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People and Nature Survey: How has COVID-19 changed the way we engage with nature?

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Mental health and wellbeing, Natural England, Science and evidence
Many people sat within an urban park

 Dr Tom Marshall, Senior Responsible Officer for the People and Nature Survey shares what new data can tell us about how our relationship with nature has changed since coronavirus.  It has been over two years since coronavirus restrictions were first …

Tony Juniper: Green Paper – an opportunity for an integrated approach to Nature recovery

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Climate change, Natural England, Wildlife
Rocks with wild flowers growing and trees

During recent years there has been a very important shift in how we approach the task of looking after the natural world in England. Whereas once it was the idea of conservation that shaped ideas and actions, today the notion …

Wildfire: Why following the Countryside Code is essential in reducing the risk of fires in the countryside

Fire burning corn fields

  Wildfire. The term conjures up images of raging fires and smouldering forests, something we would usually expect to see on television from international news stations, caused by freak weather events. Unfortunately, so-called wildfires are all too common in England …

Licence issued for fifth year of hen harrier brood management trial

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Hen Harriers, Licensing, Wildlife
Hen harrier in flight

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that Natural England is involved in several initiatives under the Hen Harrier Action Plan, one of which is the brood management trial. Natural England is committed to protecting and conserving hen harriers, …

Offshore wind – best practice advice to facilitate sustainable development

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Climate change, Marine environment
Construction of an offshore wind farm in English waters

The Government has set ambitious targets for offshore wind and the recent British Energy Security Strategy is clear that offshore wind has a key role to play in tackling climate change and the UK’s move towards Net Zero, setting a …

Social Prescribing: the power of nature as treatment

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Mental health and wellbeing, Natural England
Mother and son exploring park

Taking place between 4-11 March, Social Prescribing Week saw a national celebration for social prescribing. Across the country, organisations shared their stories on social media and at national and international conferences about the activities they were undertaking to make a …

Living England: From Satellite Imagery to a National Scale Habitat Map

By Alexandra Kilcoyne, Amy Woodget, Anne Stefaniak, Miles Clement, Chris Moore, Sophie Potter and Becky Trippier A new map that shows the extent and distribution of habitats in England has been launched on 5 April 2022. This probability map, which …

Chief Scientist Report 2021. Good, better, best: using the best available evidence in nature’s recovery

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Natural England, Science and evidence
children playing in a corn field

Dr Tim Hill, Chief Scientist at Natural England, tells us about the publication of Natural England’s fourth Chief Scientist Report. Our mission within the Chief Scientist Directorate at Natural England, is to ‘…develop evidence and provide scientific advice to drive …

Counting down – preparing for mandatory biodiversity net gain

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity
Cropped section from the front of the BNG brochure

I recently wrote about the Defra Consultation on biodiversity net gain (BNG). The consultation seeks feedback on topics and issues relating to the development of the frameworks, legislation and guidance of mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG). If you haven’t already …