By Marian Spain, Chief Executive, Natural England The Planning and Infrastructure Bill received Royal Assent today. The new Act is central to the government's Plan for Change, representing one of the most significant planning reforms in a generation. The Act also represents a milestone for Natural England, giving more opportunities to to …
By Professor Sallie Bailey, FICFOR, BES On 4 December, the Royal Armouries in Leeds hosted some leading voices in nature recovery. Thought leaders and innovators from environmental NGOs, academia, finance, infrastructure and local government joined Natural England at our Science, …
By Andy Jefferies, Senior Officer for Citizen Science One challenge for the citizen science sector is how to bridge the gap between evidence and experiences which are meaningful at a local scale, and those which are meaningful at a national …
We’re in the middle of a step change for national-scale environmental evidence in England. In recent years, the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme has allowed us to create and upgrade maps and data products like the England Peat …
From international pledges to pioneering reintroduction projects, it’s been an exciting year for England’s fungi. Natural England Mycologist, Matt Wainhouse, reflects on remarkable year for fungal conservation. Fungi on the global agenda Fungi have often missed out in the global …
By Susanna Phillips, Principal Officer – Chief Scientist Directorate, Natural England Research published recently in the Journal of Applied Ecology highlighted the positive impact that agri-environment schemes can have on butterflies. Agri-environment schemes are a key environmental policy mechanism in …
By Danielle Greaves, Higher Officer - Species Reintroduction and Recovery, Natural England Hidden beneath the surface of Nottinghamshire's rivers and streams lives an increasingly rare species – the white-clawed crayfish. As the UK's only native freshwater crayfish, these creatures play …
By Andrew Nisbet, Natural England's Deputy Director for Monitoring Natural England is at the forefront of introducing innovative technologies into biodiversity monitoring. Environmental DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the DNA that can be obtained from an environmental sample such as water, …
By Angela Gall, Marine Senior Officer Hidden beneath the waves along the south coast of Cornwall lies an ancient marine habitat, maerl beds. These pink, twiglet-shaped rhodoliths are free-living, calcified red seaweeds forming intricate, three-dimensional structures on the seabed. They're …
By Dr Ruth Waters, Director for Evidence, Natural England, and David Jones, Senior Responsible Officer for the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment, Defra England’s peat deposits are one of our most valuable national assets. They’re our largest carbon store, they …