Recent news
March 2010
Fury as EU approves GM potato
Critics claim plant could spread antibiotic-resistant diseases to humans
Grow your own vegetables in the local skip
Gardeners will be able to grow cabbages in skips on building sites and tomatoes in hospital car parks under Government plans to increase the amount of land available for grow-your-own vegetables.
Battery farm for cows: 8,000 animals to be housed in milk factory
A factory farm housing more than 8,000 'battery cows' will be built in the English countryside.
The 'shameful' deal set to unleash a fresh slaughter of whales
Thousands of whales worldwide could soon be condemned to a brutal death.
Green fuels cause more harm than fossil fuels, according to report
Using fossil fuel in vehicles is better for the environment than so-called green fuels made from crops, according to a government study seen by The Times.
Bees take flight to the city after fall in rural hive numbers
A new army of urban beekeepers is being recruited as part of an ambitious project to halt the worrying decline in British honeybees.
NHS using less British food
Hospital meals contained less ingredients from Britain last year, despite concerns about nutrition and cutting food miles, official figures show.
February 2010
Farmers told to produce more food to prevent high inflation
UK farmers need to grow more food to prevent a repetition of recent price increases and increase the country's food security, the rural affairs secretary warned on Tuesday.
War declared on invasive plants that cost Britain £2.7bn a year
An invading horde of alien plant species has been identified as the second-greatest threat to Britain’s wildlife after climate change.
National Trust creates 300 new allotments
Conservation charity hopes to have 1,000 allotments by 2012
Twin threats to fragile undersea colonies of Britain
Marine life hotspots off the British coast are facing a double threat — deep-sea trawling and acidification of the oceans — a leading scientist warned yesterday.
Cold weather hits wildlife across the UK
The coldest January in years is wreaking havoc among deer, but the National Trust says this year's spring promises to be the most spectacular in years.
November 2009
Tories reveal plans for 'conservation banks'
The Conservative party plans, which would fund nature protection through the sale of conservation credits to developers, have been met with caution by wildlife groups
Ratty returns with huge increase in sightings of water vole
A huge increase in sightings of the elusive water vole, immortalised as Ratty in Wind in the Willows, has been recorded in a waterways wildlife survey.
October 2009
Canada sets aside its boreal forest as giant carbon vault
By banning logging, mining and oil drilling in an area twice the size of California, Canada is ensuring its boreal forests continue to soak up carbon
Priceless Assets?
David Adam reports on a recent debate that asked whether a more economic approach might convince the cynics of the value of our countryside
September 2009
Foxes seen more in urban gardens than the countryside, says the RSPB
Foxes are more likely to be spotted in a town or city garden than in the countryside, according to the RSPB.
Landowners with a hectare or more will continue to get £200 handout
Owners of paddocks, orchards or even vegetable plots of at least one hectare can continue to claim £200 a year in state handouts for keeping their property in good condition.
Chris Packham says giant pandas should die out
A leading conservationist has called on wildlife groups to leave giant pandas alone and let them die out "with a degree of dignity".
Tufted puffin reported for first time in UK
Birdwatchers flock to Kent coast after a reported sighting of the Pacific seabird, never seen before in the UK
Scotland unveils world's first carbon budget
The Scottish government estimates spending on core services will lead to the release of 11.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide
Should landowners be forced to give up space for allotments?
The Big Question: Should landowners be forced to give up space for allotments?
'Dig for Victory' revived in plan for allotments on private land
An ambitious programme to create allotments on under-used private country estates will be proposed tomorrow in a scheme that borrows the wartime rallying slogan Dig for Victory.
The Green Revolution wasn’t green enough
Norman Borlaug saved a billion lives from starvation. But decades on, his farming methods threaten the health of the planet
Gardens of 2050: January cherry blossom and winter buttercup blooms
Spring will arrive a month earlier in 40 years' time thanks to the warming oceans around British Isles, new study predicts
Wheat modified with selenium will make healthy bread, say scientists
Britain would be healthier if wheat farms were treated with an important mineral to produce more nutritious bread, scientists have claimed.
Fresh blow to organic as study says organic farms bad for songbirds
Favourite farmland birds such as skylarks and yellowhammers fare worse on organic farms during winter, researchers say.
