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Further increase in English Hen Harrier numbers recorded in 2023

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Hen Harriers, Species recovery, Wildlife
Hen harrier chicks in their nest

By John Holmes, Strategy Director, Natural England. The Hen Harrier, an iconic bird of upland landscapes, is one of our rarest birds of prey. Driven to extinction in mainland Britain in the 19th century, since recolonising England in the 1960s …

Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme awards

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Species recovery
Corn bunting

By Karen Shelley-Jones, Species Recovery Programme Manager and James Phillips, Principal Adviser for Species Recovery and Species Re-introductions England’s species are amazing. They can charm, intrigue, amaze, inspire and frighten us. They spark our interest and concern. They are also …

Farmers lead the way toward sustainable food production in East Kent

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Natural England

As a farm conservation adviser for Natural England, I’ve been working closely with farmers across Kent for 25 years to support them to incorporate wildlife friendly farming practices across 25,000 hectares of farmed landscape.
By building long term, collaborative relationships with farmers on the ground and helping them enter environmental schemes such as Countryside Stewardship, farmers are driving significant changes on both a farm and landscape scale to increase food production while simultaneously protecting and enhancing the environment

Homes England plays an active role in delivering biodiversity net gain

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Development, Natural England
An Aerial view of a development site in progress. Lots of new houses are being built amongst greenery

In this blog, we explore what biodiversity net gain means to some of our stakeholders and how they overcome issues they encounter. Lisa Palframan – Senior Technical Manager with Homes England (HE) explains how HE are building experience in delivering …

Investing in Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Site of Special Scientific Interest

By Brian Davies, Protected Sites Principal Adviser From geological outcrops formed millions of years ago to flower rich chalk grasslands home to endangered butterflies, and parklands, ancient woodland and lowland heaths resonating to the sounds of native birds, Sites of …

The England Species Reintroduction Taskforce – who we are and what we do

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Species re-introductions, Species recovery

By Andy Clements - Chair, the England Species Reintroduction Taskforce Introduction Conservation translocations, the movement of species for conservation benefit, comprise a variety of techniques to help species withstand a range of pressures and to enhance ecosystem function. Species translocations …

A promising first year of the hen harrier conservation breeding programme and reintroduction

Close up shot of a female hen harrier bird

 A recap   In Autumn of 2022, ten captive  hen harriers were transported to the UK from a rescue centre  in France for Natural England’s conservation breeding programme (Hen harrier Reintroduction NE Blog). This forms an important step in the Southern …

Farming for Nature Recovery

Two Marden Farmers harvesting yellow rattle seed amongst the tall grasses. There are trees in the background.

Across the country, Natural England is working closely with farmers and landowners to deliver nature recovery at a landscape-scale - restoring and enhancing England’s wildlife-rich places. A fine example of this is within our Sussex and Kent team, where we …

Preparing the market for statutory biodiversity credits

A view overlooking Iford Biodiversity Project, one of the statutory biodiversity credit pilots

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a government strategy to develop land and contribute to the recovery of nature. As set out in part six of the Environment Act 2021, it is a way of making sure the habitat for wildlife …

Dartmoor: achieving a future with thriving agriculture and thriving nature

Sheep grazing on dartmoor - the landscape is brown and poor condition where the sheep have been overgrazing. there are 5 sheep white within the picture, hills rolling in the background.

By Dave Slater, NE Regional Director for the South West Since our previous blog reflecting on the condition of Dartmoor’s special habitats there has been a lot of public discourse on what should happen on Dartmoor’s sites of special scientific …