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Natural England

The “battery-powered” partnerships of Nature recovery

Blog by Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England I’m writing this blog from COP 15 in Montreal where nations of the world have come together to discuss one of the most urgent issues of our age: how do we …

Reflections on a Summer Festival of National Nature Reserves

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: National Nature Reserve, Natural England, Parks, trails and nature reserves

By Oliver Harmar, Chief Operating Officer, Natural England Twelve months ago, I was lucky enough to be standing overlooking the fabulous wetlands of the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh, listening to the inspirational words of Clare Shaw, a local poet: …

Catchment Sensitive Farming: supporting farmers across England

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Farming, Natural England
Two cows grazing on a gr

I’m Ceri Meehan, I'm a Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) Adviser covering the Severn River Basin District. I use my skills to deliver Natural England’s objectives in the West Midlands. I work with farmers advising them on sustainable farming practices that …

Beavers are now legally protected in England – the licensing regime explained

Beaver wetlands slow, store and filter water helping to reduce downstream flooding, improve water quality, increase biodiversity, and resilience to drought and adaptation to climate change. Photo credit: Giles Wagstaff, Natural England

By Stephanie Bird-Halton - Director of National Delivery Protection of beavers and why it’s important On 1 October 2022 the legislation changed to protect wild-living beavers in England. Beavers are now listed in Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Habitats …

Paludiculture – the future of farming on peat soils?

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Climate change, Landscapes and access, Natural England, Peat

On 27 August 2022, the Government announced a new £5m fund to promote the use of peatlands for sustainable farming [1] – the Paludiculture Exploration Fund (PEF), which seeks to unlock barriers to making commercial paludiculture a reality. In this …

Biodiversity Metric Milestone - Defra consultation on the biodiversity metric

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Licensing, Natural England, Uncategorized

The Secretary of State has now launched an 8-week consultation on the Biodiversity Metric to be used for the purpose of calculating biodiversity net gain as required under the 2021 Environment Act[1]. The Biodiversity Metric is a key tool that …

Natural England’s response to avian influenza in wild birds – August 2022

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Marine environment, Natural England, Wildlife
Farne Islands guillemot colony

By Ginny Swaile, Deputy Director Science - Sustainable land and sea use The UK is currently experiencing the largest outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza on record with poultry, captive birds and wild birds all affected. A similar situation is …