some brilliant news for the adorable creatures and wildlife fans everywhere, baby beavers (or kits, as they’re better known) have been born in London for the first time in 400 years!

Well, almost. The actual first beaver to be born in the capital in 400 years was this one in Enfield, but the newest infants are thought to be the first in urban London.

According to volunteers at Ealing Beaver Project in west London, at least two kits have been born on the Paradise Fields site in Greenford. The Eurasian beaver family was introduced to the urban wetland in October and the new arrivals prove that they’re pretty chuffed with their new home.

Eurasian Curlew are one of the most iconic birds of the Welsh Countryside. Many who grew up in the 1960s and 70s will remember them for their long bills and distinctive bubbling call. Unfortunately, sightings of curlew in Wales are now extremely rare and are likely to become even more so as the population continues to decline at a rate of 6 per cent every year.

There are a range of reasons for this decline, including but not limited to: habitat fragmentation, lack of food availability, and excessive predation. If nothing is done to help these birds, they are predicted to be extinct as a breeding population in Wales by 2033.

This may sound bleak but not all hope is lost. Curlew Connections Wales (CCW) is working tirelessly to tackle the key issues driving curlew population decline. The project is a collaboration between the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Wales, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

Found this little guy on a sidewalk in northern Germany. I have never seen one like this before. Does one if you know what he's gonna be when he's "grown up"?

Creating the right habitats with public money is helping to stop nature’s decline or even reverse it. That’s the good news from Natural England, which reports more butterflies, bees, bats and birds whizzing around the countryside after the promotion of nature-friendly farming schemes. The body, which advises the government on biodiversity, published research earlier this month showing that the environmental land management scheme (Elms), set up after the UK left the EU, has had beneficial effects.

Unlike the common agricultural policy, which mainly subsidises landowners on the basis of acreage farmed, Elms payments were designed to promote nature. Wildlife has been massively depleted in recent decades due to intensified agriculture and the use of chemicals. Measures that qualify for this new form of support include hedgerow and peat conservation, the creation of landscapes for skylarks and organic fruit-growing.

The research, which included arable, grassland and hill farmers, showed that moths, butterflies and bats have all grown more numerous in the places where farmers had adopted new methods. In total, 1,358 species were recorded. In lowland areas, the study pointed to the importance for butterflies of habitat diversity, with features including woodland and hedgerows.

Felix Lever and her father Ashley were taking part in a bit of rockpooling close to Wembury when they made the rare find: a rainbow sea slug.

The 3cm long sea slug is part of a group of marine animals known as nudibranchs – known for their soft bodies and similarity to land slugs and snails.

Felix and Ashley’s discovery of a rainbow sea slug is believed to be the first time the animal has been recorded in Devon. Only a handful of similar finds have ever been made across the UK with others being concentrated in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Brian May has continued his impassioned campaign against badger culling, branding the practice “morally indefensible” in a new documentary.

The Queen guitarist, who previously led a funeral parade through London in honour of badgers killed, and butted heads with Jeremy Clarkson over his beliefs, compared the method which some farmers use to avoid bovine disease spreading to a witch hunt.

In the BBC’s Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me, May explores what he considers the wasteful slaughter of cows and badgers, and a government policy which he feels has failed farmers.

Older trees are able to accelerate their rates of absorbing planet-warming emissions, scientists at the University of Birmingham have found.

A forest of mature oak trees was exposed to elevated levels of carbon dioxide for seven years and in response, the trees increased their production of wood - locking in the greenhouse gas and preventing it from warming the planet.

The researchers hope the study, published in Nature Climate Change, will demonstrate the importance of protecting and maintaining mature forests for tackling climate change.

Rescuers have been monitoring the sea off the Norfolk coast after a whale was spotted stranded near the shore.

The pilot whale was first seen on Sunday near Snettisham, Norfolk, and while it seemed to float out on the tide, it has come back.

The whale is thought to be a young mammal that became separated from its pod, Julia Cable, from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), said.

"If it's an animal that can be rescued, we have the right equipment - we have people who can come out and do that," she said.

Scotland's first and only remaining voluntary marine reserve is about to celebrate its 40th birthday.

Since environmentalist David Bellamy OBE officially launched Berwickshire Marine Reserve on 18 August 1984, thousands of volunteers have helped maintain the beaches and inshore waters.

A rich variety of creatures have benefitted from the extra protection along the five miles (8km) of coastline between Eyemouth and St Abbs Head.

THE introduction of measures to prevent “damaging” activities in many of Scotland’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) has “stalled”, environmental campaigners claimed.

While green groups celebrated when the Scottish Government designated 32 MPAs a decade ago in August 2014, campaigners said only around half of these initial areas currently benefit as a result of “protection from damaging fishing activities”.

Those were introduced in January 2016 – but groups including the Scottish Wildlife Trust, National Trust for Scotland, RSPB Scotland and the Marine Conservation Society now fear this process of rolling out such protections has “stalled”.

Wildlife groups Badger Trust and Wild Justice have begun a legal challenge after the government’s nature conservation agency, Natural England, issued additional badger culling licences against scientific advice from its own experts.

The 26 supplementary badger cull licences authorise farmers to kill badgers from June to November, despite Natural England’s director of science advising that there was “no justification” for the action.

Natural England stated that one of its reasons for issuing the licences was to maintain the confidence of farmers in the government’s disease reduction programmes, as set out by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

A seabird colony in south-west Scotland could be set for a revival - courtesy of two wind farms hundreds of miles away.

Plans have been lodged to create a haven for sandwich terns on Loch Ryan at a spot they have not nested at for over a decade.

It is part of mitigation measures for the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon offshore wind farm extensions which could affect bird numbers off the Norfolk coast.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is trying to save a rare British moth from extinction while also using its site for military training.

The rare dark-bordered beauty moth exists at one last known site in England, the military training area at Strensall Common near York.

The MoD, which owns the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) said it would be working with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and biologists from the University of York to try to protect the moth.

Rainforests used to cover much of the west coast of Britain, but were destroyed over hundreds of years and, today, only a few remain.

But thanks to Wales' rainy weather, some could be returned, with the latest restoration project planned in Pembrokeshire.

The proposal has the potential to improve habitats for wildlife in the area.

According to the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW), only 1% of the planet has the conditions needed for this kind of rainforest.

AN innovative wetland project in the catchment area of a Wye tributary has been officially opened, with a little help from television’s Kevin McCloud MBE

The writer, designer and presenter, who is best known for fronting Channel 4s Grand Designs, delivered a keynote speech at the opening of the Luston site, north of Hereford, which has been operational for a year, helping to tackle nutrient pollution in local rivers.

High levels of phosphate have long been known to damage the Wye and its tributary, the Lugg, which enters the former at Mordiford between Hereford and Ross.

I have had a whole squadron of common darters hunting in the garden for the last few days. They ate clearly finding prey above the long grass. It is noticeable that they are hunting here and not next door, where the grass is kept significantly shorter. Darters don't come and hover in front of you, checking you out in the way that hawkers do so watching them never feels quite so interactive in that sense, but then, they will occasionally come and perch on you instead. Either way, I am very happy that they are around.

A new wetland area, set to attract wildlife and boost tourism, is being developed as part of the Cotswold Canals Connected project. The Fromebridge Biodiversity Project will create a wetlands area and wildlife ponds between the Stroudwater Canal and River Frome south of Whitminster.

This will provide new feeding grounds for migratory birds and feature a bird hide with an accessible towpath, allowing everyone to get closer to nature and enjoy the tranquillity of the canal. A planning application has been submitted which extends the canal restoration west of the "Missing Mile".

It includes the creation of two water vole ponds, a wetlands area, lowering of the River Frome floodbank in two locations, creation of two flood bunds, levelling of the canal towpath bank, construction of a multi-user canal towpath and an accessible bird hide. Volunteers from the Cotswold Canals Trust and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust will complete this project once planning approval has been granted.

Wildlife campaigners say Natural England's decision to add North Wood, between Ringland and Weston Longville, to its inventory of ancient woodland adds to the argument of why the £274m road should not be built.

Norfolk County Council leaders, who have long said the road is needed to stop rat-running and boost the economy, have said they are considering what the designation of the 2,500 square metre woodland, means for the troubled project.

Ten marine species have been deemed "most in need" of protection in Cornwall's waters.

Cornwall Council has created a list of marine plants, animals, and habitats that it believes need protection and recovery.

The list is seals, seagrass, maerl, kelp reef, native oyster, whales and dolphins, mussels, sharks and rays, tuna and cod, and seaworms.

This is playing fast and loose with the use of the word 'species', I'd say. However, good to hear overall.