Ministers must seize chance to protect our countryside

countryside M Ministers must seize chance to protect our countrysideConservationists are urging ministers to grasp the opportunity tomorrow (October 12) to clear up one of the most controversial aspects of the planning reform debate.

The Government has faced a public backlash against its proposed reforms of the planning system. Although they claim the changes will maintain sustainable development as the

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A star turn for rare bat colony

1044552150 3ypK7 S A star turn for rare bat colonyThe Forestry Commission has announced that the rare Barbastelle bat has established a maternity colony in Lincolnshire woodland – a first for the county and one of the very few such sites identified in Britain.

The bat is generally regarded as a southern English species, but research has revealed that it is

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Environmental project boosts rare butterfly numbers

1044552744 iXHvy S Environmental project boosts rare butterfly numbersAn environmental project led by the Forestry Commission and Butterfly Conservation in the Wyre Forest has been hugely successful in boosting the numbers of rare butterflies living in the West Midlands.

Back to Orange, a three-year project, largely funded by SITA Trust, which aimed to conserve the fritillary butterflies of the Wyre Forest, has

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New conservation heart for County Durham

A major new conservation project is proposed for the heart of County Durham. The idea is to be explored in a local, national and European context at a conference and exhibition to be held from October 18-22 at County Hall, Durham.

The England Biodiversity Group has recommended that central Durham should be one of the country’s first Integrated Biodiversity Delivery Areas, where priority will be given to conserving wildlife and creating new habitats.

The free

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Forestry Commission records Cumbrian red squirrel numbers

1028502798 fGTKe S Forestry Commission records Cumbrian red squirrel numbersThe Forestry Commission has carried out the first ever full survey of the Red Squirrels Reserve at Whinlatter Forest, Dodd Wood, Wythop and Setmurthy near Keswick as part of efforts to help conservation.

Numbers of red squirrels were counted using 75 traps located within the reserve.

A total of 416 red squirrels

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Butterfly survey provides conservation platform

997996731 w83eJ S Butterfly survey provides conservation platformThe results of one of the biggest ever surveys of the UK’s butterfly population have been announced. The big butterfly count organised by the charity Butterfly Conservation in partnership with Marks & Spencer was carried out by members of the public and has been based on a staggering 187,000 individual sightings.

It reveals the top ten

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First baby beavers arrive in Scotland

974059980 LnFfs S First baby beavers arrive in Scotland The first baby beavers to be born in the wild for about 400 years have been spotted in Scotland, it has been announced. Last May the trial reintroduction of beavers began with the babies, known as kits, thought to have been born about eight weeks ago.

About the size of a large

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Take off for Northumberland’s rare ospreys

955542939 XZu6U S Take off for Northumberlands rare ospreysNorthumberland’s  three  osprey  chicks  have taken to the air for the very first time.

The young birds, named Aqua, Splash and Spray, and only the second osprey family raised in North East England since records began 200 years ago, have all successfully flown in Kielder Water and the forest park.

Over the past week

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New era for restoring natural environment

951614161 bd4jt S New era for restoring natural environmentThe Coalition Government’s White Paper on the Natural Environment provides a real opportunity to lay the foundations of nature conservation for the 21st century, according to The Wildlife Trusts.

The conservation organisation’s comments come ahead of a public consultation and set out its recovery plans for the UK’s wildlife and fragmented habitats on land

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Listen up! Children to tune in to the sounds of nature

826347888 PgBcE S Listen up! Children to tune in to the sounds of natureMost of us can picture a hedgehog, blue tit or grasshopper, but what does one sound like?

Members of the Wildlife Watch, the Wildlife Trusts’ network of groups for children, are now able to find out thanks to some new state of the art

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