The Daily Mail reports Monty Don, long-running host of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World questions the need to give lawns such a close shave. He also suggests that banishing weeds from the groomed grass is ‘a male obsession, linked to controlling rather than embracing’.
Category Archives: News
River Severn: Is a new law needed to help salmon?
The BBC reports a new salmon law is being proposed that could ban anglers from taking their catch home. The Environment Agency proposed the measure and said it was needed to protect salmon stocks that are in decline. Consultations are under way.
If the by-law was introduced it would apply to salmon fishing along the length of the River Severn. The Severn Fisheries Group, which represents 30,000 anglers, said that might encourage more poaching.
Badger-watching teen shares love for new hobby during pandemic
The BBC reports when the pandemic hit last year, Thomas wanted to find a way to get outdoors and learn more about wildlife. Fast forward a year and the 14-year-old from Hampshire has discovered a love for watching badgers. Thomas observes the animals at his local woodland and has written a self-published book about his discoveries. Now he wants to share his love of wildlife with others.
Chris Packham: ‘We’re in deep s***. We need science more than ever’
The Independent reports Chris Packham is on a mission – to energise viewers with such amazement at the natural world, that they fall in love with science, and thereby help put us on track to improving our planet.
Speaking in an interview related to Packham’s currently broadcast series Animal Einsteins he says: “I want people to trust and believe in science so they can make best-informed decisions in every aspect of their lives, and certainly at this point in time, about the future of their lives and their children’s lives when it comes to looking after the planet – climate, biodiversity, overpopulation – all of the ingredients which are leading to our trials and tribulations.”
Winners of the 2020 World Nature Photography Awards
This one may be global, but we HAD to share these beautiful photos with you! Remember to also check out our own Lockdown Photo Gallery, and we’re accepting more photos at fnwildlife@gmail.com.
The Atlantic reports the submissions to this year’s World Nature Photography Awards have been judged, and the winning images and photographers have just been announced. Thomas Vijayan was the Grand Prize winner, with his image of an orangutan climbing a tree. The contest organizers have shared with us some of the winning images, shown below, from their 13 categories.
Genetically modified squirrels could curb growing population of greys
The Telegraph and iNEWS report mutant grey squirrels, genetically modified to spread infertility genes, could be released into the wild to tackle the burgeoning population, the University of Edinburgh has said.
North American grey squirrels were imported to Britain in the mid-19th century by landowners, and their population has now grown to more than two million. Not only do they out-compete the native red squirrel, they also strip trees of their bark, causing a threat to woodlands, as well as preying on eggs and chicks.
Letter demands action over ‘UK nature in freefall’
The BBC and Independent report more than 50 wildlife experts, politicians and celebrities have signed a letter to Boris Johnson demanding tougher action on nature loss. The UK prime minister’s father, Stanley, is among signatories calling on the UK to become the first country to set legally binding targets for nature recovery.
The government has pledged to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. The letter calls for this ambition to be enshrined in law.
Britain’s moths decline by a third in 50 years, study finds
The Guardian and iNEWS report moths in Britain have declined in abundance by a third over the past 50 years, according to a study. The declines of 39% in the abundance (relative representation in an ecosystem) of larger moth species over southern Britain and a 22% fall across northern Britain add to the picture of calamitous declines in flying insects in the industrialised world.
Among the most rapidly declining of Britain’s 900 larger moth species are the stout dart (-81% over an average 10-year period), the golden plusia (-58%) and the garden dart (-54%).
Call of the rewild: releasing Britain’s rivers to ease flooding
The Guardian reports for many of us across the UK it has felt like another wet winter; yet again homes have flooded and politicians are under pressure to improve flood protection. Engineering our rivers and building defences might bring reassurance, but recent research shows that doing nothing is often more effective at reducing flooding.
HS2 to ‘rewild’ 127 hectares around its 10-mile Chilterns tunnel
The Guardian reports a “rewilding” of arable fields by HS2 will create 127 hectares (314 acres) of wood pasture, wetlands and flower-rich grassland using chalk taken from tunnelling under the Chilterns.
The new wildlife haven will be founded upon all 3m tonnes of chalk that are to be excavated from the high-speed railway’s 10-mile Chilterns tunnel, with construction starting in May.