Protected sites and species
In the wilderness of Surrey, I went on a tiger hunt. A hunt for tiger beetles, that is. I work for Natural England as a warden on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. The heath tiger beetle should be widespread on my patch, but is sadly in massive decline.
Mick Oliver is Natural England’s Area Manager for Kent and Sussex. Here he writes about Sheppey Cliffs and Foreshore, an area in Kent protected for its geological features and studied for its eroding coastline.
Alan Law is Natural England’s Chief Officer for Strategy and Reform. Here he writes about Natural England’s innovative new approach to protecting important wildlife – like the great crested newt – while reducing burdens on developers.
Welcome to Natural England’s new blog. This is a place where we’ll share updates on our work and stories from our staff - whether that's work on creating a continuous path around our coast and managing 140 National Nature Reserves, or conducting research on the recovery of the dormouse and monitoring populations of hen harriers.