Today, the King’s Speech has set out the Government’s legislative agenda for the next year, including the introduction of legislation to ‘clean up the water industry.’

The Clean Water Bill (previously referred to as the Water Reform Bill) is the most important policy change affecting freshwater in a generation, and a huge opportunity to get the foundations right for nature recovery. Specifically, Government has the chance to address two persistent failures of the water management framework – exclusion of small waters, and inadequate protection of the best freshwater habitats.

By including small waters in the official management programme, we can bring the regulatory framework up to date with new scientific evidence on the importance of these overlooked habitats. This would unlock investment in low cost, high impact restoration actions like pond creation.

Decades after disappearing from the jagged cliffs around Tintagel Castle on the coast of north Cornwall, a bird with legendary connections to the area has returned.

The custodian of Tintagel, English Heritage, and local ornithologists have declared that choughs – charismatic corvids with red beaks and feet – are back.

Choughs are considered Cornwall’s “national bird” and feature in its coat of arms but vanished as a resident from the far south-west of the UK in the early 1970s, largely because of the decline of their grazed clifftop habitat.

Hare coursers face tougher sentencing from next month as courts move to crack down on a crime rural communities say is causing growing fear, damage and intimidation across the countryside.

New sentencing guidelines published by the Sentencing Council will come into force on 1 June 2026, introducing stronger measures designed to reflect the “real harm” hare coursing causes to farmers, wildlife and rural communities.

The changes follow reforms introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and come after a 12-week public consultation.

Born Free is deeply disappointed at the government’s decision to omit any meaningful commitments to nature protection or animal welfare from today’s King’s Speech.

At a time when wildlife faces unprecedented pressures, the absence of even a passing reference to the government’s stated ambitions for nature and animals represents a troubling retreat from promises made only months ago.

In its 2024 election manifesto, the Labour party promised to “improve access to nature, promote biodiversity, and protect our landscapes and wildlife.” As recently as December 2025, DEFRA published its Animal Welfare Strategy for England, a document that set out a series of commitments intended to raise standards, strengthen protections, and position the UK as a global leader in animal welfare.

Moor Invertebrates is an exciting new Buglife project on Dartmoor, made possible thanks to initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery Players, Moor Invertebrates will help to give a brighter future to eight threatened invertebrate species found across Dartmoor National Park. Moor Invertebrates will engage local communities and visitors, inspiring a love of Dartmoor’s special bugs and helping to connect people with the wonderful invertebrates living right on their doorsteps.

Thanks to players of the National Lottery, development funding of £64,079 has been awarded by the Heritage Fund to help Buglife to progress their plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant. Dartmoor National Park is a place of folklore, myths, and legends of beasts, but it is also home to real life minibeast marvels such as the Blue Ground Beetle (Carbus intricatus) with its iridescent sheen, and the Lichen Running Spider (Philodromus margaritatus) which can hide in plain sight, as masters of camouflage.

Parts of Dartmoor National Park have been designated as an Important Invertebrate Area (IIA), as they support several rare invertebrates at risk of extinction in the UK. For many species, such as the Blue Ground Beetle, Dartmoor is a national stronghold, and in some cases, such as that of the Bog Hoverfly (Eristalis cryptarum) it is the last remaining place in the UK where the species can be found. This funding is an essential part in supporting the recovery of these species so they can survive and thrive.

Scientists studied how the plant communities and soil properties of farmland changed as it slowly developed into ex-arable planted woodland over a period of 25 years. They compared this to nearby ancient woodland.

The researchers found that the soil characteristics and both plant and fungal communities in ex-arable woodland remained distinct from those in ancient woodland 25-years after planting. Several properties – such as soil pH, available phosphorus and potassium, and overall plant diversity – showed signs of gradual convergence but an absence of specialist woodland species persisted.

The results were published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.

Six puffins have returned to the Dorset coast after the National Trust stepped up investigations amid fears the colony would be lost.

The puffins returned to Dancing Ledge in Purbeck in late March to mid-April and have since been spotted showing signs of nest-building and egg-laying, says the trust.

It comes after conservationists warned in March that the last remaining colony of puffins was in danger of being lost altogether.

White-tailed eagles - the UK's largest bird of prey - will be released across Exmoor National Park after the government approved the latest stage in a controversial national reintroduction scheme.

Up to 20 birds, which are also known as sea eagles and were once extinct in the UK, will be released over three years from this summer.

But there are concerns the predators could threaten sheep in the area. One farmer in Scotland, where the eagles were reintroduced in 1975, said those in Exmoor should fight plans "tooth and nail" or risk losing lambs to the birds.

When James Herd moved near to Wisley Common 17 years ago, the heathland nature reserve was teeming with wildlife. “I’d take the dog around the common in spring and summer, and every few hundred metres I’d hear the rustle of a lizard in the undergrowth – and I’d see adders,” he says.

But over the past decade, the Surrey Wildlife Trust’s director of reserves management, who oversees the internationally important habitat, has seen that wildlife become depleted.

“There was a period, eight or nine years ago, when I’d get home and think: ‘God, I didn’t see or hear any evidence of reptiles.’”

Kent Wildlife Trust is celebrating the remarkable recovery of Kentish milkwort (Polygala amarella) after a seven-fold population increase saw 1,245 self-sown plants recorded this year at Queendown Warren near Sittingbourne, now the largest population of the species in the UK.

This recovery is the result of a long-term conservation project led by Kent Wildlife Trust in partnership with The Species Recovery Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and local volunteers. The programme was established after the species declined to just a handful of plants across three sites in Kent.

Today we've published a new report calling on the Prime Minister to change course on nature. The report sets out how the nature crisis is putting the UK's security, prosperity and wellbeing at risk and what the Government can do about it.

Nature keeps our economy running, our communities healthy and our country resilient. Yet species are disappearing, habitats are being lost and many of the places that should be protected for wildlife are under threat.

Our new report, Nature on the Edge: What we're losing and why it matters, makes the case that nature's decline is not inevitable, but the result of political choices that can still be reversed. And it sets out why politicians should care – because the public does.

Deep sea dwelling dolphins are spending more time inshore due to the influx of octopuses in the waters around south-west England, according to a researcher.

Warmer sea temperatures contributed to a surge in the number of octopus in the waters around Devon and Cornwall in 2025.

Marine biologist Josh Symes who runs the Risso's Dolphin Photo ID project for Exeter University said the amount of octopus was keeping Risso's in local water longer than usual.

Record numbers have been counted of a rare butterfly at a site in Worcestershire, after a habitat restoration project was launched.

Following the scheme from Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, more than 700 wood white butterflies were counted at Monkwood last year.

The species had disappeared from the area in 2008, but numbers have increased after 10 breeding pairs were originally introduced and staff and volunteers worked to create an environment for them to thrive.

A £100m project to transform the countryside, boost wildlife and help prevent flooding is now paying farmers for their work for the first time.

More than 50 farms are involved in the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project, restoring 3-thousand hectares of Cotswold farmland.

Investors including Network Rail, SSEN and Oxfordshire County Council are now investing in the largely government-funded scheme, in the hope that infrastructure, like roads and rail lines, will be better protected by the work.

Conservationists are calling for laws to be changed so animals such as bison and elk can be more easily introduced to landscapes to help restore nature.

European bison, the closest living relative to ancient steppe bison that would have lived in Britain thousands of years ago, already roam in heavily-fenced woodland in Kent where their browsing is beginning to benefit the natural habitat.

There are plans to introduce elk – a large deer species which was hunted to extinction in Britain around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago – into wetland habitat in Nottinghamshire alongside beavers, where it is hoped they will boost the ecosystem.

BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham has called on the beleaguered Government to ban trail hunting as an easy way to shore up support after its election “drubbing”.

The 65-year-old spoke at a protest in Westminster against trial hunting organised by the League Against Cruel Sports.

The gathering of around 300 people included speakers urging people to sign a Government consultation against trail and fox hunting.

Today The Wildlife Trusts publish a list of eight Bills to fast-track nature recovery, improve national security and bolster people’s health. They are an invitation to the UK Government to do better. The proposed legislation demonstrates the level of ambition UK Ministers should aim for if delivery is to match warm words about wildlife, and to meet the rising public demand for nature action.

The last King’s Speech proposed 40 different Bills to overcome the challenges facing the UK. Not one of those Bills sought to tackle the severe and ongoing loss of nature in the UK, despite the fact that such declines threaten our food, water, health and homes. Since that speech in 2024, wild species and the habitats on which they depend have continued to decline at an alarming rate. The prospect of catastrophic ecosystem collapse has inched closer.

In January this year, the UK Government published a summary of the National Security Assessment on global biodiversity loss, showing nature decline to be a growing risk to the UK’s economy and overall security.

Hedgehog "backpacks" and a specially trained detection dog could be the key to protecting the tiny mammal as its population continues to fall across Europe.

A recently launched tracking project sees a small GPS device attached to a hedgehog's spine – resembling a backpack – as researchers try to piece together their movements.

As part of the process the first hedgehog detection dog for Ireland has been specially trained to help track them down.

Residents are being invited to help remove a plant from a local park that can cause floods and threaten wildlife.

It follows a similar event last year to uproot the Himalayan balsam at Burrs Country Park in Bury.

Volunteers are sought to remove the plant, which mainly grows along river banks and wet woodland, on 23 May during the school half-term holiday.

Suffolk's leading conservation organisations are urging people to "speak up" for nature over concerns new developments will unravel vital environmental protections.

Both the National Trust and Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) fear that the abundance and diversity of wildlife in Suffolk will continue to decline, despite the county being home to "beautiful beaches, nature reserves and heathlands".

The charities have cited the impact of energy infrastructure developments which have "changed the landscape," such as Sizewell C, offshore wind farms and solar farms.

A 21-acre water meadow and its wildlife will be protected after being bought by a wildlife trust.

Court House Meadows is a water meadow through which a chalk stream runs. It is home to water voles, overwintering wading birds such as snipe, amphibians including newts, dragonflies, and brown trout, plus many more.

Chalk streams - such as the Rover Meon in Hampshire, which flows through Court House Meadows - are rare and generally have clean water because chalk is permeable. This means they can often support an abundance of wildlife. There only about 200 chalk streams in the world, and 80 per cent of them are in southern England. The River Meon is often cited as the best example of a chalk stream in the country.

For the first time, dogs trained in Orkney are being used in the efforts to track down the county’s invasive stoat population.

English Springer Spaniels Mambo and Spud have been specially taught to track the signs of stoats by Alan Clouston from K9 Detection Scotland.

The Orkney Native Wildlife Project uses the dogs to detect stoat scat, and help the trapping team to focus on the right places.

Nearly 30 young hazel dormice born in a wildlife sanctuary’s record-breaking year will be released into the wild.

The centre, which has an animal “dating agency” system for breeding, has had the most successful dormouse season in its history.

The 29 dormice, born in the Wildwood Trust near Herne Bay, are now being prepared for release in the north of England.

Farmers, landowners, and members of the public are being canvassed on whether storks should be reintroduced across Britain.

Ornithologist and Harper Adams University student Sophie Rabone is researching bringing the historically native birds back after their disappearance in the 1400s due to over-hunting and habitat loss.

Some breeding populations have been introduced at selected sites, and Rabone is looking into the feasibility of a large-scale reintroduction.

The Conservation Volunteers is among eight well-known charities who, alongside adventurer Bear Grylls, are calling on people to take action for nature where they live, as part of this year’s Big Help Out from 5–8 June.

The eight leading charities and organisations championing the call include the Eden Project, RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, Butterfly Conservation, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Canal & River Trust, RSPCA, and ourselves at TCV.

Ahead of TCV Vice President Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, the nation is being invited to celebrate his life-long legacy by showing their love of nature, inspired by his most recent BBC series Secret Garden, by offering nature a helping hand at home.