UK Nature and Environment

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Wild bumblebees are capable of logical reasoning, new research by a University of Stirling psychologist has found.

In a world first, the bees have shown to be capable of inferential reasoning, which is one of the hallmarks of human cognition.

The pioneering study tasked bees with spontaneously finding corresponding sugar-coated strips of paper.

The positioning and colour of the strips were varied, and analysis shows the bees searched in the correct location significantly above chance in both conditions.

Lead researcher Dr Gema Martin-Ordas, a senior lecturer in the University of Stirling's Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: “My studies examine the ability to make a decision by excluding alternatives, known as inferential reasoning, which is usually considered uniquely human and language dependent.

Environment Minister Andrew Muir has launched a new £3 million Peatland Challenge Fund to help protect our peatlands.

He explained: “Our peatlands are of enormous importance to our environment, affecting our water quality, conserving biodiversity and in mitigating climate change by storing carbon, so I am delighted to announce the opening of this £3 million competition fund. It provides a great opportunity to support local not-for-profit organisations and councils to help improve the conditions of our peatlands, many of which are sadly in poor condition.”

In recent years, DAERA’s Environment Fund has supported multiple councils and not-for-profit organizations, including Ulster Wildlife, in restoring local peatland sites. This support has enabled significant projects, such as our recent acquisition of Haughey’s Bog in Co. Tyrone. Once a commercially harvested peatland, Haughey’s Bog is now being transformed into a thriving peatland as part of a ten-year restoration plan – to help bring nature back, improve water quality, reduce flood risk, and tackle climate change.

Political parties are being urged to take a tougher stance on chemical controls, in a new report published today (13 June 2024) by Wildlife and Countryside Link - the biggest environmental coalition in England.

The call comes as results are published from tests for toxic chemicals in the hair and/or blood of 17 leading politicians and environmentalists, including Philip Dunne, Alex Sobel, Caroline Lucas, Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, Ben Goldsmith, Henry Dimbleby, Beccy Speight CEO of the RSPB and Craig Bennett CEO of The Wildlife Trusts.[1]

All of the participants tested positive for multiple PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, endocrine (hormone) disrupting ‘everywhere chemicals’ and heavy metals, with some very high levels of individual hazardous chemicals in multiple samples. Though a small snapshot study the findings suggest UK citizens could potentially face higher levels of contamination from some pollutants than other countries. Chromium, mercury, and multiple phthalate and BPS ‘everywhere chemicals’ were found at considerably higher levels compared to other studies.

We have only been waiting in the grey Atlantic swell a few moments when the first flash of metallic blue appears in the water. A blue shark, a few miles from the coast of Penzance in Cornwall, emerges from the depths. It is time to get in the water – but part of my brain rebels.

“It’s not what you think it will be like … not that ingrained fear that everyone has about sharks. But until you get in the water with them, that fear will remain,” the guide says to the group.

Slipping off the boat, covered head to toe in dark wetsuits, we are instructed not to shout if we see one but to raise a hand, wave and point. We wait, peering through the gloom at the mackerel lure below us. But the shark does not return, and we heave ourselves back on board.

n independent land management group in the Cairngorms working to control the deer population has seen numbers drop by more than half since the 1990s, figures have revealed.

The Upper Deeside and Donside Land Management Group (UDDLM), a voluntary collaboration of land managers covering around a quarter of the national park, released their annual deer count for this year.

Figures show the red deer population across the area covered by the group, which is some 999sqkm, dropped from 8,411 deer in 1996 to 4,054 in 2024. It means there are now just over four deer per sqkm compared to eight previously.

Conservation charity ZSL and British Ecological Society argue changes to land use can bring benefits to climate, nature, and people

Large-scale government-driven changes to land use across agriculture, housing, and energy could restore biodiversity and tackle climate change while at the same time providing a "wealth of benefits" to people, a new report has claimed.

That is the headline recommendation of a new study published today by international conservation charity Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the British Ecological Society (BES), which outlines both the benefits of a coordinated approach to transforming how land is used across the country as well as how changes can be achieved at scale by the next UK government.

Sewage pollution levels in the Mersey estuary are as high as they were in the 1980s despite efforts to clean it up, according to a study.

Researchers from Durham University used dried seaweed to compare levels going back 200 years.

They found the River Mersey and its estuary remained heavily polluted by nitrogen from sewage and said the "shocking" levels required immediate action.

The Environment Agency said it was committed to "protecting and improving water quality".

An exciting project to create one of Britain's biggest reedbeds has passed the halfway stage.

Work on the RSPB's Ouse Fen nature reserve, north of Cambridge, started in 2001. The restoration work has taken place at the former Needingworth Quarry, where sand and gravel has been extracted for use in the construction industry.

In the last 20 years, the site has become prime habitat for Eurasian Bittern, Common Crane, Western Marsh Harrier and Bearded Tit. In 2021, an impressive 12 'booming' male bitterns could be heard across the reserve – a higher total than the entire UK population in 1997. Other wildlife recorded on site includes Eurasian Otter, Water Vole and 22 species of dragonfly.

In a boost for restoring Scotland’s native ancient woodlands and temperate rainforest, a Trees for Life and Woodland Trust Scotland initiative to increase the country’s availability of rare native tree seeds has smashed its first-year target by collecting more than two million seeds.

A team of more than 80 volunteers has collected 2.2 million seeds since last August, in the first season of the three-year Tree Seed Collection Project – enabling 1.5 million trees to be grown for rewilding across Scotland, hugely exceeding an initial target of 500,000 trees.

The project focuses on rare tree species from Scotland’s surviving fragments of ancient woodland, including on Skye, the Western Isles and Orkney, and west coast temperate rainforest.

Many of the tree species have unique genetics, dating back to the end of the last Ice Age, which need preserving. With the trees often in remote locations, the new network of volunteer seed collectors is creating access to local woods and local knowledge.

Lib Dems provide more details on manifesto pledge to tackle sewage crisis and reform water industry by axing Ofwat in favour of new 'Clean Water Authority'

The Liberal Democrats have set out plans to launch a "tough new regulator" to replace current water industry watchdog Ofwat, as part of renewed efforts to tackle sewage pollution and reform the water sector across England and Wales.

After unveiling a raft of green pledges in its manifesto earlier this week, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey this morning unveiled further plans to tackle the well-publicised crisis of polluted rivers, waterways, and beaches, arguing Ofwat should be scrapped in favour of a Clean Water Authority.

The proposed new body would be given powers to ban bonuses for water company bosses, revoke the licence of poorly performing water companies, force water firms to publish the full scale of their sewage spills, reform water companies to put local environmental experts on their boards, and set legally binding targets on sewage discharges.

Dozens of swift nesting boxes and speakers playing the birds' calls have been installed on farms in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset.

The project follows a survey of the Allenford and Martin Down Farmer Clusters by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).

Volunteers spent three days installing 31 boxes and eight speakers to entice the red-listed birds.

The boxes will be monitored but the trust says it may be two to three years before the birds begin to nest there.

The next government must give Windermere greater protection from sewage pollution, campaigners including the naturalist Chris Packham and the comedian Paul Whitehouse have urged in an open letter to all party leaders.

The campaign group Save Windermere, which organised the letter, says the lake has huge ecological significance, is home to rare and protected species and brings in about £750m to the economy. But the signatories, who include the Wildlife Trust, the countryside charity the CPRE and WildFish, say it is being degraded by pollution.

As party leaders prepare to publish their manifestos this week, Matt Staniek, the founder of Save Windermere, said greater protection for the lake was urgently needed to make sure it was looked after for future generations forever. “This is not ideological, it’s non-contentious, and it is absolutely necessary to save Windermere whilst also setting an example for the treatment of our freshwater and our natural world on a national level,” he said in the letter.

Released yesterday afternoon, the Conservative Party manifesto talks up 'Britain as a force for good in the world' - but in this blog, Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, weighs up whether it delivers for nature.

As well as talking about the UK being a force for good in the world, the Conservative manifesto rightly says we must be 'outward looking and global in perspective'. And that certainly fits with some of the actions of the UK Government since 2019. They have shown leadership with the introduction of an Agriculture Act and Environment Act, which have laid strong foundations for nature's recovery in the UK.

Yet, in this manifesto, even though many environmental commitments remain the same, the language has weakened...

Recent reports at the Scottish and global levels reveal the scale of the threat to nature and the economy from invasive species, a threat that is only growing as our climate changes.

An invasive non-native species (INNS) is defined as a species intentionally or unintentionally introduced outside its native range by human actions. These species tend to be opportunists, exploiting any chance to spread, and cause damage to the environment, the economy, our health or the way we live.

The multi-national Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ Invasive Alien Species Assessment was published in February and brings together more than 13,000 scientific studies and indigenous and traditional knowledge. It concludes that INNS are spreading around the world at unprecedented and increasing rates, predicting that their number will increase by more than a third by 2050. Humans have introduced more than 37,000 non-native species around the world and at least 3,500 create problems for nature.

Hairy Hungarian hogs have been drafted in to create the perfect habitat for the UK’s most endangered butterfly, conservationists said.

The curly-haired Mangalitsa pigs and English Longhorn cattle are being deployed as “living lawnmowers” at a National Trust site on Exmoor, Devon, to help create the ideal breeding conditions for the high brown fritillary.

The Great Yorkshire Creature Count is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a weekend dedicated to wildlife close to home.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s wildlife census on 15th and 16th June encourages people across Yorkshire to delve, search and look all around for creatures in their gardens and local green spaces.

Taking part in the Count is fun, free and easy to do, and everyone can take part no matter how big or small your green space is. Sign up and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will provide everything you need, including a starting list of 30 creatures to look out for, wildlife gardening advice, inspiration and children’s activities. Spend just 30 minutes – as many times as you like - anytime between 12 noon on Saturday and 12 noon on Sunday.

Politicians from both Wales and Scotland have backed calls by national animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports for the next UK government to strengthen fox hunting laws.

MSs joined animal welfare campaigners at the Senedd today to express their support for a ban on so-called trail hunting and for loopholes in the Hunting Act being exploited by hunts to be closed down.

It follows comments by SNP politicians calling for tougher measures to tackle fox hunting across England and Wales and to emulate the example being set by the Scottish Government which banned trail hunting last year.

Chris Luffingham, acting chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said “It’s time for change and to end hunting for good. The laws in Wales and England need to be strengthened.

We should all be welcoming insects into our garden, pollinating our plants, keeping the food chain going and boosting biodiversity.

There are thought to be as many as 22,400 species of insect across the UK with fewer than 1% of this total considered problematic by gardeners, although some might make you do a second take.

In the run-up to Insect Week, which celebrates insects in all their forms and spreads the message of their important role in maintaining a healthy garden ecosystem, RHS entomologist Josie Stuart selects five fantastic beasts you may see in your garden.

With wildlife sightings season on the horizon, we shine a spotlight on the most frequently recorded sea turtle species in UK and Irish waters – the leatherback.

The leatherback stands out among sea turtles with its remarkable ability to adapt and survive in our cooler waters, a trait that sets it apart from other reptiles. It's a species of unparalleled uniqueness, and we're incredibly lucky to have it as a regular visitor to our shores.

More Golden Eagles are now flying in southern Scottish skies than at any point in the last three centuries, it has been revealed.

Following a series of releases of translocated birds, the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project has announced that no fewer than 47 Golden Eagles are now living wild in southern Scotland. This represents a slight increase on 2023's figures.

Under a research licence from NatureScot, the project team successfully caught, transported and released eight free-flying subadult Golden Eagles from the Outer Hebrides in 2023 and 2024, bringing the total number of subadult birds released to 15. The eagles were released almost immediately on arrival at a secret location in the southern uplands of Scotland.

I have now booked train tickets and will be heading to the march on the 22nd with a couple of friends.

There are coaches going from various places - but not locally to me, and the local wildlife trust's minibus is out of action, it seems, so they are training too.

I have organised a coach myself to a similar event in the past, but the moment has passed for this one now.

Any of you going?

A water company has pleaded guilty to allowing too much sewage waste into the River Wye.

Welsh Water Ltd was fined £90,00 after the Environment Agency found sewage levels near Hereford exceeded the legal limit three times in one year in 2020 and 2021.

Environmental rules state the company must not discharge over the limit more than twice in a 12-month period.

The company was ordered to pay a £90,000 fine at Worcester Crown Court and pay costs of £14,085.

An "incredibly rare" bridled tern and "golden puffin" have been spotted within days of each other at a North East island.

Both sightings were on or near Coquet island off the Northumberland coast, where people are banned from treading.

It is thought the bridled tern, which is normally found in warm tropical waters, was blown off course.

Holly Pickett, one of the wardens of the island, said: "It's been an exciting few days with birdwatchers coming from all over the country."

On Tuesday, 4th June a volunteer task force worked alongside staff from Kent Wildlife Trust and the Species Recovery Trust to survey the population of the plant at the reserve, situated just outside of Sittingbourne.

The team was encouraged after counting 86 species, an increase from 47 in 2023 to 17 initially planted in 2021.

The critically endangered species is the rarest of the milkworts and grows on chalk grassland in Kent. It is a subspecies of dwarf milkwort which had declined in population due to scrub encroachment, lack of grazing and ploughing.

Milkwort plays an important role in supporting biodiversity by providing food and shelter for various insects, birds, and small mammals.