By Hannah Wood, Strategy Deputy Director, and Fin Rylatt, Land Use Framework lead, Natural England In this blog post, we explain how the new Land Use Framework sets out a path to clearer, more integrated ways of managing England’s land. The new Framework shows how nature, food production, clean energy and housing can complement each …
By Alisa Swanson, Natural England Agroforestry — the practice of combining trees with farming — is gaining renewed momentum as a practical way to increase tree cover and restore nature without sacrificing productive land. This post explores how Natural England …
By Mike Smith – Deputy Director, Wildlife Licensing and Reform This blog outlines how Natural England is modernising the bat licensing system. It explores how we are building evidence to strengthen the planning system to deliver better outcomes for bat …
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 …
The first ever five-year evaluations of strategic licensing for great crested newts have just been published. This blog, written with NatureSpace Partnership, explores the successes so far and shows that the schemes are creating high‑quality habitat for great crested newts, …
By Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England Nature recovery has taken a major step forward this week with the unveiling of one of the country’s most important National Nature Reserves by a long-standing champion of the natural world – His …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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We’re the government’s adviser for the natural environment, helping to protect England’s nature and landscapes for people to enjoy.
