The Government has updated the guidelines for being outside. It says the risk of the coronavirus being passed on to others outdoors is considered to be low as long as people maintain social distancing. Here is what is said, with a few comments of my own: In England, from today you […]

The Government is advocating we all tune in to the dawn chorus over Easter. People, I have been doing this for ages. However, it is highly recommended. Tried to upload my dawn chorus movie but it isn’t working! Natural England is rallying the nation to connect with nature this Easter […]

Blue tits are regulars at the garden bird feeder. Mark Fellowes, Author provided Mark Fellowes, University of Reading and Ian D. Rotherham, Sheffield Hallam University Being stuck at home during lockdown could be a golden opportunity to reset your connection with nature. If you’re lucky, you’ll still have access to […]

Simon Evans, Anglia Ruskin University There will be few positives to take from coronavirus. But the global pandemic may yet prove to be an important moment in the attempts to address the illegal wildlife trade. The media has generally concentrated on effects rather than causes, in particular the global implications […]

By Helen Shingler: I’ve been spending a lot of time lately just staring out the window at our bird feeders, marvelling at the way life just carries on for our little feathered friends!  They aren’t aware of the Coronavirus crisis affecting us globally.  They are just going about their daily […]

Paul Ashton, Edge Hill University Written on the final, frozen day of 1900, Thomas Hardy’s poem The Darkling Thrush describes a harsh, ice-blasted landscape devoid of life. Hardy’s depiction of a time “when frost was spectre-gray” evokes a winter that is beginning to exist only in memory. The winter of […]

We talk about plastics and cars as pollutants, but what about the telly which so many people love so much? It may be time to quit the plasma and return to the old portable. TVs are exceedingly damaging to the environment because they are built from toxic chemicals and heavy […]

Laurie Wright, Solent University The 2020s will have to involve some very big decisions about transport – the UK’s most polluting sector. The UK government’s response so far has been erratic, choosing to intervene to prevent the collapse of Flybe (Europe’s biggest regional airline) and give the green light for […]

Tobias Maschtaler/Unsplash, CC BY-SA Philip Donkersley, Lancaster University I study insects for a living, and bumblebees are by far my favourite. They’re the most charismatic and friendly critters you’re likely to see out and about. Sadly, your chances of seeing a bumblebee in Europe and North America have dropped by […]

Following an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live where transport secretary Grant Shapps indicated the date for ending the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles could be brought forward to 2032, RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “While the Government appears to be constantly moving the goalposts forward for ending the sale of new […]