Inaccurate coverage on monitoring water quality in England
Today we are looking at inaccurate media coverage on monitoring water quality in England.
Updated: Wed Nov 01 2023
Guardian article on English flood defences
Today we are responding to article in the Guardian about English flood defences
Updated: Tue Oct 31 2023
Government response to EFRA Committee report on species reintroduction published
Today we are looking at the government response to the EFRA Committee's report on species reintroduction
Updated: Fri Oct 27 2023
Farming podcast: Learning more about SFI in 2023 with the NFU
In this episode of the Farming podcast, Jonathan Marsden, Head of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) talks to Claire Robinson, Senior Countryside Adviser for the National Farmers Union (NFU). The pair discuss what you need to know as a farmer to get ready for SFI this year.
Updated: Wed Oct 25 2023
My Experience Interning with the Environment Agency
Mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change is something I'm very passionate about. From experiencing heatwaves first-hand here in the UK, to hearing about drinking-water wells drying up due to drought in my parents' villages in Sri Lanka, witnessing the negative impacts of climate change across the world is what initially pushed me to pursue a career in this field.
Updated: Wed Oct 25 2023
Exploring ways of investing in nature
Find out more about the Nature Returns Programme, exploring approaches to creating and restoring natural habitats to tackle the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Updated: Tue Oct 24 2023
Marine Planners from the Marine Management Organisation visit the Isles of Scilly
We were recently invited to attend the Festival of Nature on the Isles of Scilly to discuss marine planning and marine plan use with event attendees. The event was led by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust and was aimed ...
Updated: Tue Oct 24 2023
Mendip 'super' National Nature Reserve
Today we are looking at media coverage of Natural England's announcement on the declaration of the Mendips 'super' National Nature Reserve.
Updated: Tue Oct 24 2023
Developing the means to manage woodlands
Rosanna Curtis, Project Manager for the Northwoods Innovation Programme, talks about how they are supporting innovation to help woodland owners to actively manage their woodlands.
Updated: Mon Oct 23 2023
Enhancing Access to Green & Blue Spaces for People with Visual Impairment
Natural England's mission is 'Building partnerships for Nature recovery,' and we are passionate about building partnerships that make outdoor recreation activities available to everyone. Our commitment to the Equality Act 2010 underscores our dedication to inclusivity in all our endeavours. ...
Updated: Mon Oct 23 2023
Leven Carrs Wetland: broadening our ambitions with Landscape Recovery
I'm Sarah, the project manager for the Leven Carrs Wetland project near Beverley in East Yorkshire. In this post, I'll shine a light on our Landscape Recovery project. We want to transform the area into a landscape-scale, dynamic wetland which is home to an abundance of wildlife and sits alongside sustainable farming practices and food production.
Updated: Mon Oct 23 2023
'Behind the Scenes' at the Forestry Commission: Managing Ips typographus..... five years on
Ips typographus was first identified in the UK in 2018. Since then multiple teams at the Forestry Commission, Forest Research and Defra have been working together to manage this invasive pest. Here's how.
Updated: Thu Oct 19 2023
The Sustainable Farming Incentive
In this post, we'll provide updates on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and the resources you need to prepare. Alongside the date from which we'll start accepting applications, we also include details of an accelerated payment to help with cashflow. Updated 19 October
Updated: Thu Oct 19 2023
Coverage of consultation launched to ban wet wipes containing plastic
Today we are looking at coverage of a consultation launched on Saturday on banning wet wipes that contain plastic.
Updated: Mon Oct 16 2023
Sunday Telegraph article about Natural England's position on housebuilding
An article in the Telegraph (14 October) picks up on comments made by Natural England chair Tony Juniper on X (formally Twitter) regarding media reports about the role of housebuilding on scrubland. The Telegraph also includes criticism from some quarters that Tony is opposed to housebuilding.
Updated: Mon Oct 16 2023
Sunday Telegraph article about Natural England's position on housebuilding
An article in the Telegraph (14 October) picks up on comments made by Natural England chair Tony Juniper on X (formally Twitter) regarding media reports about the role of housebuilding on scrubland. The article suggests Tony is criticising housebuilding policy set out by Labour at its recent party conference. The Telegraph also includes criticism from some quarters that Tony is opposed to housebuilding.
Updated: Mon Oct 16 2023
Make a difference - lead with the Environment Agency.
We need dynamic and diverse leaders now more than ever. Worsening storms, more frequent floods and heatwaves, longer droughts, faster coastal change, significant species loss and greater pressures on water, land and air - climate change is happening now. We ...
Updated: Fri Oct 13 2023
Times article on Environment Agency inspections
An article published in The Times today covering Environment Agency inspections has said checks on water companies and individuals are drawing too much water from English rivers and aquifers have fallen over the last four years. At the same time, ...
Updated: Thu Oct 12 2023
How the Environment Agency uses data to protect our water resources in a changing climate
After spending almost 20 years collecting data in the West Midlands to respond to climate change challenges, like flooding and drought, I still love the job I do as much as when I first got called to interview for the Environment Agency.
Updated: Wed Oct 11 2023
Thriving for the Future: Seizing the moment for trees, woods and forests
We've published our new corporate strategy setting out how we will deliver, for the environment, for the economy and for society, Richard Stanford, Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, explains more.
Updated: Wed Oct 11 2023
Watch: a test and trial update from Aqualate Mere
In this film, we return to Aqualate Mere in Staffordshire to learn more about the tests and trials experience of Aqualate Castle Holdings. Farmers in the catchment share what they learned about blending public and private finance for greater environmental good. They focused on commercial agreements between private organisations and local farmers.
Updated: Wed Oct 11 2023
Water company customer complaints
The Consumer Council for Water has today published a report on the complaints made to water companies in England and Wales by households in 2022-23 and several media outlets including the Independent, Mirror, Sun, Telegraph and Guardian have covered it. ...
Updated: Wed Oct 11 2023
Black History Month 2023: Saluting Our Sisters
October is Black History Month, and across the Defra Group we are celebrating the twin themes of 'Eliminating prejudice is everyone's business' and 'Saluting Our Sisters'- honouring the achievements of Black women. Black History Month is a time to celebrate ...
Updated: Tue Oct 10 2023
New Entrant Support Scheme pilots: our initial findings
Earlier this year, I shared an update on the New Entrant Support scheme pilots. In the post, I included portraits of our participants. Since the pilots finished in May, we have been busy evaluating them using participant surveys, interviews and reports from the pilot leaders. With close to 200 pilot participants, there was a lot of valuable feedback to analyse, and we continue to learn from it. In this post, I'd like to share our initial findings so far.
Updated: Mon Oct 09 2023
Geodiversity is for everyone - International Geodiversity Day 2023
Jonathan Larwood, Natural England Principal Geodiversity Adviser, celebrates the second ever International Geodiversity Day and its theme of 'Geodiversity is for everyone'. International Geodiversity Day is an annual global celebration, supported by UNESCO, of all aspects of geodiversity. This year's ...
Updated: Fri Oct 06 2023