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Planting flowers in urban green spaces across Cornwall "significantly boosted numbers" of pollinating insects, new research has showed.

The University of Exeter said it partnered with Cornwall Council and civil engineering firm Cormac to plant flowers, trees and shrubbery across 78 hectares in 15 Cornish towns.

They were planted in places including parks, small green spaces, road verges and closed churchyards.

Scientists at the university said the wildflowers led to a "two-fold increase" in flower visits by certain pollinators, particularly solitary bees and solitary wasps.

More than 1.9 million trees were planted in 2023 as part of a major project to boost woodland cover across northern England, it has been revealed.

The Northern Forest project will see 50 million trees planted from coast to coast and around cities such as Liverpool, York, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Hull by 2043.

Since 2018, nearly eight million trees have been planted - with the highest number recorded last year, the Woodland Trust said.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.