Worth a read
UK wildlife continues to decline
Not unlike other countries, we have experienced significant loss of biodiversity but the UK is now classified as one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries.
Environment
Positive signs ‘Stage 0’ river project at Holnicote
Pioneering project, inspired by similar scheme in Oregon in the US, liberated a stretch of the river River Aller allowing the water to branch out, creating smaller streams, more pools and boggy areas.
Charity
The Serge Hill Project
Impressive new educational resource centre, with extensive Plant Library to teach schools, charities and voluntary groups about gardening, creativity and health.
Worth a read
UK faces tree shortage
In her column Digging Deeper, Sally Nex warns gardeners of years of tree shortages due to soaring demand.
Worth a read
Cement free industry?
The cement industry produces 8% of the world’s CO2 pollution, an alarming 4 billion tonnes every single year.
Business
Drive through urban farms
Innovative entry Dutch Streetlife Design Competition 2023, an experimental proposal to resolve the issue of defunct petrol stations after the electric transition in 2035.
Environment
HTA and RHS support growers transition to peat-free
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) launched the first of a planned series of peat-free workshops.
Worth a read
Front garden exodus
“It’s such a shame”, writes John Sturgis in the Spectator. Ripping out front gardens to accommodate cars is not only aesthetically despicable, but an environmental and wildlife disaster.
Environment
Despite worrying long term trend, summer 2023 butterfly count positive
The results of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count 2023 reveal a better picture for butterflies than originally feared.
Environment
Green light for Andy Sturgeon at Canada Water
The new masterplan scheme South-east London brings the capital a workspace hub with new places to eat, drink and relax at the Dock’s water’s edge, surrounded by 130 acres of open green space.
Environment
UK falling behind EU pesticide standards
The UK has failed to ban 36 pesticides that are not allowed for use in the EU, despite government promises to maintain standards after Brexit
Worth a read
Flowering plants stronger than dinosaurs
Researchers have found that flowering plants escaped unscathed from the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Worth a read
Gardens: the green line of flood defence
Climate change isn’t just about higher temperatures and heatwaves.
Regulation
Lords debating Swift brick
The House of Lords will debate an amendment to make swift bricks mandatory in new housing across England to halt their decline.
Environment
£50,000 for nature recovery projects in South Oxfordshire
Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE) and South Oxfordshire District Council’s new grant scheme which aims to increase biodiversity and encourage public access to green spaces in the district.
Environment
Rewilding: eco friendly or frugal laziness?
Rewilding has gripped the nation, ‘but the trend for leaving nature to its own devices in order to create a habitat for plants and animals to thrive has become divisive’ writes Boudicca Fox-Leonard.
Environment
Woodland Trust petition to save ancient trees
Most of our ancient trees are not legally protected, the Trust is urging the Government to change that.
Education
Inspiring Future Green Leaders programme
Earth Trust launches new programme to cultivate environmental stewardship in future generations, forging a strong connection between young minds and the natural world.
Environment
Defra launches new consultation on protecting hedgerows
The new consultation seeks views on the best way to maintain and improve existing environmental protections around hedgerows, as well as inform Defra’s approach to enforcement.
Worth a read
The new face of sustainable gardening
Naturalistic and chemical free gardening is the prevailing fashion but it requires adopting philosophical and aesthetic change.
