Creating Nature Towns and Cities conference

Nature Towns and Cities is a partnership between Natural England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Trust working to ensure everyone in the UK can access the benefits of nature and green spaces.  We're delighted to invite you …

Protecting one of England's rarest marine habitats: Natural England's work on maerl

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Evidence, Marine environment, Monitoring, Natural England, Nature
Maerl researcher and academic Professor Jason Hall-Spencer showing Phumatolithon calcareum maerl. Credit Matt Slater

By Angela Gall, Marine Senior Officer Hidden beneath the waves along the south coast of Cornwall lies an ancient marine habitat, maerl beds. These pink, twiglet-shaped rhodoliths are free-living, calcified red seaweeds forming intricate, three-dimensional structures on the seabed. They're …

A new peat map for England 

By Dr Ruth Waters, Director for Evidence, Natural England, and David Jones, Senior Responsible Officer for the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment, Defra England’s peat deposits are one of our most valuable national assets. They’re our largest carbon store, they …

Guest blog: Benefits of engaging local communities in BNG

Members of a community work on a project to increase biodiversity on a London thoroughfare

Rosie Whicheloe, Senior Planning Ecologist for a local authority in London, explains how she’s looking at the benefits of public engagement in BNG for the communities in which they live. Delivering social value alongside BNG is incredibly important in urban …

Wild in the City - the Cambridge Nature Network

River Cam near Logan’s Meadow. © Nick Rance, Natural England

By Justin Tilley, Principal Manager, West Anglia team We often talk of ‘being in nature’ as if it’s a special place, away from our everyday world. In Cambridge, Natural England is supporting a major initiative that’s helping wildlife prosper in …

Happier Outdoors: London’s Free Nature Festival

A health and nature walk at Gillespie Park in Islington from Happier Outdoors 2024. © Sally Oldfield.

By Laura Brown, Higher Officer for Health and Environment, Natural England What is Happier Outdoors? Happier Outdoors began in 2023 as part of my work as the Health and Environment Higher Officer for London. I’m lucky to spend a lot …

Nature Towns and Cities: Creating Greener Neighbourhoods and Brighter Futures 

David Drake, Director, People & Nature at Natural England Did you know 47% of people do not currently have access to green space within 15-minutes' walk of home? Nature Towns and Cities aims to transform this reality, enabling millions of …

Welcoming the Corry Review — Nature recovery and sustainable growth through regulatory reform 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Development, Growth, Nature, Nature Recovery
A pond is seen in a meadow

The Corry Review was set up by Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed, in October last year to examine whether the inherited regulatory landscape is fit for purpose and to develop recommendations to ensure that regulation across the Department is …

Mountain hares in decline: New research reveals diminishing numbers in the Peak District 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Evidence, Monitoring, Natural England, Nature, Science and evidence, Wildlife

By Dr Carlos Bedson The Peak District is home to England's only population of mountain hares, a remarkable Arctic species introduced here in the 1870s by sporting landowners. These cold-adapted mammals, with their distinctive seasonal white winter coats, have become …

Using species conservation translocations as a tool for nature recovery

By Delphine Pouget and Jeremy Sabel, Natural England’s Species Recovery & Reintroductions Team Natural England recognises that species translocations can be an important tool in nature recovery. Natural England’s ambition is to promote and enable high quality conservation translocation projects …