Nature

Growing stronger together: community action for nature

Children in school uniforms help with planting outside of a school. An adult and child are kneeling in the foreground, digging at the base of a young tree, while another child stands with a watering can.

By David Drake, Director for People and Nature, Natural England The Nature Towns and Cities Partnership established by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Trust and Natural England, brings together organisations across the UK with a shared vision for …

Species Recovery Programme - Call for Ideas Opportunity

By Karen Shelley-Jones - Senior Officer – Funding and Grant Scheme Management and Luke Gill - Senior Officer - Species Recovery Programme Earlier this month, we launched a new call seeking ambitious new ideas for projects aimed at recovering England’s …

Celebrating Green Infrastructure Progress: Major Mapping Database Update Launched

Screenshot showing the urban habitat mapping.

By Martin Moss, Senior Officer - Green Infrastructure Mapping Team As recognition grows of the importance of nature to our health and wellbeing, understanding green infrastructure provision is vital to ensuring everyone can benefit from nature wherever they live. Natural …

More than the sum of our parts: professionals and citizen scientists working together to transform evidence collection

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 …

A Landmark Year for England’s Fungi

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 …

Nature Returns: 4 years on

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Natural England, Nature, Nature Returns, Nature-based solutions

Nature Returns is a flagship programme led by Natural England, which is delivering practical solutions for nature and climate and building robust scientific evidence to support policy and investment decisions. Nature-based solutions address problems in ways that benefit both people and …

New Weed Control Handbook Published: A Smarter, Greener Approach to Vegetation Management

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Landscape, Natural England, Nature, Nature Recovery, Weed Control
Himalayan balsam on a field edge. Natural England

By Patrick Shannon-Hughes, Environmental Quality for Nature Senior Officer (Agri Chemicals) We’re pleased to release the updated Weed Control Handbook: Guidance for Herbicide Use on Nature Conservation Sites - a long-awaited refresh of the 2002 Herbicide Handbook. This new edition …

Natural England’s response to Defra’s consultation on heather and grass burning

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Evidence, Natural England, Nature, Peat, Wildlife
Moor House - Upper Teesdale National Nature Reserve. Copyright: Dave Glaves

By John Holmes, Director of Strategy On 5 September, Defra announced strengthened legislation on burning on peat.  The new legislation came into force this week, with the new burning season commencing on Wednesday.  We welcome the strengthened legislation which will …

Nature Recovery Projects – next steps for growing collaborative action that drives nature recovery

Acting for nature recovery at scale Defra and Natural England invested £7.4 million to initiate twelve landscape-scale Nature Recovery Projects (NRPs) across the country, over the three years of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2022/23-2024/25. Covering over 319,480ha, these projects were …

Numbers of nesting hen harriers in England have risen slightly in 2025

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Hen Harriers, Natural England, Nature, Nature Recovery, Species recovery
A hen harrier nest with chicks

By Matthew Heard, National Delivery Director Numbers of nesting hen harriers in England have risen slightly this year, according to data collected by Natural England and partners. Breeding figures and regional breakdown In 2025, Natural England and partners recorded a …