The Independent reports millions of people will be cutting down on alcohol this month as part as part of “Dry January”.
Call for young volunteers to help care for UK’s national parks
The Observer reports news that the average age of volunteers in some areas tops 60 has prompted park authorities to get upcoming generations more involved.
In the Cairngorms with Britain’s only free-ranging reindeer herd this Christmas
This iNEWS piece details Andi Probert’s job looking after the reindeer in Britain’s only subarctic ecosystem. “Obviously, all reindeer do belong to Santa. We’re just looking after them for him.”
Dozens of dead and ill puffins wash up in Orkney
The BBC reports dozens of dead and barely alive puffins are being washing up on Orkney’s coastline. Experts are investigating the discovery of the birds at Scapa and other beaches in recent days. They do not yet know why the birds are dying but they believe it is unlikely to be avian flu.
Surviving puffins are being treated by vets, while the deaths have been reported to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Bird species rapidly declining in the UK with one in six lost since the 1980s
The Mirror reports according to a joint study by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife International, one in six birds have been lost since the 1980s.
Scientists worry for future of weasels as numbers halve in 50 years
The Times reports the weasel may be the villain in The Wind in the Willows but Britain’s smallest native carnivore needs legal protection because of falling numbers, scientists have said.
Christmas 2021: Eco-friendly gift ideas
Metro reports from seed balls to sustainable shampoo -As we all become more conscious of how waste harms the environment, it’s time to shop more sensitively for this year’s Christmas presents.
Specieswatch: after escaping a trap, killer shrimp is here to stay
The Guardian reports efforts to contain the non-native invader failed and it has spread all over England and Wales’s waterways.
Center Parcs will tear heart out of ancient woods like Worth Forest, nature groups warn
The Times reports plans by Center Parcs to build a £350 million holiday resort in West Sussex would “tear the heart” out of ancient woodland and set a precedent that could lead to the destruction of many other protected woods, conservation charities are warning.
Environment Agency launches major investigation into sewage
The Guardian reports water companies are at the centre of a major investigation by the financial and environmental watchdogs after they admitted they may have illegally released untreated sewage into rivers and waterways.
The Environment Agency and Ofwat said they had begun an investigation into sewage treatment works, after new checks led to the admission from the water companies.
This investigation will involve more than 2,000 sewage treatment works, nearly a third of the total number in England and Wales, with any company caught breaching their legal permits liable to enforcement action, including fines or prosecutions.