UK Nature and Environment

Thousands of young people across England taking part in the National Education Nature Park programme are supporting global biodiversity research by mapping out the habitats on their school sites.

The National Education Nature Park, commissioned by the Department for Education and led by the Natural History Museum working with the Royal Horticultural Society and additional partners, sees young people creating a network of nature-rich spaces on school sites across the country by turning them from ‘grey to green’ through creating new habitats such as ponds, green walls and grasslands.

The programme has recently reached the milestone of more than 1,000 schools creating a map of the habitats on their site, recording an area of over 11 million square metres, equating to around 8,800 Olympic-size swimming pools. From recording trees and hedges, grassy areas, or even bare ground, mapping existing habitats is the exciting first step in young people understanding what their education site offers for nature, and choosing how to make meaningful improvements. Using curriculum-linked resources from the programme and digital tools developed with Esri UK, these habitat maps allow schools to track their progress over time as well as contributing to cutting-edge scientific research.

Environmentalists and economists are urging the Government to abandon damaging proposals (currently under consultation) to exempt all small development sites (under 1 hectare) from crucial biodiversity requirements. The call comes as new research, BNG in Small Developments, highlights this would be a major setback for nature recovery and risks collapsing the emerging biodiversity credits market.[2] Instead, the research shows that by removing the very smallest sites (under 0.1ha) from the scheme altogether but ending loopholes for larger sites, a “win-win” could be achieved for nature and development.

New analysis by eftec, commissioned by The Lifescape Project and Wildlife and Countryside Link, shows the extent of current BNG rule misuse and the likely future impacts if the Government removes BNG requirements for all small sites.

German researchers visited Norfolk to see how conservationists protect birds nesting along the coast.

The group from the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) met with the RSPB to share experiences of managing similar species on beaches in Europe.

Mick Davis, senior beach warden on the Norfolk coastline, said the area was home to one of the largest colonies in the northern hemisphere of little terns.

The health of rivers across south-east England is under growing threat as hot and dry weather has caused water levels to plummet and pollution to spike, according to the Angling Trust.

The charity warns that the UK's hottest spring on record coupled with pollution has pushed some rivers -including the River Medway in Kent and River Wandle in Surrey - to the brink.

Conservationists say low flows and concentrated pollutants such as ammonia and nitrates - that come from the likes of farming and sewage - have caused fish to die.

An Environment Agency (EA) insider has broken ranks to expose what they describe as a “deliberate and ongoing cover-up” of the public health and environmental dangers of spreading sewage sludge on farmland.

They accuse the regulator and government of colluding with water companies for years to facilitate the dumping of waste under the guise of soil enrichment – without oversight, transparency or testing.

“This has been going on for decades,” they said. “The sludge regime is still being run under guidance created by the water companies. And when the Environment Agency finally funded research that uncovered real dangers, they buried it.”

A rare flower has been rediscovered for the first time in seven years thriving in a nature reserve - thanks to perfect weather conditions and the control of dense vegetation.

The Tubular Water Dropwort, a member of the carrot family of plants, had been threatened with near extinction.

About 130 of the plants were found by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust team at Rye Meads Nature Reserve near Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.

To the untrained eye, Monks Wood looks healthy and lush in the summer sun. Hundreds of butterflies dance on the edge of footpaths in the ancient Cambridgeshire woodland, which is rich with ash, maple and oak trees. Birds flit through the hedgerows as they feed. A fox ambles through a forest clearing, before disappearing into long grass.

But for a number of years, it has been clear to Bruno Ladvocat and Rachel Mailes that something is missing. In 2022, Ladvocat, Mailes and their research team from Birmingham University were out sampling when they noticed that the small trees that typically cover the woodland floor were increasingly hard to find.

Today, in the dappled sunshine surrounding the largest trees, spaces that would normally be home to a mass of saplings scrambling for light are bare.

Only one grey squirrel has been caught in Aberdeen so far in 2025, and red squirrel sightings are on the up!

Conservation efforts are proving effective in Aberdeen City and the surrounding area, with numbers of grey squirrels falling significantly in recent years. Only one grey squirrel was caught in the first six months of 2025, and just a handful of other grey sightings have been reported.

Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS), a partnership project led by Scottish Wildlife Trust, has been working in Aberdeen since 2009 to remove the isolated, or ‘island’ population of grey squirrels from the North East.

Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) has urged people to record five key species in the county.

The organisation wants residents to look out for a mammal, bird, reptile, plant and insect that it said typify Surrey's wildlife.

SWT said its Five2Find app could be used to log "once common" species, including swifts, slowworms, peacock butterflies, bats and the oxeye daisy.

The UK’s hottest and driest spring on record has caused an increased risk to fish and wildlife as it has led to record levels of water pollution in rivers, according to the Angling Trust.

With just 14 per cent of the country’s rivers in good ecological health, the high temperatures have amplified nitrate and ammonia pollution, showing that global warming is placing “severe stress” on Britain’s waterways.

The Angling Trust said that river temperatures in England and Wales between March and June were the hottest since records began three years ago.

Scottish Water has breached its licences at sewage sites more than 250 times in three years.

Probes by eco watchdog SEPA since 2022 found over a third of its sewage assets failed to comply with regulations.

It follows mounting concern at human waste dumped in waterways via "overflow" pipes in the sewer network.

The first recorded sighting of a rare type of dragonfly in Belfast has been hailed by conservationists.

The black-tailed skimmer dragonfly was spotted by volunteers at Bog Meadows Nature Reserve in the west of the city last week.

Nature conservation charity Ulster Wildlife say it is the first such recorded sighting in Belfast and only the second sighting in County Antrim.

Some 50 European Turtle Doves and 10 White Storks have been released in Devon this summer.

During the second week of June, Rewilding Coombeshead, led by Derek Gow, released the doves at the site near Lifton, south-west of Okehampton. All have remained close by, settling in nearby trees, the organisation reports. Annual releases are planned in the future, too.

At the end of May, 10 White Storks were released and have since taken up residence on the land. Rewilding Coombeshead hopes that the birds establish a breeding colony on site.

Millions of tonnes of treated sewage sludge is spread on farmland across the UK every year despite containing forever chemicals, microplastics and toxic waste, and experts say the outdated current regulations are not fit for purpose.

An investigation by the Guardian and Watershed has identified England’s sludge-spreading hotspots and shown where the practice could be damaging rivers.

Sludge – the solid matter left over after sewage treatment – is laden with Pfas “forever chemicals”, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and toxic waste from homes and industry. Water companies rebrand it as biosolids and give or sell it to farmers as a nutrient-rich fertiliser.

Conservationists have said the number of uncommon plant species around a reservoir doubled in just two years thanks to a pond creation project.

The Freshwater Habitats Trust (FHT) also revealed wetland plant species across the whole landscape around Pitsford Reservoir in Northamptonshire were up by nearly a quarter.

A total of 22 new clean water ponds have been created and 10 existing ponds have been managed.

Marine mammal experts surveying a special conservation area were taken by surprise when they encountered at least three minke whales last week.

New Quay, Ceredigion, is known for its bottlenose dolphins as one of only two semi-resident populations in the UK, but sightings of other species are much rarer.

Josh Pedley, of the Sea Watch Foundation, said: "The weather was perfect, with low winds creating a flat calm sea and this helped us get some stunning views and footage of one of the whales as they curiously approached our boat, passing directly underneath us on a couple of occasions."

A new, free app is helping to build a better picture of how critically endangered flapper skates are faring around Scotland’s coasts.

The SkateSpotter mobile app builds on the success of the online flapper skate photo database, which began when angling charter skipper, Ronnie Campbell, gave 400 digital photos of flapper skates to the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in 2018. Seven years later, SkateSpotter, curated by NatureScot with contributions by even more anglers, contains over 4,000 photos of over 2,500 individual flapper skates recognisable by their distinctive spot patterns matched with the help of AI.

With the new, free SkateSpotter app now available on the Play store and the App store, NatureScot is asking anyone who spots a flapper skate to take a picture and report it. The mobile phone app is designed to make it easier for the public to submit photos on the go but older photos can also be uploaded since the app recognises the date and time the photo was taken.

A project to create one of the UK's biggest wetland habitats at a quarry site could take eight years longer than planned.

Brice Aggregates, which operates Needingworth Quarry in Cambridgeshire, has asked for more time to excavate sand and gravel from the site.

The current planning permission for the quarry requires the site to be turned into a wetland habitat by 2030, which the company has asked to be extended to 2038.

Conservation staff are celebrating the success of a trial at Stanner Rocks, Powys after grazing goats notably improved the habitat for two of Wales’ most at risk bryophytes.

The Welsh Marches project, part of Wales’ foremost conservation programme, Natur am Byth (NaB), has been working to safeguard colonies of Upright Apple-moss (Bartramia aprica) and Black Crystalwort (Riccia nigrella) since its inception in summer 2023 and was made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Stanner Rocks is the only place in the UK where both of these species grow and they were at risk of being wiped out completely due to an overgrowth of bramble and gorse making the area inhospitable.

The head of an environmental charity fears Atlantic salmon are at risk of extinction if their young cannot reach the sea.

The Environment Agency has launched a study to look for ways to help the species travel from the River Itchen in Hampshire, to the ocean.

The agency says juvenile salmon in Southampton, known as smolts, are struggling to get past barriers in the river, which is contributing to population decline.

On Monday 30 June Parliament debated the future of driven grouse shooting in England, and with it the future of vast swathes of our iconic upland landscapes. The debate was triggered by the petition launched by the campaign group Wild Justice, which was signed by over 104,000 people and called for a ban on driven grouse shooting.

The RSPB is neutral on the ethics of shooting, and concerned only with preventing the harm caused to wildlife through the management of some grouse shoots. This is why, while we support efforts that bring this important issue into the spotlight, our focus has long been on achieving a system of licensing for grouse shooting. We believe this, rather than an outright ban, is the most pragmatic way to secure a positive outcome for nature.

Licensing would raise environmental standards across the shooting industry and allow responsible shoots to continue to operate, while providing an effective deterrent for those who do harm, or worse, break the law.

Schools and community groups on the Isle of Man have been given the tools to create flower strips to support pollinating insects as part of a drive by a conservation group.

The Make Space for Nature scheme by the Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) encourages residents to transform outdoor spaces and make them "more wildlife-friendly".

Sewn in five locations across the island, the flower beds have used a blend of seeds to ensure a "maximum benefit to wildlife", the trust said.

The RSPB is encouraging people to sign up to be West Midlands Swift Champions, to help record species numbers and ensure they have places to nest.

It comes as the number of swifts has declined by more than 60% in the last 25 years, the charity says.

Volunteers who join the project will conduct swift surveys, engage with communities, attend events and respond to planning applications to see where nesting sites could be implemented.

There are few places where wildlife feels so immediate, so audible, and so intricately woven into daily life as it does in Orkney. This remote archipelago off Scotland’s northern coast isn’t just scenic, it’s ecologically vital. And on my recent ambassadorial visit with the RSPB, I witnessed first-hand how seriously the people of Orkney honour that responsibility.

I was invited to learn more about the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, a pioneering initiative, the first of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere and the largest eradication project ever undertaken on inhabited islands. It even deploys Europe’s first Stoat detection dogs. This ambitious collaboration between the RSPB, NatureScot and Orkney Islands Council is already delivering tangible results.