Biodiversity

A Rare Fungi Discovery at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve: The First UK Sighting of the Blue-Based Earthtongue

Yew tree at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve

By Liz Frost, frequent visitor and fungi specialist, with Rachel Guy, Kingley Vale NNR Reserve Manager In mid-December 2025, amateur fungi enthusiast Liz Frost made an extraordinary discovery at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve in West Sussex — spotting a …

How Biodiversity Net Gain helps people and places thrive

Volunteer in wellies and winter outdoor gear on the bank of a river, climbing away from the river.

By Greg Shaw, Senior Officer – Biodiversity Net Gain (Strategic Solutions and Biodiversity Net Gain Team). Across England, many communities face depleted green spaces and health inequalities. Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) can offer a clear link between development, wellbeing and …

What lies beneath: the data shaping the future of offshore wind energy

Jumping bottlenose dolphin.

By Alex Banks, Principal Specialist, Ornithology. Offshore wind development is a vitally important part of the UK government approach to tackling the climate crisis and addressing energy security. At the same time, it is also vitally important that we protect …

Defining Success for Wildlife: What Does "Thriving" Really Mean?

Pine Marten. Credit: Robert Cruikshanks

How do we know when a species is truly thriving, rather than just surviving? This is the question Natural England has been working to answer. We've now published new definitions that set out exactly what success looks like for four …

Beaver Update: Two new licensed wild release projects, more to follow!

image of beaver on grass

By Stuart Otway – Principal Officer, Complex Licensing; Delphine Pouget - Principal Officer, Species Recovery & Reintroductions; Giles Wagstaff - Senior Officer, Complex Licensing; Amy Radford – Senior Officer, Species Recovery & Reintroductions Two newly licensed beaver projects will very …

A new mapping tool to support beaver reintroductions and dispersal across England

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Science and evidence, Species re-introductions, Species recovery
A Eurasian Beaver in water

By Heather White - Senior Data Scientist and Daveron Smith - Principal Data Scientist In this blog, we launch the Beaver Considerations Assessment Toolkit (BCAT), a new mapping tool that has been developed by Natural England (NE), in collaboration with …

A Biodiversity Net Gain Solution for a High Value Brownfield Site

By David Feige, Northumberland County Council In this guest blog, David Feige, County Ecologist for Northumberland, explains the approach taken to approve a major new industrial development on a brownfield site at Cambois. The site contained a significant amount of …

Landscape Recovery and growth: building the foundations for critical nature infrastructure 

Ock-and-Thames-Landscape-Recovery-Project.-Credit-Freshwater-Habitats-Trust.jpg

By Chris Davis, Natural England’s Deputy Director for Landscape Recovery and Schemes Development At a time when the UK is facing serious environmental challenges such as climate change and loss of wildlife, restoring and protecting our natural capital is one …

Rediscovering the value of water meadows

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Connecting People with Nature, Landscape, Natural England, Nature
Salisbury cathedral as a backdrop to the Harnham water meadows

By Edward Parrott, Senior officer - Agri-Environment Evidence team, Natural England Earlier this year I had the pleasure of joining contractors LUC and industry experts on a visit to Harnham water meadows - a rare surviving example of a centuries-old …

How citizen scientists are helping to close the freshwater data gap

With their semi-permeable skin and sensitivity to toxins and water quality, Toads are excellent indicators of healthy pond habitats. Image: Tabitha Roach Osborne.

By Amy Stocking and Matilda Dixon, Higher Officers for Citizen Science Ponds may be small, but they punch well above their weight when it comes to biodiversity, supporting around two-thirds of all freshwater species in the UK. Yet they have …