GreyShuck

A nature reserve in East Yorkshire has seen a resurgence in numbers of a rare bird that nearly disappeared from the UK.

RSPB Blacktoft Sands, in Goole, has experienced a record year in the breeding of bearded tits, also known as "beardies", which came dangerously close to extinction in the UK in the 1940s.

Around 120 pairs of the small, reedbed bird produced 500 young last year at the reserve – more than double the breeding success rate of previous years.

WILDLIFE charities have warned that a proposed project could result in more intense floodings in Warrington.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust and The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside are sounding the alarm over controversial plans to build a tidal barrage across the River Mersey.

The scheme, which is in the pre-application stage, is proposed by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and documents state it will harness renewable marine energy and provide reliable and predictable electricity power generation using the significant height difference in the tides.

The UK is home to two species of seal, the grey seal and the smaller harbour seal.

In some areas of Scotland, harbour seal numbers are in decline or are at drastically depleted levels compared to 20 years ago.

SMRU aerial surveys revealed harbour seal numbers in The Wash (southeast England), the main population centre in England, are ~25% lower than in 2018. This large embayment has regularly been home to around 5,000 harbour seals, when surveys began in 1988 and as recently as 2018. University of St Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) are undertaking a programme of work to understand the decline.

Peatlands are critical ecosystems for carbon storage and biodiversity, containing more carbon than all the world's forests despite covering just 3% of the global land surface – but new research has revealed that vast areas of the UK’s peatlands, including the Flow Country UNESCO World Heritage Site, are likely to be unsuitable for peat accumulation by 2061-80 due to climate change.

A group of researchers including Dr Jonathan Ritson from the University of Manchester are calling for a shift in conservation strategies in their new study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, and their findings highlight significant regional differences - Western Scotland emerges as a stronghold for peatlands, making it an urgent priority area for conservation efforts.

Using advanced bioclimatic models, the study projects substantial reductions in areas suitable for peat accumulation across the UK, with the Flow Country, Dartmoor and the Peak District being particularly at risk. Even under moderate emissions reductions, many of these landscapes may no longer sustain the conditions necessary for peat formation.

The decision to greenlight a giant new oilfield off Shetland has been ruled unlawful by the courts, in a major win for climate action that scientists say is urgently needed.

The proposed Rosebank development – the UK’s biggest untapped oilfield – had been given the go-ahead in 2023 under the previous government.

But on Thursday the court of session in Edinburgh sided with campaigners and climate experts in ruling that the original decisions to permit Rosebank and a second, smaller, gas field called Jackdaw were unlawful, as they had not taken into account the carbon emissions created by burning any oil and gas produced.

The Environment Agency working closely with Natural England has secured the largest ever commitment from water companies to clean up the environment and invest in new infrastructure since privatisation.  

The Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) sets out over 24,000 actions water companies must take over the next five years to meet their legal requirements for the environment. This series of targeted interventions represents a £22.1bn investment in the environment - four times more than was secured in the last Price Review and will deliver tangible benefits for our water system and for customers.

As part of the PR24 process the Environment Agency assessed actions proposed by water companies and, alongside Ofwat and Natural England, provided technical guidance to make sure these actions will provide direct solutions to environmental pressures and help drive nature recovery.

Mountain (or montane) woodland consists of short, hardy trees that grow from around 450m above sea level in tough upland conditions where tall upright trees cannot establish. Most have been lost to overgrazing and burning.

These wee trees are important for high-altitude biodiversity, and valuable for protecting steep slopes and reducing flooding as the country faces more extreme weather.

A seed stand is a small group of individual trees planted and maintained in an accessible spot to provide a genetically predictable source of seed to be grown in nurseries or directly sown on mountainsides. They are necessary because remaining montane species in the wild are often in very inaccessible places.

Worcester City Council has created a biodiversity strategy to help wildlife thrive across the city.

The council, which is responsible for more than 260 acres of green space, including 24 conservation sites, wants to stop the decline of important wildlife species.

The strategy, which has been supported by councillors, sets out a plan for the next five years to stop biodiversity loss and boost wildlife habitats.

Key goals include improvements in tree canopy cover, the creation of wildlife corridors, and a five per cent net gain in biodiversity across council-managed land by 2030.

A rail route backed by chancellor Rachel Reeves – who played down consideration of bats and newts in development – has been fraught with fears it will wipe out bats and their habitats.

Cambridgeshire County Council this month warned of a potentially catastrophic effect on barbastelle bats of the East West Rail project, a new rail link between Oxford and Cambridge.

The scheme could be "unacceptable" and have a "catastrophic” impact on their population, including "in the worst-case scenario, loss of the maternity roost", the council said.

Rachel Reeves has been accused by environmental experts of putting the climate at risk with high carbon projects including the expansion of Heathrow airport.

The chancellor made airports the central focus of her plan for growth, despite having previously promised to be the first green chancellor and having extolled the benefits of green growth.

Environmental leaders have asked her to recommit to green growth, such as the renewable economy and green public transport, rather than expanded aviation and new roads.

A new fund to support Nature Recovery environmental projects, the first of its kind, across Northern Ireland has been launched by Environment Minister Andrew Muir.

Councils and voluntary organisations can now apply for the Nature Recovery Challenge Fund Competition 2025/26 – 2027/28 which will offer a minimum grant award of £50,000.

This Challenge Fund grant competition is primarily CAPITAL funding for projects to deliver the key theme of Nature Recovery including Nature Recovery Networks, Species Recovery Networks and 30x30 Projects. Projects which support the conservation of Lough Neagh are particularly welcome to apply.

The Welsh government has given the charity £249,995 as part of its Nature Networks Fund programme to support the rare Large Heath.

Butterfly Conservation will employ a new full-time officer to lead a project researching what conservation methods can benefit the species on the peat bogs where it lives.

Butterfly Conservation Head of Conservation in Wales, Alan Sumnall, said: "We are so pleased to get this fantastic funding. We've wanted to explore if peat bog restoration is good for the Large Heath for years, but this project will tell us for certain what techniques are helping the most so that we can target our efforts even more.