UK Nature and Environment

Groups involved in a pioneering project to transform a floodplain into a thriving wetland habitat are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the start of their work.

Long Preston Floodplain in is a unique wetland area around parts of the River Ribble between the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland.

Since 2004, several organisations have worked with farmers in the area on the project, which is ongoing.

The Oxford Rivers Portal, a website and map that helps people understand the health of the Thames and its tributaries in Oxfordshire and make informed choices about safer river conditions, has been launched today by environmental charities the Rivers Trust and Thames21 and research institute the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).

The launch of the Oxford Rivers Portal follows increasing public concern over the state of England’s rivers, as well as a growth in interest in wild swimming and watersports.

On a single map, it brings together live raw sewage spill alerts, water quality measurements taken by the Environment Agency and citizen scientists, water levels, flood warnings, bacteria measurements at bathing water sites and sewage treatment rates* at both Oxfordshire’s designated bathing waters, Port Meadow in Oxford and Wallingford Beach. Users can zoom in and click on any of more than 2,000 locations to find out real-time information or data from the past three years.

Volunteers are being sought for a scheme to introduce wildlife wardens in West Devon.

The project is being launched by West Devon Borough Council on 28 September at the authority's office in Tavistock during an event from 10:30 to 15:00 BST in collaboration with Devon Wildlife Trust.

The council said work would be carried out through the scheme to improve habitats and monitor the borough's ecology with the aim of protecting and increasing wildlife locally.

A rare British bat species has been spotted dangling from a toilet block after a century’s absence from Derbyshire.

The lesser horseshoe bat had not been recorded in the county for more than 100 years before being seen on 14 August.

A Severn Trent ranger at Ladybower Reservoir spotted the winged mammal sheltering under the porch of the toilets at the Heatherdene Car Park.

He photographed the animal, allowing it to now be confirmed by experts at Derbyshire Bat Group as the rare species.

A pioneering project to boost golden eagle numbers in southern Scotland is facing the "imminent threat" of being wound down.

The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP) said it needed to raise £400,000 in order to secure its long-term future.

The scheme has brought the birds from other parts of the country to a secret location near Moffat since it started in August 2018.

However, it has now launched a public appeal for funding to ensure it does not have to fold.

Thousands of purple jellyfish have washed up on a beach on the Isles of Scilly.

The 'Mauve Stingers' are fairly uncommon in the UK and are more likely to be found in warmer European waters like the Mediterranean, according to the Wildlife Trust.

While only small, they are capable of a powerful sting and glow brightly at night if disturbed.

Pupils in UK schools are missing out on regular opportunities to experience nature that have been found to improve mental well-being and attainment, despite the hard work of many passionate teachers.

This is the key finding from a new report published today by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as children go back to school after the summer holidays.

New research in the Schools for Nature report, conducted by The Education Company, and with input from 1,885 schools across the UK, shows that only 24 per cent of schools provide daily opportunities for pupils to experience nature.

A record number of ospreys have been seen fishing in the Axe Estuary in Seaton, Devon.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) said this caused a huge number of nature lovers to visit to watch the birds of prey diving into the estuary.

It added the estuary was home to grey mullet, a fish which feeds near to the water surface, and was ideal prey for osprey.

Geoff Jung, East Devon District Council’s portfolio holder for coast, countryside and environment, said: "Witnessing spellbinding wildlife encounters such as these is exactly why EDDC has invested in the Seaton Wetlands project.

When environment minister Steve Reed revealed plans to lock up water executives if they do not co-operate on sewage spill investigations, he was hoping to show the new Labour government is ready to finally fix the sewage crisis.

However, he received a backlash from water campaigners, who not only don’t believe any of the executives will see the inside of a prison cell, but also voiced concerns about the lack of policy and investment to actually deal with the UK’s failing sewage infrastructure.

Campaigners told i Mr Reed’s announcement originally included no mention of a root and branch review into the water industry’s failings before it was “hastily added” after pressure from environmental groups ahead of a speech at Thames Rowing Club in Putney on Thursday morning.

A PROJECT's pioneering role involving Isle of Wight expertise in helping to protect and restore the Solent's marine biodiversity, has gained global recognition from the United Nations.

The Solent Seascape Survey — the first seascape-scale marine restoration project in the UK — has been designated an official UN Decade Action.

The project's uniqueness lies in its recognition of the critical role of connecting key habitats in The Solent — salt marshes, seagrass beds, oyster reefs and seabird sites — due to the collective benefits they provide.

A PROJECT is working to restore ponds and wooded habitats for wildlife in Shropshire.

Through the Farming in Protected Landscapes funding programme, the Shropshire Hills National Landscape team has been able to support farmers to deliver bigger projects to benefit the Shropshire Hills landscape.

In the Clee Hills area, a project across five farms is creating or restoring 14 ponds and associated wooded habitats for wildlife, including great crested newts.  A survey is assessing the connectivity and condition of habitat corridors connecting the ponds and identifying target areas for future habitat work.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust has been awarded from Natural England's Investment Readiness Fund.

The Trust received £99,081, which will help farmers across the county become investment-ready for green finance.

The funding will allow Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, in partnership with Smart Land Management and Ecology, to assist farmers in developing nature-based projects that could attract private funding.

This video takes a deep dive into the realities of commercial-scale haggis farming in Scotland. Exploring the industry's impact on animal welfare, it uncovers the ethical concerns surrounding the production of farmed haggis.

A NEW Herefordshire nature reserve has had its grand opening, with a Herefordshire MP cutting the ribbon.

Staff and volunteers from Herefordshire Wildlife Trust were joined by Dr Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire, along with National Highways, Herefordshire Ornithological Club and Herefordshire Community Foundation at the long-awaited opening of the reserve on August 28.

The new reserve, Oak Tree Farm, is a 30-acre site which slopes down to the river Lugg below Dinmore Hill. The reserve has been years in the making, with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust purchasing the site in September 2020 following a successful fundraising appeal.

The climate crisis is already impacting Scotland, with more rainfall and higher temperatures being recorded in recent years.

Storing CO2 to prevent it from entering the atmosphere is central to the fight against climate change. The Scottish Government is backing technological projects to capture and store carbon from industrial sites.

However, there are also several ways that CO2 can be stored through natural processes. As part of our Solutions for Scotland project, Ferret Fact Service looked at the different ways to store carbon.

Dozens of people have marched through Hereford to call for an urban wetland in the city centre

The march was part of a wider "day of action" organised by Herefordshire Wildlife Trust calling for the restoration of rivers and streams

Jamie Audsley, CEO of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, said supporters wanted a nature reserve to revitalise Hereford as a "river city".

People marched with banners from the bull statue in High Town to the old Essex Arms sports ground, which the trust hopes to transform into a wetland nature reserve.

‘WATCH out for orange crabs, and jellyfish … they can give a sore sting,” warns Philip Price. “Pour hot water on it as quickly as you can.” It’s just after 9am on a dreich day in August and he’s in a boatshed on the shore of Loch Craignish, in Argyll.

Price – who describes himself as a “seawilder” – is giving a safety talk to a team of volunteers about to snorkel in the loch and harvest seagrass underwater. “Use this barrier cream for protection,” he adds, referring to the perils of jellyfish while holding up a plastic bottle. ”Put it on your face, hands and lips.”

The six volunteers – who hail from as far afield as Cambridge, London and Sardinia – listen intently and all heed Price’s advice. They have donned wetsuits and after the protective cream is applied, face masks and flippers are adjusted as the team prepares for the cold water plunge. The temperature of the loch, Price says, will be less than 15 degrees but he stresses that no-one is expected to stay in the water if they get too cold.

"Rivers will be checked for sewage and other pollution by the general public this month in an attempt to assess the health of British waterways.

Cuts to the UK regulators and a change in the law to allow water company self-monitoring of pollution in England mean there is little independent monitoring of the state of rivers in the UK.

When the UK was in the EU, it was subject to the water framework directive, which meant it had to carry out detailed pollution analysis of waterways and report every year. There has not been a survey done under the WFD since 2019, and the Conservative government began the process of removing the EU standards from UK legislation. The Labour government has not indicated whether it intends to continue this deregulation.

’Citizen scientists’ have therefore been intensifying efforts to check rivers for pollution to try to find the true scale of the problem..."

From the comfort of the riverbank you’d be forgiven for wandering beside the River Usk in ignorant bliss. At a glance it looks pleasant and inviting – but swim in it at your peril.

“It’s full of s***,” Phil Waggott says, pulling no punches. He began fishing for salmon in the Usk in the 1980s in Crickhowell when stocks were plentiful and demand was high but he has not seen, let alone caught, a salmon in the Usk for more than a year – and it’s depressingly easy to see why.

I’ve been beside the banks of the river at Usk Island in Monmouthshire for five minutes when one swimmer tells me they got out recently when they realised they were navigating their way through floating human faeces. “It’s slowly gone into decline and now it’s all but dead,” Phil sighs, recalling better times. “First the dace went, then the salmon, then trout, parr, and now very little is left at all. It’s really like chalk and cheese compared to what it was before in the Usk. It isn’t even recognisable to what it was 10 years ago.

Volunteers have been asked to help restore a natural wetland in the hopes it can encourage more wildlife to venture into the space.

Ham Mere, which is part of Ferry Meadows in Nene Park, Peterborough, has become overgrown with willow and scrub which causes the wetland area to lose moisture.

By using community volunteer conservation sessions in September and early October, Nene Park hopes to restore the area and attract more people to engage with nature.

We’re pleased that the Scottish Government have maintained their commitment to introducing a Natural Environment Bill in the coming parliamentary year. The Bill will include the introduction of statutory targets for nature restoration. These targets must be ‘SMART’, with lead and supporting agencies clearly stated, and a commitment that decision makers be held to account to attain them. The Natural Environment Bill and statutory targets will need widespread support and ownership across all government departments, local government and society. It must be costed and allocated the necessary funding for it to be successful.

We supported the Scottish Environment LINK (ScotLINK) ‘Scotland Loves Nature’ campaign calling for a Natural Environment Bill that establishes the framework for legally binding nature targets to be included in this year’s Programme for Government. A ScotLINK report, ‘Nature recovery targets: Statutory targets to drive the recovery of nature in Scotland’, which CIEEM contributed to, outlines many of the considerations surrounding Nature targets.

Migration-monitoring sites in Britain logged unusually high numbers of migrating Tree Pipits in August.

Tree Pipit breeds in Britain after arriving in April. Birds return south in August and September, bound for wintering grounds in central and southern Africa. As a diurnal migrant, birds in active migration are easily recorded by observers familiar with its 'buzzing' flight call.

Numbers of Tree Pipits logged on the migration recording website Trektellen reached 2,644 individuals across nearly 4,000 combined hours of observation at 36 sites this August. The hourly passage rate for autumn 2024 is already at 0.32 birds per hour, making it the best Trektellen season on record for the species, with some weeks of passage yet to come.

A puffin population has been declared "stable" following fears that bird flu might have had a more devastating effect.

The first full count for five years on the Farne Islands off Northumberland has revealed the endangered species has in fact increased by 15% since 2019.

There are now thought to be 50,000 breeding pairs on the site, which is cared for by the National Trust.

Ranger Sophia Jackson said the birds' self-isolating behaviours meant they had "weathered this particular storm".

Following the latest review from the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examination Board, Dom Higgins, The Wildlife Trusts' head of health and education reflects on its recommendations around making climate and sustainability more prominent in our teaching requirements.

“Climate change and sustainability topics must be made more explicit throughout the curriculum and within individual subjects and qualifications”.

This stand-out call to action features in Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examination Board’s latest review, Striking the Balance. Chaired by former Secretary of State for Education Charles Clark, the review highlights the critical need to update the school curriculum for 11-16 year-olds, making several recommendations relating to the role and use of assessment and examinations across secondary education.