nature

Beavers that were reintroduced to a county for the first time in more than 400 years are “settling in really well”, a conservationist said.

The large rodents were brought to a 17-hectare (42 acre) fenced enclosure at Rushden Lakes in Northamptonshire in February.

The family of eight, including adult female Boudicca, adult male Alan, and their six young, known as kits, were moved down from Scotland.

Wildlife trusts and environmental charities are joining calls for people to take part in No Mow May.

The campaign urges gardeners to avoid mowing their lawns to give pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, a boost by allowing wildflowers to thrive.

Avon Wildlife Trust and nature protection charity, Plantlife, are amongst the organisations supporting the annual campaign.

Hedgehogs are disappearing from many parts of the countryside.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has reported a significant decline in hedgehog sightings, with numbers down seven per cent compared to the previous year and a 33 per cent drop since 2022.

The decline is believed to be linked to habitat loss caused by building developments.

Lydia German, senior communications officer at Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said: "By recording where you have (or even where you haven’t) seen a hedgehog, you can help us to build up a fuller picture of how the population is faring across our region.

The UK is using Brexit to weaken crucial environmental protections and is falling behind the EU despite Labour’s manifesto pledge not to dilute standards, analysis has found.

Experts have said ministers are choosing to use Brexit to “actively go backwards” in some cases, though there are also areas where the UK has improved nature laws such as by banning sand eel fishing.

Despite having promised a “reset” with the EU, Keir Starmer’s government has failed to even start closing loopholes in environmental law that have widened since Brexit, and is in some cases choosing to delete EU environmental rules from the statute book.

A two-year project across three counties has uncovered more than 1,300 hectares (3,271 acres) of previously unknown ancient woodland.

These are woods that have persisted since 1600, packed with a range of forest-loving plant life, fungi, insects and micro-organisations, making up some 2.5% of UK land (609,990 hectares or 1,507,318 acres), external.

The project was run by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The total area of ancient woodland in the area is now known to be 12,552 hectares (31,016 acres).