UK Nature and Environment

Estuaries across England and Wales are at risk of losing important habitat as it is “squeezed” out by rising seas and human development, a study warns.

Estuaries are key for wildlife such as wading birds, as breeding and nursery grounds for commercially important fish, and for storing carbon and improving water quality by filtering nutrients, contaminants and sediment.

However, a combination of rising seas and lower summer river levels as a result of climate change, and man-made barriers such as weirs and dams are putting freshwater habitat at the top of estuaries at risk, according to scientists who have previously coined the phenomenon “estuarine squeeze”.

As we head into the warmer months, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is reminding the public that marine algal blooms are a natural occurrence around the Welsh coastline, and are especially common between April and August.

Algal blooms are rapid increases in algae in the sea, lakes, and rivers often triggered by warmer temperatures and increased sunlight.

They include seaweeds and tiny plants suspended in the water and can look like green flakes, greenish bundles or brownish dots.

Thousands of passionate water users gathered at beaches, rivers, and lakes across the UK to take a stand against sewage pollution today (Saturday, May 17) The nationwide Paddle-Out protests, organised by environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), was a powerful visual demonstration of public frustration — with people of all ages, from surfers to swimmers, kayakers to bathers, uniting to demand urgent action on one of the UK's most pressing environmental crises.

Over 40 locations, from the sunny shores of Bournemouth to the windswept sands of Broad Haven Beach, saw crowds paddle out into the water, their voices raised against the pollution that is choking the life out of the nation's blue spaces.

The protests come at the start of the official bathing season in Wales and England — a time when the UK's waters should be a safe haven for those seeking summer fun, not a source of worry about their health.

Keir Starmer’s planning bill will “push the public towards Reform”, a Labour MP has said as he urges his colleagues to back amendments to the legislation.

Chris Hinchliff, MP for North East Hertfordshire, has submitted a package of amendments to the bill, which as it stands, lets developers “pay cash to trash nature”, he said. These will be debated in parliament during the report stage in early June.

One of his amendments, to protect chalk streams, was rejected by the government this week. A growing number of backbenchers are becoming concerned and angry about the bill, with Clive Lewis and Terry Jermy among those supporting amendments to strengthen protections for nature.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has started a new research initiative that will change how landscapes are managed.

This project, a collaboration with the University of Essex, focuses on a fresh approach throughout the North West and beyond.

Lucy O’Reilly, the trust's conservation grazing officer, is leading the study.

She is enhancing it with 30 NoFence collars borrowed from the University of Essex.

A man has said he "couldn't believe" what he was seeing when he came across a shark swimming in an east Belfast river.

Thomas Davidson was cycling through Victoria Park on Tuesday evening when he spotted a 4ft-long starry smooth-hound shark in the Connswater River, where the waterway meets Belfast Lough.

The species of shark has been seen in other urban areas such as the River Thames and the River Mersey estuary.

We're concerned new reforms could potentially undermine the spirit of the Bathing Water Regulations to protect the health of water users.

As the official Bathing Water season begins on 15th May in England and Wales, we're raising serious concerns about UK and Welsh Government plans to reform Bathing Water Regulations. Without changes, these reforms could threaten public health, reduce the number of newly designated bathing sites and fail to address current concerns over sampling.

In England, our research has revealed that 103 water samples were excluded from water quality assessments during the 2024 Bathing Season. These samples, taken during short-term pollution events or ‘abnormal situations’, are currently permitted to be removed from final classifications under existing rules in England. Whilst water users at the time are informed of the pollution, it means that samples with some of the highest levels of pollution are being ignored in categorising Bathing Waters as ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’, ‘Sufficient’ or ‘Poor’. This practice could mask the true level of pollution, risking the health of swimmers and other water users.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust welcomes Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council’s momentous decision, at Full Council on Thursday 15 May, to grant ‘personhood’ rights to local rivers.

This landmark move marks an unprecedented step in granting legal rights to rivers, offering greater protection to Hampshire’s globally rare chalk streams and delivering a major victory for nature.

The Rights of the River movement acknowledges the fundamental rights of nature and our duty to protect it. It is informed by the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers, which outlines rights such as the right to flow and to remain free from pollution.

Marine scientists and conservationists shocked to find ancient maerl beds off St Mawes smothered in algae caused by poor water quality.

Speakers and delegates at the recent 'UK Maerl Forum', the first international event of its kind, were left in sombre mood after a dive organised to explore the maerl beds revealed a worrying deterioration in these ancient habitats.

Participants from across the UK, Ireland and Brittany had gathered in Cornwall to hear talks from UK experts on local maerl beds. Long underappreciated, maerl is increasingly recognised as a irreplaceable marine habitat - acting as a nursery for commercial fish and shellfish species, as well as a vital carbon store.

The latest annual report from the Breeding Bird Survey is now available, providing population trends of the UK’s breeding birds.

Published today, the latest BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) report shows positive news for a range of birds including Marsh Harrier and Corn Bunting. However, the report also reveals worrying declines for familiar woodland and garden species such as Chaffinch and Bullfinch. The latest data also show that some farmland birds that have experienced long-term declines, like Yellowhammer and Yellow Wagtail, continue to struggle.

BBS is the main scheme for monitoring the population changes of the UK’s common and widespread breeding birds. Long-term surveys such as BBS provide the evidence base that underpins effective conservation action, helping identify which species need help, where efforts should be focused, and whether interventions are working. Of the 119 species monitored by BBS, 43 have decreased since 1995, while 36 have increased.

A four-year project has used robot mowers, goats, and planted trees to create more than 60 hectares of new butterfly habitat across the midlands.

Butterfly Conservation led the Butterfly Mosaics project to help rare species such as the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Silver-studded Blue and Grizzled Skipper.

The work was carried out at nature reserves in Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.

Almost 20,000 trees and shrubs have been planted in efforts to improve woodland in the North Pennines.

North Pennines National Landscape (NPNL) said the three-year project involved working with about 120 landowners to identify 761 acres (308 hectares) as suitable for trees.

The project focused on small woodlands and low-density wood pasture, with scrub and scattered canopy trees to work alongside farming systems, NPNL said.

A survey of Bailiwick bat species would have taken more than 45 years to complete without the help of hundreds of local volunteers, according to the States.

The now completed Bailiwick Bat Survey was a volunteer-led initiative organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the States of Guernsey and Bailiwick La Sociétés and wildlife trusts.

Between 2021 and 2024, 420 volunteers collected more than 16 million bat sound recordings, which included six bat species never previously recorded in the Bailiwick.

A conservation charity has acquired 100 acres of ancient woodland to expand an existing nature reserve.

The Norfolk Wildlife Trust said that the new land would increase the size of its reserve at Foxley Wood, in North Norfolk, by more than a third.

Parts of the woodland are known to have been there for 6,000 years, and it has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its value for wildlife.

Perthshire’s Loch of the Lowes top osprey pair are now incubating an egg.

Male LM24 and female LF25 have fought off competitors for the nesting spot - at least for the time being.

The female LF25, also known as Dark Female, laid her first egg just before 2pm on Sunday May 4.

A river habitat restoration scheme has been completed on the River Usk to renaturalise the river and reconnect it to its natural floodplain.

The scheme focussed on a stretch of the River Tarell, an important tributary of the River Usk SAC (Special Area of Conservation), and aimed to restore the river’s natural processes by re-introducing wood into the river channel.

Led by the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Four Rivers for LIFE project and the River Restoration Centre (RRC) – the scheme is part of a wider nature restoration project by the National Trust at their site.

Today, Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) announce a new project to restore a rainforest at Glen Auldyn thanks to The Wildlife Trusts’ long-term partnership with Aviva. At 1,124 acres – with 750 acres suitable for rainforest habitat – it is the largest plantable area to enter The Wildlife Trusts’ rainforest recovery programme so far and will be the biggest nature reserve in the Island.

Rainforests of Britain & Ireland have been largely destroyed over hundreds of years and now cover less than 1% of Great Britain. The restoration of this precious habitat is part of a wider programme of nature-based projects funded by Aviva to remove carbon from the atmosphere and to help nature recover.

Local communities in and around Ramsey in the north of the Isle of Man will be closely involved in the project and will benefit from increased access to nature, volunteering, educational and employment opportunities. Rainforest restoration will also provide cleaner air and water, and reduced risk from flooding in an area of high flood risk.

A mosquito-borne disease freshly arrived in Britain has spread large distances, with scientists racing to understand the risks to wild birds.

Infected insects can spread the deadly Usutu virus to blackbirds, raising fears for the famous songsters.

New data shows Usutu has spread across much of southern England in five years, and has been linked to declines in some blackbird populations.

The Farne Islands are set for a boom in virtual visitors as webcams launch for wildlife lovers to observe thousands of seabirds gathering at the nature haven.

The National Trust has set up two webcams to mark the centenary of it taking ownership of the islands, around 1.5 miles off the Northumberland coast. The first webcam will be trained on puffin burrows, whilst the second will focus on the cliffs where around 200,000 seabirds gather each year to breed.

Ranger Sophia Jackson said: "In this significant year we want more people to become ‘watchers’ of this annual spectacle to have a window into this unique world. We hope by seeing the birds, people will be inspired to visit in person one day, but also to realise just how special these wild isles are, and how we must do all we can to ensure these islands and bird species have a long and healthy future ahead."

Our UK coastline is under threat, and now the Marine Biological Association (MBA) is calling on ocean lovers of all ages to take part in the Big Rock Pool Challenge: National BioBlitz 2025, a nationwide citizen science effort to monitor the health of the UK’s coastline and track the spread of invasive (non-native) species.

Since the 1960s, new non-native marine species have continued to arrive on UK shores, with over 20 invasive species now established – and there is growing concern about further introductions in the years ahead.

Members of the public are invited to take part in exploring their local rock pools to collect information on the species living in and around our rocky shore from 17 to 25 May and beyond, following UK Invasive Species Week. If you spot any marine life you can submit your sightings via the iNaturalist app. By having fun exploring the many marine creatures on our aquatic doorstep you’ll also be helping to build a crucially important scientific dataset which will be used to protect our native marine biodiversity.

A university is rolling out new plans to help provide more safe spaces for hedgehogs across its campuses.

The University of Brighton said it wanted to help protect hedgehogs across its sites to try to combat rapidly falling population numbers across the UK.

Staff and students from the institution began a survey on Monday to track the number of hedgehogs across the university's three campuses ahead of plans to turn green spaces into hedgehog havens.

Ecologists and primary schoolchildren are taking part in a "bioblitz" this week, where they record as many living things as possible within a 24-hour period.

Organised by the Nature Commission in partnership with La Société Guernesiaise, the event aimed to measure how the presence of different species changed over time, organisers said.

Bioblitz 2025 was taking place at L'Ancresse East, which was last surveyed in 2019, they added.

The sweeping landscapes of the Pennines inspired the Brontë sisters, and now those lands are being protected as one of England’s biggest nature reserves.

A huge new national nature reserve, to be called the Bradford Pennine Gateway, is being announced by the government on Tuesday. It will give Bradford, one of Britain’s largest and most nature-deprived cities, easier and more protected access to green space

The Brontë family lived in nearby Haworth, and the surrounding hills and moors inspired the scenery for novels including Wuthering Heights.

A legal campaign group is planning a judicial review against the UK government’s new planning bill, arguing it will result in a weakening of environmental protections which were fought for and created over decades.

Wild Justice is calling on the housing minister, Angela Rayner, to correct a parliamentary statement in which she told MPs the bill, which applies mainly to England and Wales, would not reduce the level of protection. Her words were echoed in a letter to the Guardian from the nature minister, Mary Creagh, who stated it did not repeal habitat or species protections or give a licence to do harm.

The group sent Rayner a pre-action protocol letter on Monday calling on her to “correct the parliamentary record” to make clear that her statement about environmental protection in the bill was not correct. If this does not take place, they will apply for a judicial review.

People are being asked for their views on a draft document outlining measures to support nature recovery.

The Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) aims to restore and connect habitats so that important species across the county can thrive.

A six-week public consultation will close on 22 June, with a goal to agree the best places to plant trees, restore peatland, improve grassland condition and mitigate flood risk.