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A major shake-up of local councils in Norfolk and Suffolk is a "once in a generation" chance to secure money to breathe new life into rivers and to restore nature, charity bosses say.

Nature organisations say the creation of new councils and a mayor for the two counties needs to go hand in hand with cash and powers to protect habitats at risk and to clean up rivers.

Bosses at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Norfolk Rivers Trust, the River Waveney Trust and the RSPB, have sent an open letter to council leaders, MPs and local government minister Jim McMahon urging nature to be an integral part of the new set-up.

 

Over 900 mature native oysters (Ostrea edulis) have been suspended in 30 purpose-built cages over the edges of Carrickfergus Marina’s pontoons to help revive the species.

Led by local nature conservation charity Ulster Wildlife in partnership with Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, the restoration initiative could see up to 900 million oyster larvae released into surrounding waters every year. In addition to supporting the expansion of wild populations, the oysters will help boost biodiversity and improve water quality by filtering pollutants.

Carrickfergus was once the heart of Belfast Lough’s thriving native oyster industry in the 1850s, home to the world-famous Carrick oyster. However, a combination of overfishing and disease led to their disappearance from Belfast Lough and beyond.

 

A Scottish accountant has captured hundreds of hours of footage of wildlife on a city centre river while recovering from knee replacement surgery.

Tom Kelly's remarkable recordings include otters and their cubs, kingfishers and herons in their natural habitat on Edinburgh's Water of Leith.

He began documenting the wildlife in January 2021, after doctors advised him to walk as much as possible to aid his rehabilitation.

The 60-year-old has since walked 5,000 miles and made a full recovery while gathering the film.

 

A woman who "married" the River Avon as part of a campaign for clean water, has said she hopes the relationship remains "sustainable".

Megan Ruth-Trump took part in the ceremony in Bristol in 2023 to raise awareness of untreated sewage being pumped into waterways.

She said the marriage had inspired her to write poetry and use creativity to make people more passionate about keeping the river clean.

"The wedding inspired me to quit my job and focus on campaigning and writing," Ms Ruth-Trump said.

 

Cat Marfell, the volunteer administrator at Gloucestershire Toads on Roads, said there are now more than 35 patrols taking place at spots across the county.

Migration season, which occurs any time between January and April, sees toads, frogs, and newts travel to water to breed.

"It's been quite warm and we were out patrolling in February, and then it's not really been warm again until Wednesday," Ms Marfell said.

 

Somerset Wildlife Trust, along with the Diocese of Bath and Wells, has launched this year's Wilder Churches, with special online workshops planned.

Started in 2021, the scheme has supported more than 100 communities to take action in their local spaces for nature.

Methods used in some churches include making planters bee-friendly, or adjusting how the yards are mowed.

 

A sperm whale which died on Monday after washing up on the island of Raasay had been entangled in ropes.

It was the latest in a series of whale entanglements off the Scottish coast in the last few months.

What is behind such incidents and how common are they?

 

OU researchers have produced new evidence which suggests that disadvantaged and vulnerable young people benefit from supported nature-focused activities. Green Pathways participants exploring their local woods.

Dr Jitka Vseteckova (Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies) and Dr Joanna Horne (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), are authors on a co-produced article titled: Ecotherapy and out-of-classroom learning for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people: an evaluation of a project in England, which has just been published in the journal, Environmental Education Research.

The paper is the result of a long-term inclusive research engagement and co-production between the OU and the Froglife Trust, funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

 

An innovative project to improve biodiversity and improve marine habitats has been set up in Whitby.

Textured and sculptural concrete panels, crafted by hand with the help of local people, have been created and will be fixed to an area of 25m² of the intertidal zone on the slipway at Whitehall Landing.

The new artificial textured panels will transform the sheer, man-made, concrete sea wall and slipway into new habitats that can be colonised by seaweeds, whelks and winkles and other marine creatures, helping to improve biodiversity in the area.

Over time, intertidal habitats have been lost because man-made structures such as quays and marinas have been built on these important areas.

 

A voluntary promise to phase out toxic lead shot in the UK has failed, meaning wildlife and human health are being put at risk, a study has found.

The vow, made in February 2020 by the UK’s nine leading game shooting and rural organisations, aimed to benefit wildlife and the environment and keep toxic lead out of the human food chain. They aimed to phase lead shot out by 2025, and hoped to avoid a full government ban. It is recommended birds are shot with non-toxic cartridges made of metals such as steel instead.

A study of 171 pheasants killed in the 2024-25 shooting season found that where any shot was still in the carcass all but one had been killed with lead ammunition. The team also analysed shotgun pellets found in red grouse carcasses shot in the same season and on sale through butchers’ shops and online retailers. In all 78 grouse carcasses from which any shot was recovered, the shot was lead.

 

A new set of stamps is being issued marking the diversity of wildlife in the UK’s gardens.

Images on the 10 stamps include popular species such as a fox, blackbird, frog, blue tit, hedgehog, robin and snail.

Royal Mail worked with Professor Dawn Scott, executive dean of the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences at Nottingham Trent University, on the stamps.

 

The sun was shining, people were gingerly paddling in the sea and dogs were being walked up and down the coast – a typical day on the beautiful Dorset coast. But the beachgoers probably didn’t know that just a few minutes inland, history was being made.

On Wednesday, at the National Trust’s Purbeck Heath nature reserve, four beavers were released from crates and crawled into Little Sea, a 33-hectare lake. They are the first beavers to be legally released in England, after 400 years of absence and a fight to return them to the landscape.

The trust says this is the perfect habitat for the creatures to roam free, with no fenced enclosures, because it is full of lakes and watercourses for the beavers to make their home. They have permission to release 25 on the peninsula but are starting with four and then making more releases in coming years if this one goes well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Native black poplars are very rare - although recovering in the last couple of decades through conservation projects like this - but there are a lot of non native ones around that look very similar to the untrained eye. Plus any number of Lombardys as you say.

The typical process, as far as I have been involved at least, is for local wildlife volunteers to identify potential native trees, the county ecologist or similar specialist to come and assess, and then a dna sample taken to be analysed to confirm. After that, cuttings are taken and grown on - and black poplars are usually pretty successful as cuttings.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Pretty much the way it has gone with me. I don't think that I have ever bought a wallet myself, nor requested one as a present, but nonetheless I have never had a shortage of them.

My current one does what I want it to, and has lasted for probably a decade or so so far. Still going strong too.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I really think that a farm animal - regardless of breed - licking it's arse falls under the same Naturey McNatureface rule, so thanks but no thanks.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

I have no great desire to be remembered. It is neither here nor there from my point of view. As to how people are likely to remember me, 'quiet' and 'intelligent' are two words that crop up a lot from people who I interact with casually or occasionally. Those who know be better would probably focus on my environmental and conservation work etc.

Related to that, due to the role that I played in stopping an area being sold for development and instead becoming designated as a nature reserve on one occasion, there is a meadow that is casually called after me by some people that I worked with. I suppose that I would be happy to be remembered as a meadow.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Beavers were native, but were wiped out around 400 years back in the UK. They have only been brought back at all in the last couple of decades really.

Different numbers of chromosomes, but one of the notable points about both species is that their appearance and behaviour is VERY similar. No matter where they are, they have a niche and they are phenotypically very well fitted to it.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Sadly, translocation has a very low success rate. It lets the developers say that they've been good, but if you return to check 5 years down the line chances are the reception site will be in a very poor condition and the tranlocated population much reduced or gone altogether.

If we are on a position where Labour are saying that the tories protected wildlife too much, my hopes for wildlife are not high.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

TV - our 'regulars' at the moment are: A Man On The Inside, What We Do In The Shadows, Silo, Lower Decks & Shrinking. The highlight of those this week was definitely the scene in Shrinking s02e06 with Alice & Louis. Extremely well done all round.

Otherwise on TV, we've just started the original Wolf Hall, which expects you to sit up and take notice, but rewards that no end (as it should with this cast, and the writing). And then there is Dune: Prophesy - which I am still unsure about, but still willing to see how it goes for another episode or two. Also looking forward to starting Black Doves and The Sticky.

Film - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice last weekend, which was a lot more fun than I expected, even if not outstanding, and then the 2015 Krampus on the 5th - Krampusnacht - which has become a bit of a tradition with us now, and remains enjoyable. Ten minutes after that finished, our power went out - no blizzard though.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I assume that the issue is doe to hard water from the borehole - and so limescale buildup, which can quickly kill heating elements.

I look after a few systems with this issue, and have installed water softeners to deal with it. There is some info here.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Their body is very reflective and can often appear silvery when in the water, but, more significantly, the beetles have pockets of air trapped underneath, which you can see here - definitely silver in appearance.

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