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Fifteen years ago, a long-held dream of a large National Park stretching from Winchester to Eastbourne finally became a reality.

The 87-mile-long South Downs National Park was designated as a haven for nature with some of the rarest habitats in the world – reptile-rich heathlands, chalk grasslands brimming with blue butterflies, wildlife-rich wetlands and woodlands full of bird song.

But, like so much of Britain in the 20th century, nature had been marginalised in some parts, often just about surviving in isolated ‘island’ habitats, leaving some species in danger of local extinction.

The creation of the South Downs National Park has started to turn the tide on that biodiversity loss, with concerted efforts over the past 15 years to create bigger, better and more joined-up habitats where animals and plants can thrive.

As the National Park celebrates its 15th birthday on March 31, 15 biodiversity success stories are being shared.

Raw sewage was discharged into rivers and coastal waters in England for almost 4m hours last year, with waterways that have the highest environmental protections subjected to days of pollution.

Data released by the Environment Agency on Thursday revealed water companies discharged untreated effluent for 3.62m hours, a slight increase on last year.

The data showed that nothing had changed, Giles Bristow from Surfers against Sewage said. “The picture is just as bleak. Despite commitments to investment over the past five years, our water is no cleaner.”

Celebrated by William Wordsworth, Windermere has long epitomised the natural timeless beauty of the Lake District, with millions of tourists drawn to the shores that inspired the poet. But today England’s biggest lake is, some campaigners say, a shadow of its 19th century self: its waters blighted by algae and its wildlife threatened by pollution, in a symbol of all that is wrong with the privatised water industry.

This month the environment secretary, Steve Reed, vowed to break with the recent past, standing on its shores and promising that Labour would “clean up Windermere”. The lake is showing the impact of sewage pollution from United Utilities treatment plants and increased pressure from climate change-induced temperature rises.

Reed’s promise was welcomed as a historic moment by Matt Staniek, a campaigner who has almost singlehandedly brought the lake’s plight to national consciousness. But Staniek, who formed the group Save Windermere, added that it was just the beginning of the mission to save the lake.

Hundreds of hectares of peatland is being restored in a project which aims to prevent Glasgow's tap water turning brown during extreme rain.

Loch Katrine, in the heart of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, supplies water to 1.3 million homes in and around Scotland's largest city.

But the peat in the hills surrounding the loch has degraded, which allows soil and brown particles from plants to flow into the water.

The relationship between the only breeding pair of ospreys on England's south coast has been temporarily complicated by the arrival of a second female.

Male osprey 022 returned to Poole Harbour on Saturday, whilst female CJ7 was seen back at the nest on Tuesday.

But in-between the pair's arrivals, female 1H1 - who normally calls Rutland home in the spring and summer months - also landed at the nest.

Birds of Poole Harbour, the conservation charity leading the reintroduction scheme, said 1H1 spent a few days on the nest before CJ7 "quickly saw off the intruding female".

Local authorities will directly receive £10 million to support new, or to enhance existing, approaches to restoring biodiversity through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF).

More than £55 million has been awarded via the NRF since its launch in 2021 for projects delivering habitat and species restoration, coastal and marine initiatives and control of invasive non-native species.

Acting Minister for Climate Action, Dr Alasdair Allan said:

“Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, and is essential for sustaining the ecosystems that provide us with food, fuel, health, wealth, and other vital services. We know there is an urgent need to act decisively to address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change together.

They work as hard as bees to pollinate our plants, often look and sound like bees but have no sting – yet hoverflies remain the unsung heroes of our gardens.

Now, The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) are calling on gardeners across the country to help save hoverflies, through this year’s Wild About Gardens campaign, by making room for these beneficial insects in our gardens this summer by building log piles, planting flowers and creating shallow ponds.

Hoverflies come in many shapes and sizes and are often mistaken for bees, wasps and hornets. Many of these insect workers, which are as critical for our food security as bees, are now endangered, the charities warn.

How well do you know your British wildlife geography? Test your knowledge by identifying the regions where these animals are most likely to be found in the UK.

Recent research indicates that Brits' knowledge of local wildlife is on the decline, with robins, dragonflies, and badgers among the species people struggle to identify, with 51 per cent uncertain about where to find different animals across the UK.

The study, commissioned by The Camping and Caravanning Club, found that a staggering 73 per cent of participants wouldn't feel confident identifying animal by their tracks or footprints.

Coastal habitats along the Greater Thames Estuary, the life source of England's capital and far beyond, will be restored as part of the $5 million project, providing vital spaces for wildlife and healthier environments for people.

Led by our team of conservationists, the new Transforming the Thames collaboration brings together conservationists, local communities, government bodies and landowners – including from RSPB, Essex and Kent Wildlife Trusts, The Environment Agency and Essex and Kent County Councils - with the combined goal of reviving the Greater Thames Estuary, supporting both the wildlife that calls it home and the 8 million people that will benefit from improved access to nature and better protection from the impacts of climate change.

The grant, awarded by the Endangered Landscape and Seascape Programme and worth almost £4 million, will enable the team to kick off the first four years of their pioneering mission to restore key habitats across the estuary, tackle the biggest threats destroying existing habitats, and empower others – from individuals to businesses - to scale up transformation across the region.

A GCSE in natural history has been given the go-ahead by the UK government, paving the way for children to “understand and protect the nature on their doorstep and beyond”.

The qualification, which is set to become one of the first new GCSEs to be introduced in over a decade, was confirmed in parliament last week (21 March), by education minister Catherine McKinnell. Nature lovers have been campaigning for it for more than a decade, but despite a curriculum being drawn up some time back, progress had slowed.

Environmentalist Mary Colwell spearheaded the drive, working on it since 2011. Speaking at a seminar in 2021, she said a GCSE in natural history would “reconnect our young people with the natural world around them. Not just because it’s fascinating, not just because it has benefits for mental health, but because we’ll need these young people to create a world we can all live in, a vibrant and healthy planet.”

Over 50 environment and farming groups are urging the Government not to cut the already inadequate nature-friendly farming budget for the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) any further. In fact, they say, it should be increased to meet nature and climate targets and ensure sustainable, wildlife-friendly food production.

Defra’s budget has been rumoured to be on the chopping block in the Comprehensive Spending Review. Multiple environmental regulators were called into Downing Street by the Chancellor just last week, with Natural England, who have a major role in agri-environment schemes, expected to lose 200 jobs. Nature groups and farmers are concerned that cuts to the nature-friendly farming budget – which makes up the lion’s share of Defra’s spending - will potentially be trailed in the Spring Statement this week.

Not only would environmentalists and farmers object to such cuts due to the damage they would cause, they would also be likely to be unpopular with the public too. ​​New YouGov polling for Wildlife and Countryside Link has shown that only 13% of the public think the Government made the right decision in suspending the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) recently.

Increasing levels of damage to wildlife on a protected part of the Anglesey coast have led to a new exclusion zone being introduced.

The RSPB, which leases an area of land known as the Range, close to South Stack lighthouse, has been given special powers to protect rare bird species and the environment.

While the coastal path remains open across the 1.8 mile (2.9 km) exclusion zone, temporary restrictions aim to curb the damage caused by growing numbers of people taking part in activities such as coasteering during bird breeding season.

"It's one of the most special and important places for habitats and species, in many cases internationally," explained Alun Prichard, director of RSPB Cymru.