Many species that are habitat specialists – organisms that rely on specific environments or food sources – are declining in what is becoming a worrying trend. One such specialist facing this threat is hazel dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius), a species intimately linked with certain woodland habitats. Dormouse populations in Britain have plummeted by a staggering 78% …

Overall 2024 was a warm and unsettled year for the UK. It was the fourth warmest year on record in Britain. Eight months had temperatures above their usual average, with February being the second warmest on record, May the warmest, and December the fifth warmest. Winter and spring were both well above average for mean …

Charity calls for help surveying water voles as part of national effort to save Britain’s fastest declining mammal Wildlife conservation charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is calling for volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales to survey for water voles this spring as part of ongoing national efforts to save this endearing yet endangered …

New applications for the Sustainable Farming Initiatives (SFIs) have been suspended with no warning. A Defra press release optimistically framed this as ‘having reached its completion’ as the budget had been ‘successfully allocated’. There will be a reset and a new scheme will be announced in summer this year. But what does this mean in …

Charity asks for help recording wildlife in gardens, parks and other urban green spaces Volunteers across the UK are being asked to become ‘wildlife detectives’ this spring by searching their gardens, parks and other urban green spaces for wild mammals and recording their findings online. Conservationists at leading wildife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species …

Road casualties tell us something about the living You might think a field guide to identifying ‘roadkill’ was unnecessarily macabre, but as Roger Knutson explains in his 1987 book, Flattened Fauna, ‘in becoming part of the road fauna … an animal loses not only its life but also … most of its mass and much …

Charity asks for help recording endangered wildlife in gardens, parks and on local riverbanks Volunteers across the UK are being asked to search their gardens, local green spaces or riverbanks this spring in a bid to help endangered wildlife, as part of a leading wildlife charity’s annual spring surveys. Starting in March, wildlife conservation charity …

“The recent freeze to these capital grants has undermined the financial security landowners vitally depended on. It’s a huge step backwards that will damage our chances of preventing further loss of this vital countryside network and the ambition to extend and improve it.” Hedgerows need our help We’ve had hedgerows for almost as long as …

Bridging the knowledge gap Hazel dormice have long been the focus of conservation efforts in Britain. In the 1990s Pat Morris and Paul Bright studied them, laying the foundation for the understanding of their ecology and behaviour. Over the years, the scope of research has expanded, not just through academic studies, but also through the …

Lily is a member of the Nottingham Wildlife Trust Keeping it Wild youth team. Having done a diploma at Brackenhurst, Lily has been accepted at Bangor University to study ecology and conservation. In May, 2024, The Nottingham Dormouse Group invited Lily on one of their sessions and this was her experience. Nestled away in the …

New research by 18 global wildlife conservation funders outlines the need to transform conservation action by encouraging evidence-based decision making when awarding grants. Based on their combined 100+ years of experience, they also encourage other grant-giving organisations to direct funds towards the most effective measures only, in a bid to combat the ongoing biodiversity crisis. …

A deadly conflict In the middle of the vast Brahmaputra River in Assam, just off the sprawling city of Guwahati, there’s a tiny, wooded island little more than 100 metres from one end to the other. Called Umananda, it’s chiefly renowned locally for the temple which is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and was …