IT was less than a hundred years ago that people began releasing helium balloons as a means to celebrate. Since then, balloon releases have expanded to nearly every special occasion. From weddings to memorials, graduations to gender reveals, festivals to New Year’s Eve celebrations, each year sees millions of balloons released.

Helium balloons can float in the air for days and can land anywhere – land, trees, or water - littering the environment and becoming a danger to wildlife, farmed animals, and companion animals that may come across them and mistake them for something edible.

Studies show that more than 265 species of birds, fish, mammals, and marine turtles, including endangered and threatened species, have ingested or become entangled in marine debris, largely from balloon litter.

Plants and lichens are the basis of all life on Earth, but human-driven pollution, land use and climate change have led to the decline of almost half (47%) of flowering plant species in Scotland in the past 50 years; this figure is even worse for mosses (62%) and lichens (57%). Their decline since the 1970s means that Scotland’s plant life is now in crisis.

The Scottish Plant Biodiversity Strategy has been developed by a raft of national voices who champion plants in Scotland, including environmental and botanical charities, networks, agencies, as well as volunteer and trade associations, national parks, local authorities, and environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs). It sets out ten urgent actions necessary for Scotland’s plants, with an emphasis on achieving rapid progress towards healthy and sustainable plant biodiversity, in turn supporting livelihoods, culture and wellbeing.

From making citizen and community science projects accessible to everyone - including ethnic minority groups, women, youth and marginalised communities - to increasing the number of students of plant science; and from support for native woodland, peatland and river catchment planting to recovery projects for everything from orchards to seagrass meadows, people, places and plants sit at the heart of the new strategy.

New data from Forestry England's Autumn Leaf Watch tracker shows autumn colour is emerging at different rates across the country, with some forests already glowing with shades of orange and red while others remain mostly green.

Since launching in August, hundreds of observations submitted by visitors have helped build a real-time picture of how autumn is unfolding across the nation’s forests.

Early results suggest there is no single moment when autumn arrives. Instead, colour is developing at different speeds from region to region and forest to forest, influenced by local conditions, tree species and geography.

Groundbreaking new river vision and economic analysis provides a blueprint for reimagining England’s rivers at scale

A groundbreaking new vision for rivers in England, released today by The Wildlife Trusts, Trent Rivers Trust and Intact Insurance, outlines how nature must be at the heart of plans to restore waterways across England in order to unlock significant economic, environmental and societal benefits.

Published today, The Rivers 2040 Vision maps and assesses the impact of restoring the entirety of the River Trent - England’s longest river from source to sea - on nature, the economy and local communities. By reimagining how communities, businesses and land use can work together to bring the Trent back to health, the Vision provides a blueprint for restoring whole river systems across the country.

A photographer who captured on camera a rare encounter with a white hart deer in the wilds of Devon said he felt "awe" he felt coming within feet of it.

Brian Johnston, a lorry driver who photographs wildlife in his spare time, said it was following a two-day mission that he finally spotted the stag dozing in a field.

"It really is a spectacle to see this mythic-like creature - and to just to see one sitting in a field is pretty special," he said.

Ubiquitous urban plants often derided as “weeds” are the most attractive to pollinating insects.

The autumn blooms of common ivy, rich in pollen and nectar, are the most visited by insects including bees and butterflies, according to an eight-year study.

The next most popular are hogweed and bramble flowers, followed by non-native buddleia, which attracts four times as many butterflies and moths as other high-scoring flowers.

Barn owl chicks have been ringed in Purbeck for the first time to help track their movements and if the area's conservation-focused farming is working.

The 15 chicks and one adult were ringed at nest sites across three farmland sites in a partnership between Birds of Poole Harbour, Carey Ringing Station and the National Trust.

Mark Singleton, Purbeck's National Trust countryside manager, said: "This is an exciting project and a first for us in Purbeck. Although barn owl numbers have fallen significantly over the past century, there are encouraging signs they may be recovering locally."

A new review of research from the Biological Records Centre (BRC) highlights the vital role of biological recording and national monitoring schemes and taxonomic societies in helping scientists understand how Britain’s wildlife is changing. The review is also being released alongside a new GBIF hosted portal that will help users explore the data collected by biological recording, which BRC helps to mobilise.

Drawing on over 140 million species records collected by volunteer recorders, recording schemes and citizen scientists, the review showcases how biodiversity data have transformed our understanding of the natural world over the past decade. From tracking shifts in species distributions to informing national biodiversity indicators, the research demonstrates the growing importance of citizen science for long-term monitoring in addressing environmental challenges.

Wild bird populations in the UK have fallen to their lowest level since records began, figures show, with nearly half of species in decline.

Figures produced by leading nature conservation bodies for the government show that average populations across 132 native breeding species fell by 19% between 1970 and 2025, with farmland birds and seabirds the worst hit in recent years.

Prof Richard Gregory, the head of monitoring at the RSPB, called the overall findings “shocking and sobering”.

On a pale-blue Sunday morning on the foreshore of the River Thames, 40 people are searching for what others have tried to lose. Dotted across a 250-metre stretch under Hammersmith Bridge, they are combing through layers of silt, seashells and dirty driftwood to find one of the river’s most stubborn problems: wet wipes.

“People come and walk here and it looks just like mud, at a distance,” says the organiser, Dr Felicity Rhodes. “And then you get closer in and see.”

The dig forms part a citizen science project that has tracked sanitary litter on the banks of the Thames for nearly a decade. Set up by the environmental charity Thames21, volunteers are recruited to help map out the amount of wipes that are flushed down the toilet and washed up along the river. Findings are added to a database that quantifies plastic pollution on the banks of the Thames.

Wildlife is returning to one of the world’s rarest river types.

Wetlands created at Keswick Marsh in Norfolk are giving birds, amphibians, and plants a better chance to thrive on a threatened chalk stream.

The River Yare is one of only 210 chalk streams in the world, with 58 found in East Anglia. The Environment Agency, Norfolk Rivers Trust, and Water Resources East have worked together to reshape more than 7 hectares of riverbank and floodplain, reconnecting the river with surrounding land.

High river flows this autumn could flush 2.2 tonnes of microplastics downstream, scientists have warned.

Tonnes of the pellets, known as nurdles, were spilled into the River Tyne after a crash between two vessels at the Port of Tyne damaged two shipping containers.

According to new modelling from Newcastle University, about one in eight of the nurdles remained in the estuary six weeks after the spill.

Groups trying to protect red squirrels are being invited to bid for funding from a £250,000 pot.

The Red Squirrel Recovery Network (RSRN) said it hoped to "engage people from all backgrounds" with grants of up to £500 available for smaller activities to £5,000 to support ideas with a wider reach.

The project, which started in 2025, works with conservation partners and volunteer groups across Northumberland, Cumbria, Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and southern Scotland to raise awareness of the endangered species.

Between the 18th and 24th of September 2026, we once again invited everyone across the UK and Ireland to spend some time by a river and help us create a clearer picture of river health. Something that was especially important after a challenging summer dominated by drought, low rainfall, and high temperatures.

For our seventh Big River Watch in just three years, an incredible 1,973 people took part, submitting 1,444 surveys and collectively spending 28 days watching our waterways. A huge thank you to everyone who got involved.

From memorable wildlife sightings to clear evidence of the pressures facing our waterways, the observations collected during the week provide a valuable snapshot of river health and how a tough summer impacts our freshwater ecosystems. Read the September 2026 Big River Watch report to explore the data, discover the key findings, and see what people spotted from the riverbank.

Boulders are being returned to a seven-kilometre stretch of the River Wye to improve habitats for salmon and other wildlife.

Natural Resources Wales’ Upper Wye Catchment Restoration Project is carrying out the work at Llangurig, where boulders removed over generations are being reintroduced.

Surveys found abundant salmon fry in the area, but poor survival into the next stage of development, known as parr. The project team believes a lack of boulder cover and varied habitat may be limiting the fish’s ability to feed, shelter and grow.

Red Squirrel Awareness Week has shone a spotlight on one of the UK’s most endangered and beloved native mammals.

The annual campaign aimed to educate the public about the threats facing red squirrels and encourage action to support their survival.

A major new conservation project is underway to protect one of the UK’s threatened snakes.

The scheme focuses on the adder and aims to better understand and address the impact of habitat fragmentation on its declining populations.

Led by reptile and amphibian conservation charity Froglife, the collaboration includes Newcastle University, Bangor University, University Centre Cornwall College, the Cornish Adder Project and Natural England.

A lone stoat has been caught after a seven-month hunt by trappers in Orkney.

The creature, which is not native to the islands and consider invasive, was first spotted in Rousay in May.

It was captured on Friday and removed from the island by the Orkney Native Wildlife Project (ONWP), which has also caught thousands of stoats on the Orkney mainland as part of a £15m eradication scheme set up in 2019.

A lobster-like creature with powerful claws lurking beneath the water surface was spotted in a quiet Kent stream.

The unusual discovery was made in Harrietsham, near Maidstone, where a reader photographed what appears to be an American signal crayfish resting among stones in shallow water.

A pair of birds once driven to the brink of extinction could have produced the county's first chicks for at least 200 years.

A breeding pair of ospreys had been reported in Herefordshire, nesting in an oak tree near the River Wye close to the Powys border where they had raised three chicks to fledging.

"It's just fantastic news," said Toby Fountain of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.

A whale which "shouldn't be anywhere near our coast" has been spotted during a wildlife cruise.

A Facebook post from the Mevagissey to Fowey Ferry said people on a boat off the Cornish coast saw a Sowerby's beaked whale.

Sowerby's beaked whales, which can grow up to 18ft (5.5m) in length, are predominately found in the eastern area of the North Atlantic and are "seldom seen at sea" as they dive down deep, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation charity said.

More than 800,000 new trees have been planted across Surrey over the past five years, exceeding the council's own target, according to a report.

Surrey County Council's report found 116,359 trees had been planted in the 2025/26 financial year alone.

It said the total planted between 2021 and 2026 was around 885,000, surpassing its initial target of 600,000.

Attacks by predators have hit years of slow recovery for the last little tern colony in the south-west of England, conservationists have said.

Sixty-six breeding pairs were recorded at Chesil Beach in Dorset this year, which was the highest number since 2001, the RSPB reported.

However, the colony was targeted by a fox which probably got through a defective fence, the charity added.

PLANS to double the size of a Worcestershire nature reserve have been given a massive boost.

Worcestershire County Council has awarded funding to the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust to expand Trench Wood near Sale Green.

The project aims to secure and restore 45 hectares of land next to the ancient woodland, more than doubling the size of the existing reserve and making it the trust’s largest woodland nature reserve.

In September, the Department for Environmental and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced a call for evidence to assess the impacts of gamebird shooting on wildlife, the environment and animal welfare.

We hope this evidence gathering is the positive first step towards the introduction of licensing gamebird shoots in England – which would be game changing for birds of prey and is a cause we’ve long campaigned for at the RSPB.