Ever wondered what @NaturalEngland does? I was pleased to record this podcast with the Civil Service Climate & Environment Network, answering questions about our work, why we do it & the context. open.spotify.com/episode/4Jc…

A new natural history GCSE is to be introduced as part of the government’s curriculum reforms tes.com/magazine/news/genera…

You can see why fossil energy industries are increasingly worried, & why the climate denial & anti carbon reduction content has ramped up on here & elsewhere. The game is up, & they can see that. The Iran war has made it all so much clearer.

A diverse range of bird species has been recorded at a solar park on rewetted peatland in Germany, suggesting that combining energy generation with habitat restoration could benefit biodiversity, the climate and the economy newscientist.com/article/252…

Some false claims on here about Dartmoor Ponies. @NaturalEngland is committed to the long-term future of Dartmoor ponies and is working in partnership with commoners, landowners, and organisations such as the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association to achieve that. naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2…

False claims are circulating about Natural England's role on Dartmoor ponies. Dartmoor ponies are part of the cultural and ecological identity of Dartmoor. We have not recommended a cull. Read our blog for our role and position: naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2…

Worth recalling that the British record for a rod caught Atlantic Salmon (64 pounds) is held by a woman (Georgina Ballantine), & has been since 1922, when she caught that immense specimen of the ‘king’ of fish’ in the River Tay.

"Fisher with a mission: first woman to chair Grayling Society wants to protect ‘lady of the stream’." Ladies and gentlemen meet the very fabulous, very wonderful Marnie Lovejoy new chair of the Grayling Society. 👏👏👏 theguardian.com/environment/…

In the weeks before D-Day my father was engaged in the fierce battle with German forces at Monte Casino in Italy. Much less commemorated, but an epic battle that lasted months. Fortunately he survived. Many thousands of his comrades & German soldiers didn’t.

Do please post something today on your X page, in honour of our Allied heroes. They deserve to be remembered on the 82nd anniversary of D-Day.

An excellent morning with the Rebuilding Nature network, including a panel discussion with Sir John Lawton & Anna Dimitriadis on steps we can take to deliver Nature recovery at scale. Moving to a position where Nature is seen as critical national infrastructure was a key theme.

Mangrove forests are healing after decades of human destruction bbc.in/43OJ5GZ

England’s newest NNR is declared: The Cheltenham Escarpment. This one really sums up the breadth of our work @naturalengland, spanning from geology to genetics & with people at the centre. This is number 15 of 25 in The King’s Series of NNRs. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgz…

El Niño is arriving on our doorstep in the coming months with 90% certainty. The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is. The only effective response is #ClimateAction equal to the crisis – ending the addiction to fossil fuels, accelerating the shift to renewables, protecting the most vulnerable, and delivering early warning systems for all. wmo.int/resources/publicatio…

Wanting growth. Go green! CBI report shows Britain’s green economy growing by ten per cent a year, as are green jobs, now totalling over a million, paying better and more productive than others. Scrapping net zero would be economic madness. cbi.org.uk/media/owxdidg1/cb…

Mapped: How extreme weather is destroying crops around the world | @orladwyer_ w/ comment from @AndyChallinor Prof Elena Piedra-Bonilla, Dr Monica Ortiz, Ananta Prakash Subedi #CBarchive 🎨 @tomoprater Read here: buff.ly/43bsOwO

Quand les oiseaux chantent dans votre jardin, votre cerveau reçoit un signal qu'il interprète depuis des centaines de milliers d'années comme une seule information : il n'y a pas de danger. Pas une impression. Un mécanisme. Dans toute l'histoire évolutive des mammifères, le silence soudain des oiseaux précédait la présence d'un prédateur. Leur chant continu signalait l'inverse : l'environnement est sûr, les ressources sont disponibles, le système nerveux peut sortir de sa vigilance. Ce câblage n'a pas disparu. Des chercheurs de l'Institut Max Planck pour le développement humain à Berlin ont soumis 295 participants à six minutes de chant d'oiseaux ou de bruit de circulation, dans une expérience randomisée publiée dans Scientific Reports en 2022. Le chant des oiseaux a réduit de manière significative l'anxiété et les pensées anxieuses — des effets mesurables sur l'état mental après six minutes d'écoute. Une étude plus récente a suivi 233 personnes lors d'une promenade de trente minutes dans un parc, en mesurant la pression artérielle, la fréquence cardiaque et le cortisol salivaire avant et après. Le cortisol a chuté en moyenne de 33 %. Les participants qui avaient activement prêté attention au chant des oiseaux autour d'eux ont obtenu des résultats encore plus marqués. Pas besoin d'identifier les espèces. Pas besoin de connaître leur nom. Juste écouter. Ce qui rend ce signal plus fragile qu'il n'y paraît : la LPO, le Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle et l'Office français de la biodiversité ont publié le bilan de trente ans de comptages. Entre 1989 et 2019, la France a perdu près de 30 % de ses oiseaux communs. Dans les milieux agricoles, un tiers des effectifs a disparu. Merles, mésanges, pinsons, rouge-gorges — les espèces des jardins ordinaires déclinent à mesure que les haies disparaissent, que les insectes se raréfient, que les façades se rénovent sans laisser de cavités. Le chant du matin n'est pas un fond sonore. C'est un rapport sur l'état du vivant autour de vous. Ce que votre jardin attire, votre cerveau l'entend.

250 editions later, the climate conversation has changed — but so has the planet via @fionaharvey @guardian Since COP26, we’ve seen record heatwaves, rising climate costs, political setbacks, and growing pressure on communities, businesses, and governments. Yet at the same time, clean energy is accelerating, climate innovation is scaling, and public awareness has never been stronger. The fight against climate change is no longer about predictions. It’s about adaptation, resilience, finance, and action at speed. The real question is not whether change is happening. It’s whether leadership is happening fast enough. An important reflection from The Guardian’s 250th climate edition. 🌍 bit.ly/42ZQrXX #ClimateChange #NetZero #ClimateAction #Sustainability #EnergyTransition #ClimateFinance @AndersWijkman @ClimateArena @IRENA @ClimateBen @UNFCCC @mattiasgoldmann @AHallbarhet @YaleClimateComm @jonathonporritt

This is about a thousand more people than died in the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001, yet hardly a mention in news bulletins. Extreme heat is becoming so frequent to the point where it’s no longer noteworthy, while some say we should slow down on emissions reductions…

Así estalló hoy el juguete en forma de cohete del magnate capitalista Jeff Bezos, que sufrió una enorme explosión durante una prueba espacial en Florida (EEUU). Una explosión así puede emitir CO₂ equivalente a cientos o miles de coches diésel circulando durante un año completo. Mientras los capitalistas contaminan por hobby como si no hubiese un mañana, a ti te piden que hagas un esfuerzo por salvar al planeta.