Energy & Environment

Trees and Trains

Network Rail own and manage six million trees on their property. Neil Strong, Biodiversity Strategy Manager looks at how available data can identify opportunities to grow trees in land along the railway.

Updated: Thu Sep 28 2023

Nature Returns

Dr Tim Hill, Chief Scientist at Natural England, tells us about the launch of Nature Returns. Today, 25 September 2023, Natural England is launching Nature Returns. Nature Returns is about collaboration across government and the private sector to explore head-on ...

Updated: Wed Sep 27 2023

Annual Health and Welfare Review: making it easier to apply, comply and export

When we launched the Annual Health and Welfare Review, a funded annual vet visit, we said that we would continue to improve with feedback from farmers and vets. In this post, we'd like to share an update on our work which includes simplifying the process to apply, bringing BVD testing for beef in line with CHECS and BVD Free requirements and clarifying how to use the review to enable exports to the EU. We also include a video of a farmer and vet who took part in a Review.

Updated: Tue Sep 26 2023

Citizen Science in East Anglia

Citizen science initiatives provide invaluable data about our water environment and complement our own monitoring and assessment work, enabling a greater understanding of the issues we face and how together we can take action going forward. John Findlay, who works in the East Anglia analysis and reporting team at the EA, writes here about his role and the data his team is collecting.

Updated: Fri Sep 22 2023

Woodland management techniques

This visual guide explores ways to manage your woodland to make it healthy and resilient to the impacts of climate change, pests, and diseases.

Updated: Fri Sep 22 2023

Creating a Wildlife Corridor in the River Lugg

Jude Ward, Biodiversity Technical Specialist, West Midlands The Environment Agency maintains a number of flood and coastal defence assets across 7000km of river. It's my job as a biodiversity technical specialist to ensure these assets are maintained, repaired, and created ...

Updated: Wed Sep 20 2023

Environment Secretary on the XL Bully ban

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey writes an opinion piece following on from the Government decision to ban the XL Bully dog. This piece has been published in the Express Shocking incidents cause concern among our communities and are a clear demonstration ...

Updated: Mon Sep 18 2023

Feasibility Studies competition now open

Through the Feasibility Studies competition, grants are available to support new solutions that address major on-farm or immediate post farmgate challenges or opportunities. I said I'd blog again when the competition opened. I'm pleased to say it's now open!

Updated: Mon Sep 18 2023

Further increase in English Hen Harrier numbers recorded in 2023

By John Holmes, Strategy Director, Natural England. The Hen Harrier, an iconic bird of upland landscapes, is one of our rarest birds of prey. Driven to extinction in mainland Britain in the 19th century, since recolonising England in the 1960s ...

Updated: Sat Sep 16 2023

Farmers lead the way toward sustainable food production in East Kent

As a farm conservation adviser for Natural England, I've been working closely with farmers across Kent for 25 years to support them to incorporate wildlife friendly farming practices across 25,000 hectares of farmed landscape. By building long term, collaborative relationships with farmers on the ground and helping them enter environmental schemes such as Countryside Stewardship, farmers are driving significant changes on both a farm and landscape scale to increase food production while simultaneously protecting and enhancing the environment

Updated: Thu Sep 14 2023

Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme awards

By Karen Shelley-Jones, Species Recovery Programme Manager and James Phillips, Principal Adviser for Species Recovery and Species Re-introductions England's species are amazing. They can charm, intrigue, amaze, inspire and frighten us. They spark our interest and concern. They are also ...

Updated: Thu Sep 14 2023

Why woodland management matters

Woodland Resilience Adviser Chris explores the different threats facing our woodlands, and how woodland management can help mitigate these threats and increase the future health and resilience of our woodlands.

Updated: Wed Sep 13 2023

'Nature can sit alongside agriculture': a Landscape Recovery project spotlight

The North Norfolk: Wilder, Wetter, Better for Nature project is part of the first round of Landscape Recovery. Alongside sustainable food production, the project aims to create new habitats for nature, restore rivers and boost biodiversity on the Holkham Estate. We visited the team to see how the project will work in practice.

Updated: Tue Sep 12 2023

Apply now for a calf housing grant

You can now apply for a grant to support better calf housing. In this post, Gwyn Jones provides a recap of the grant and explains how to apply. He also shares how the grant was developed with farmers, vets and other experts through co-design.

Updated: Tue Sep 12 2023